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push co2 higher ?

B

britdog

Seedling
Joined
28 Jun 2016
Messages
23
Location
Lincolnshire
Hi everyone lam very new to planted aquariums ive set up a jewel 180 tank up subsyrate is jbl proscape lighting is 2 t5 daylight tubes using pressurised co2.only plants are monti carlo at the moment this tank was set up 5 days ago. My main question is i have a drop checker in which turns dark green aprox 30 mins before lights go on it goes to pale green co2 is on for 4 hours .in the morning the DC is a darker green.from what i have read blue is not enough co2 green is ok and yellow is to high. As i have no fish in the tank shall i try and push more co2 until DC goes yellow and then back off a little. I just want to try and give the plants a good start i have done 2 30% water changes and plan another one tomorrow for first 2 weeks i plan to have lights on for 6 hours then on week 3 increase to to 7.please feel free to correct me if any of the above is wrong
thanks steve
 
Yes, take the opportunity to experiment with higher Co2 levels, you can not harm your plants with to much co2.
If you have a PH pen (recommended) then aim for a one point drop just before lights on, if you can get that right then it will just be flow and light to perfect.
 
Also whilst you have the opportunity move the drop checker around the tank, also tie drop checker to stone and place in middle of the tank and verify it turns green/yellow everywhere in the tank.
 
Thanks for replies i thought it would be ok but nice to have ideas confirmed by those with more experience. Ian good idea re DC iam guessing this will show any dead spots around the tank. I will post a pic of tank later off to lfs to see if i can get PH pen
thanks steve
 
I think i need to put the co2 on earlier at moment it comes on 1 hour before light it takes about 1 half hours before DC goes green as suggested i have ordered ph pen tank is now 7 days old had a few floating MC so a few gaps iam sure in time it will grow over i need to find out how to attach pic
 
Found the sticky on uploading :)
20160703_200416.jpg
 
Definately ramp up the Co2. When I've dropped 1pH point, my DC shows a slight yellow tinge but remember that they are at least an hour behind the true reading of dissolved Co2 in the water column.

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Hi franks thanks for that so if understand correctly as long has its green within 30 mins of light coming on iam somewhere close. Ive orderd i ph pen but in the mean time ive reset timer to come on 2 hours before lights on and 1 hour before off
 
That's the Co2/light timing I have. I've not actually been around to PH test during the Co2 injection stage but I'd imagine your DC would start to register some green after two hours of buildup as the lights turn on. The PH pen is so much more efficient though. It'll make your job much easier to get where you need to be.

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Thanks frank after altering the timer dc had gone dark green from blue which is better than it was hopefully ph pen arrives tomorrow I can check ph during day then as soon as light comes on to see how much drop I have then measure again just after gas as gone off to see if it's dropped further hopefully it will drop 1 point and no further. Is my plan and thinking correct?
Cheers steve
 
Sounds right but I'm far from an expert. The way I see it, theres always going to be an equilibrium but you need to find that point and nail the light timing. In a larger tank like what we both run, it will take longer to build that equilibrium especially when using less efficient methods of injection such as diffusers. It seems those who run nanotanks are all running shorter build up times and that makes sense.
The plants will obviously consume Co2 when lit and the more they grow or that you add, you'll need to monitor and maintain that equilibrium.

Tom Barr wrote a nice article on the critical demical places of PH dropping and it's a very fine line!

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Thanks for that at the moment iam running lights for 6 hours 2 t5 daylight tubes next week iam planning to go up to 7 hours as you say it's trying to find a balance once the plants start growing they will let me know if something I've got wrong ha ha
 
Ph pen arrived today 2 hours before co2 was on ph was 7.00 checked again after co2 had been going just as lights came on it was 6.5 when co2 went off checked again no further drop from 6.5 so take it i can increase co2 a bit more as long as i dose well with ferts ? Left light timer as it is 6 hours
 
Yes turn the gas up, for best results you want an almost yellow drop checker at lights on - or a one point ph drop.
Get that sorted first as it might not be easy!
it will depend on flow and how effective your method of dissolving the co2.
You might have to adjust the amount of co2 in the water when you stock fish or adjust the surface movement, but now is the time to experiment.
 
Thanks foxfish at moment just using a standard defuser i had to turn flow down as it was lifting the newly planted HC up as someone new to hobby i found it difficult to plant a tiny plant without it rising up they were very small one of those horticulture tubs they have been in new set up 10 days and have seen growth in most of them. I intend to put an inline difuser in a couple of weeks when plants have got a good hold
 
Hi guys
the more i read i gain information but also getting slightly confused or unsure what to do next i have been checking the ph with my new pen i have increased the co2 and now have just short of a 1 point drop but now the dc is green 1 hour before lights go in reality that could be 2 hours or more before iam i at the right level now. Dc never goes yellow at the moment there is no fish in tank but looking at adding some in about 2 weeks the plants are growing well and starting to spread any ideas
cheers steve
 
The PH & the drop checker are both measuring the PH of your tank water, the drop checker is great indication because it measures the PH in the fluid contained in the bowl. This means the fluid is not effected by other possible influences that might be in your tank water, however it is slow to react.
The PH pen, measures the whole tank contents but gives an instant reading.
The PH pen is my choice, I have found their use a huge benefit when adjusting the amount of C02 in the tank but once I have everything set up I rely on my sight to check conditions & a drop checker for second reference.
Every tank is different but if you can get a one point drop in the PH after one hour, then that is great.
You need to check through the light on period though, make sure the PH stays stable at one point drop & does not increase to dangerous.. (for fish shrimp) levels
Of course you can run your tank at lower levels of C02 but as I have said this is a good time to find out how everything works.
I choose to establish a one point drop & just slack off a tad but my best plant growth comes from max C02 levels.
 
Thanks fox fish
done some more ph checks today i got the 1 point drop in ph but took about 5 hours i also checked a couple of times after the co2 had gone off to see if there had been a further drop it was fine dc was green as lights came , i think iam close to a good setting so i will leave things as they are for a few days and watch and study the plants and watch for any signs of something not being right as far as i know signs of lack of co2 is leaves curl i think you call this melting ? Hope thats correct ive just got EI kit for ferts. But iam finishing the liquid fert off which iam double dosing. Tank will have been running 2 weekson sSaturday i only have lights on for 6 hours at the moment would you guys increase to 7 hours from saturday its a 180 ltre tank 18 inch high running 2 t5 daylight tubes
thanks steve
 
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