To solenoid or not to solenoid? That is the question.

[jazjac]

Hi all.
I run a co2 pressure kit with twin guage 24/7 using air stone at lights out. DC always lime green. Good flow. Use koraline 9000 for extra flow. Dose EI. 2 45W T5 with reflectors. 8 hr period on 180 juwel rio. Co2 ceramic diff into intake of a All pond solutions 2000 external. Problem. Still getting BBA. Is it essential to either to have a solenoid on the co2 guage and timer. Or is it essential to manually turn on and off the co2 at the right times to avoid BBA. Or running as I am 24/7 with the drop checker staying lime green constantly but getting the algae. Is my method madness or is timing manually or solenoidly essential? Please help!

 

[Alastair]

Hi jazjec,
It's not essential to have a solenoid attached to your equipment, there's nothing wrong with running your co2 24/7 but you'd probably be saving on gas if the co2 was switched off at night as your just off gassing it when running the air stone.
If you did opt for the solenoid route then you'd need to increase the bubble rate of co2 as its not being run 24/7.
Bba is caused by fluctuating co2 levels and flow so it could possibly be that the co2 being drawn into the filter may not be getting diffused properly and coming out in bursts which could cause the bba or that the flow around the tank needs some adjustment

 

[CeeJay]

Hi jazjac

As Alastair says, you do not have to have a solenoid on your CO2 system. It just works out cheaper on the gas if you do. Providing the CO2 is at max, at lights on (the most critical phase), you will be OK. This usually means turning the gas on 2 hours before lights on and turning it off 2 hours before lights out.
If all the parameters are as you say, then I would be looking at reducing the light.
I run a the 180 myself and found that with the supplied T5's, I couldn't get enough gas in there without gassing my fish, so my only alternative was to lower the light. I would remove your reflectors and shorten your photoperiod to start with. You may even need to do more than that if your problem persists.
Life was so much easier when there was no such thing as T5's and we only had T8's to deal with, then the devil came along and invented T5's .
My T5's are now in the bin .

 

[jazjac]

Thanks guys. I have already added 2 more spray bars and now have them along the back of the tank. I moved the diffuser to the left side below the koraline and it forces the micro bubbles visibly around the tank. I hate to see them but I will let you know how things go. At the risk of going off topic here you more or less say that T5's are asking for trouble so what lights did you go for after the binmen stole your T5's Chris?
Put me right here if I am off the mark here but if I remove the reflectors I am reducing the demand on the CO2 and the plants but should still achieve good results and get some pearling going on as that is not really happening too much as things stand right now. Also the main thing, hopefully get rid of the BBA. I do manually remove it and treat with carbon where I can as I do have a few plants that hate the stuff. Thanks for your input Alastair and Chris I hope the changes show me some good things going on. Thanks

 

[CeeJay]

Hi jazjac

At the risk of going off topic here you more or less say that T5's are asking for trouble

I'm not saying your asking for trouble but your CO2, flow, ferts and maintenance needs to be spot on, as you've already found out.

so what lights did you go for after the binmen stole your T5's Chris?

Me, I've gone to the other extreme now. I am currently experimenting with 6W of LED's on the 180L . Obviously, the tank looks dimmer, but everything has slowed down to a much more manageable pace, and I'm still managing to grow a lawn, but it's taking a long time to fill in, but that was to be expected. It now only needs trimming once every 4 weeks instead of every week 😀 . Other than that I only have 3 types of Crypts and a huge Bolbitis Huedelotii in there, but surprisingly enough the Bolbitis is positively booming under the lower light.

Put me right here if I am off the mark here but if I remove the reflectors I am reducing the demand on the CO2 and the plants but should still achieve good results and get some pearling going on as that is not really happening too much as things stand right now.

You will definitely achieve good results removing the reflectors and you will definitely get some pearling going on, but don't chase the pearling as your indicator for healthy plants.