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To test or wait?

Fluxtor

Fluxtor

Member
Joined
19 Mar 2024
Messages
95
Location
Bath
Hi all, so I'm very new to co2 and have a tank setup ready to go and plants on order. I've been dark starting the tank for 3 weeks and I've just rigged up the co2 ready for the delivery of plants this weekend. Would it be okay to run the c02 on a timer as a test before I plant or will it have a negative effect and cause algae? Obviously dark start I will drain down, plant and then refill so any co2 in the water should be removed. To be honest I think the dark start was probably a waste of time as I've had zero readings from all my param tests so I doubt the tank has even cycled yet.

Specs are:
Superfish Scaper 60
Oase Biomaster Thermo 250
Colombo Nutribase capped with Pool Filter Sand
Seiryu Stone and Redwood

The co2 will be from a pressurised bottle using a co2 art regulator and inline diffuser. I was only thinking of testing for a few hours on the timer to make sure it comes on and off as required!

TIA
 
Hi all,
Fluxtor said:
So okay to test then?
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I'm not a CO2 user, but I think people tend to get their CO2 levels dialled in while they don't have any fish etc.

You can play with where to put the drop checker etc., before you have any plants. Once you have plants in they will use some CO2, but at that point you are only doing fine tuning.

cheers Darrel
 
Trying to dial in the CO2 before livestock is a great idea, doing it before plants is even better IMO. As if the CO2 is dialled in correctly before the tank is planted then the plants only have to get use to the new 'stable' CO2 levels and not the fluctuating levels of CO2 you get when dialling in the CO2
 
Thanks guys! I've set it up on a timer but currently still not running any light. I will be draining the tank before I plant but hopefully by testing now I can get it dialled in as you say!
 
Question for the CO2 gurus, is it normal for the working pressure on the regulator to drop during operation?
 
Well, not a guru, but mine has not moved from this in 28 days.

IMG_1287.jpeg
 
When you first connect it all together you will have a pressure value say you set it to 3. When you then open the valve to start dispensing the co2 into the tank, the pressure drops a little maybe to 2.9 or suchlike.
 
This is mine currently. It's due to go off any minute. Should it maintain these readings even when off?
 

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Fluxtor said:
This is mine currently. It's due to go off any minute. Should it maintain these readings even when off?
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Mine have been off for two hours now, and it's the same as when it was on.
 
Fluxtor said:
This is mine currently. It's due to go off any minute. Should it maintain these readings even when off?
Click to expand...

Yes, this will stay the same. Your work pressure will slowly drop over time (as in months) as your CO2 canister slowly depletes itself of CO2 - I think this is correct anyway? Someone correct me if wrong 😀
 
Question, during maintenance (water changes) do you turn of you C02 and filters? I am running inline diffuser so does that make a difference? I'm currently doing daily water changes of around 30% and I usually wait for the C02 to turn off on the timer and turn the filter off as 30% takes the water line below my outlet!
 
Fluxtor said:
Question, during maintenance (water changes) do you turn of you C02 and filters? I am running inline diffuser so does that make a difference? I'm currently doing daily water changes of around 30% and I usually wait for the C02 to turn off on the timer and turn the filter off as 30% takes the water line below my outlet!
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I actually have a later photoperiod (from 15:00) so I do all my water changes in the morning before C02 comes on. Luckily for me, my inlet goes half way down the tank height so I can do a 50% water change without turning off the filter. (Which is great as I can keep getting oxygen to the closed system canister).
 
Bradders said:
I actually have a later photoperiod (from 15:00) so I do all my water changes in the morning before C02 comes on. Luckily for me, my inlet goes half way down the tank height so I can do a 50% water change without turning off the filter. (Which is great as I can keep getting oxygen to the closed system canister).
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Yeah it's a dilemma. Without filter maintenance a water change only takes me about 20 minutes currently but going forward when there's more to do I'm sure it will take a bit longer. I'm only running a 6 hour photoperiod currently from 15:00 -21:00 with the CO2 running from 14:00 - 20:00. this will change once the tank is fully cycled and I have live stock in there so just curious what to do with the C02 mainly. I will likely end up doing weekly maintenance on weekends so like you I guess I can just do it before the photoperiod and before the C02 comes on!

Cheers!
 
Fluxtor said:
Question, during maintenance (water changes) do you turn of you C02 and filters? I am running inline diffuser so does that make a difference? I'm currently doing daily water changes of around 30% and I usually wait for the C02 to turn off on the timer and turn the filter off as 30% takes the water line below my outlet!
Click to expand...

I turn my CO2 & Filters off during water change, smart plugs are convenient for water changes to disable/enable things from your phone or voice command. I wouldn't overthink it, just turn CO2 off (as your outlet will be above water level during water change so the CO2 would just be going straight into the atmosphere and thus wasted.

Bradders said:
I actually have a later photoperiod (from 15:00) so I do all my water changes in the morning before C02 comes on. Luckily for me, my inlet goes half way down the tank height so I can do a 50% water change without turning off the filter. (Which is great as I can keep getting oxygen to the closed system canister).
Click to expand...

I can't imagine a filter running an additional 10-20minutes per week would make any impact as it's such little time, but if you don't need to turn your filter off then may as well keep it running as it's one less thing to do every week! 🙂
 
FrozenShivers said:
I can't imagine a filter running an additional 10-20minutes per week would make any impact as it's such little time, but if you don't need to turn your filter off then may as well keep it running as it's one less thing to do every week! 🙂
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I leave it on as maint takes longer for me - and it’s on because I want DO to keep getting to my mates in the biomedia. (My only mates). 🤪
 
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