CO2 affordable???

[Phlipper]

Hi Mark, nice to hear from you again ................I have been mucking around with different set ups quite a bit from your initial good guidance, and the set up I have installed has made a remarkable difference, as you can see. Having the Co2 entering the water column from the bottom of the tank and for the whole length is spot on. The double reactors on each end of the delivery pipe diffuse the Co2 very efficiently { only one end is shown in the picture} and only emits Co2 enriched water from the numerous holes, unless an excess build up of Co2 is produced and then there may be some bubbles rise up. I reckon this system has 99% diffusion rate, virtually no wasted gas :P

I can say in all honesty that my DIY Co2 rig is just as effective as any pressurised system, I just use the cheap and economical Wardleys fertiliser and plants need pruning almost weekly. The tanks have become overgrown and apart from regular pruning I haven't got the heart to pull them up, thicker the better I say and the fish love it, no illnesses at all and crystal clear water always.

[aks]

damn man well done what a heavy plantation there...i am totally drooloing all over my keyboard tell me how many plants did you started with....and what kinda plants.

***a few more pics will be awesome***

a few more questions man when you started the tank did you need an airstone for oxygen??? as i bilieve plants will be doing that job now and how much light you have put on and how many hours a day?

[Phlipper]

My tanks are either overhead dry/wet trickle systems, all built in, they dont appear to deliver much oxygen to the water, just a few little bubbles but plenty of surface movement.............so to answer your question I have neither applied anymore or less oxygen than the tanks have always had, if that makes sense ?

I have a 3 light set up on all my tanks, 1 x tri-phosphor, 1 x power-glo, 1 x gro-lux...pretty standard lighting really. I have them on usually for 11 hours each day, but I do vary it a bit from time to time. Ad far as plants go, there are at least 15 types I have, but I lose count, most have been there for at least 9 months. I placed quite a lot in all at once from the start and then they grew and I pruned and replanted repeatedly until the present result, the only plants that dont grow very well are the red varieties, I need more lights for that. I have always used a mix of fast growing varieties initially to help keep algae under control until the slower growing varieties take root.

I have different varieties of Swords, Vallis, Wisteria, Ambulia, Telanthera, Ludwigia, Anubias, varieties of Rotala, Star Plants etc etc etc. I'll find some better pix sometime, catch ya.

[aks]

very informative man and very beautiful aquarium and yes i will love more pics

[mtchye]

That is a fantastic idea to use those pressure bottles. The mix you suggest seems to have very little water... wouldn't 3 cups of water not dissolve 3 cups of sugar? Perhaps you mean 3 litres of water (looks like that is the level of water from the pic)?

[Phlipper]

No just 3 cups of water is what's needed, the recipe is pretty standard and is what I have always used. There is a large airspace at the top, but no matter because that air space is all Co2 anyway. I believe the idea is to have a very concentrated sugar/yeast/carb-soda mix so dissolving that much sugar into the same quantity of warm water takes a bit of shaking, but it will dissolve. The larger tank has a double mixture in two bottles, so it's 6 cups sugar and the same with water, but the 150 litre tanks have the 3 cup mix as described. Since I took the photos I have been using 3 litre spray packs instead of the 5 litre as they are just that bit smaller and cheaper to buy {$7 from Big W } and i can fit them into my cupboard side by side.............see picture

[Phlipper]

Bit hard to photograph, but you can see one of the reactors on one end of the tank connected to the delivery pipe running along the back of the tank at substrate level, not visible at all from the front.

I'm very pleased with this design, it works wonderfully well, and considering I dont have any special substrate, just gravel, and my lighting is basic I think the results indicate there is an excellent Co2 diffusion rate.
All up for my 6 foot tank the set up has cost me.........$14 for two spray packs // two small gravel vac tubes $12 // poly pipe was $5 and two small 200lph pumps on each of the reactor tops for $20 // TOTAL = $46 approx.

You dont necesarily need the two small pumps as I have, it could be rigged to your main filter or one pump, personally I dont like rigging it to my main filter pump as it restricts some filtering operation. My $10 pumps are plugged into my light timer and turn off along with the lights so an excess of Co2 doesn't build up overnight when it's not being used by the plants, and the Co2 then just bubbles away to oblivian, or somewhere in that region .................simple :P

[TomNS]

great thread,

So you don't see much in the way of PH swings - I was thinking of an inline valve to switch off when the lights go off - do you find that it is not necessary?

Cheers
Tom

[Nathan]

i think you will find it necessary to 'switch off' (you cant completely stop co2 with yeast based) when the lights are off, i think it may end up stressing out if not killing the fish due to anoxia.

im not a big fan of putting anything inline either, i just think that the cannister filter was made and designed to filter your water not to help operate other little bits an pieces.

also makes things messy IMO an harder to clean out your filter

[ellwa]

i think you will find it necessary to 'switch off' (you cant completely stop co2 with yeast based) when the lights are off, i think it may end up stressing out if not killing the fish due to anoxia.

im not a big fan of putting anything inline either, i just think that the cannister filter was made and designed to filter your water not to help operate other little bits an pieces.

also makes things messy IMO an harder to clean out your filter

I found that while running yeast based CO2 I didn't have any problems with stressed out fish or anything like that.

But going by Amanos method, pump oxygen in at night, and then in the morning, oxygen goes off, CO2 comes on.