How much CO2?

[Jozle]

Wondering if 1.5bps is safe for a 30 gallon hex tank that has fire red shrimps, gouramis, and figure 8 puffer.

[Totenkampf]

probably but i always start off lower and than i think and work my way up. a drop checker helps get you in the ballpark but you also need to observe the fish for gasping and monitor the pH / hardness

[wesleydnunder]

Leave a glass of water out overnight. Test the ph. This is your baseline. Add co2 to the tank until the ph drops a full log. This is around 25 ppm. Adjust your bps to hold at that ph. Like tote said, monitor your fish all the while for stress/ gasping.

Mark

[Sea-agg09]

Wondering if 1.5bps is safe for a 30 gallon hex tank that has fire red shrimps, gouramis, and figure 8 puffer.

I'm going to not comment on the Fig.8..

Pick up a drop checker. A plastic one will cost you $10. You will save yourself a ton of headaches. There is no way to tell how much is enough just based on BPS and the tank size. It really depends on your plant stocking, light levels, nitrogen/phos levels, iron and other elements. In short, plants will metabolize CO2 as fast as they can allowing for other limiting factors. Because you can't measure or even estimate other factors, just get a drop checker and see what is too much.

I will add, the first thing to drop are going to be the fire shrimp. If they start kicking off, your pH is not stable.

[TexSun]

Re: How much CO2?

I'm going to not comment on the Fig.8..

Pick up a drop checker. A plastic one will cost you $10. You will save yourself a ton of headaches. There is no way to tell how much is enough just based on BPS and the tank size. It really depends on your plant stocking, light levels, nitrogen/phos levels, iron and other elements. In short, plants will metabolize CO2 as fast as they can allowing for other limiting factors. Because you can't measure or even estimate other factors, just get a drop checker and see what is too much.

I will add, the first thing to drop are going to be the fire shrimp. If they start kicking off, your pH is not stable.

^ Yep.

[Jozle]

Ordered one already, checked my ph since the co2 has been funning for a week now and ph is at 7.2, which is kind of strange to me.

[Sea-agg09]

Test it in the morning, mid-day, and at night.... you'll notice some fluctuation. Plants use up CO2 as they need it depending on the rate of photosynthesis.

[Totenkampf]

Leave a glass of water out overnight. Test the ph. This is your baseline. Add co2 to the tank until the ph drops a full log. This is around 25 ppm. Adjust your bps to hold at that ph. Like tote said, monitor your fish all the while for stress/ gasping.

Mark

i always forget about this method, is this essentially the same mechanism as a drop checker? there are charts for the relationship between pH / kH / and dissolved CO2 as well but i never use it since it doesnt work when you add buffers and i usually do add buffers.

[Jozle]

I've never seen my plants pearling before. Is it good sign I'm guessing? ph is all good, puffer got moved, and shrimp colours seem to be more vibrant than usual.

[Totenkampf]

pearling means excellent. that only happens when the plant is running on all cylinders.

[wesleydnunder]

i always forget about this method, is this essentially the same mechanism as a drop checker? there are charts for the relationship between pH / kH / and dissolved CO2 as well but i never use it since it doesnt work when you add buffers and i usually do add buffers.

I think you're referring to Chuck Gadd's chart, Tote. Back in the 80s when I first tried live plants we didn't have internet or any of the other reliable resources we have now to gauge co2. When Chuck came out with that chart detailing the relationsjip between co2/ph/kh I saw the pattern. Always, to get in the 25 to 30 ppm range, the ph dropped a full log, regardless of the kh. So, as long as I kept the ph in that range, I always had my co2 in the ball park. I used a teledyne regulator that had a rock-solid needle valve so once set, stayed at the output I needed. I always kept the injected tanks very heavily planted and added fert accordingly. I agree with sea-agg that there are several factors involved in deciding how much to inject. My first post assumed high light and heavy planting. I know better to assume and should have asked the OP more about his set up.

Mark

[Jozle]

Man you're old. Dinosaur old.