Do you use indoor plants to decrease Co2
- Thread starter jokervueboi
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Bad Company
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Seems a bit tinfoil-hatty. You don't see houseplants in the LFS, and they have 100x the fish that we do... Your refugeum can add O2 though..
nelson.jdautobody
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That's funny you bring that up because I actually have 2 house plants (one on each end) next to my aquarium. I only put them there because I like house plants for looks same and because supposedly they can clean the air u breath (not sure that 2 or 3 plants can actually make a difference but it's at least a placebo-lol), and it's a good source of outside light for them when I open the living room window or front door for some morning/afternoon light. But since I don't measure the co2 in my tank I can't really tell u if it has any positive or negative effects-my corals don't seem to mind it tho 
redfishbluefish
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This is actually a very neat potential solution to houses that has a CO2 problem because of it being too "tight" of having a combustible heating source.
Photosysthesis utilizes CO2, and in the process "expels" oxygen. I'm totally guessing here, but I would think you would need a good number of plants to consume the CO2....not to mention a light source to keep the plants alive. But I'm liking the thinking going on. Maybe only one plant is a start to lowering the CO2 issue. I think it's a better solution than a CO2 scrubber.
Photosysthesis utilizes CO2, and in the process "expels" oxygen. I'm totally guessing here, but I would think you would need a good number of plants to consume the CO2....not to mention a light source to keep the plants alive. But I'm liking the thinking going on. Maybe only one plant is a start to lowering the CO2 issue. I think it's a better solution than a CO2 scrubber.
stl_rock_guy
Community Member
I have about 20 different plants throughout my house. Ranging from a large rubber plant to a small cactus. They do help clean the air in my house
jt17
Valuable Member
I just got some snake plants. It says that they consume more co2 at night then day.[/
Im afraid you received some bad info
Paintguru
In need of tank
I just got some snake plants. It says that they consume more co2 at night then day.[/
Im afraid you received some bad info
Actually, according to this source, you are incorrect.
Oxygen producing plants in the home are great factors of longevity.
#2 Snake Plant a.k.a. Mother-In-Law’s Tongue: Of all the different oxygen producing plants, this one is unique since it converts a lot of CO2 (carbon dioxide) to O2 (oxygen) at night, making it ideal to have several in your bedroom. 6-8 waist high plants are needed per person to survive if there is no air flow (meaning you could live in a completely air sealed room if you had these plants and the Areca Palms present). The snake plant also removes formaldehyde from the air.
More as to why.
Plants and Night Oxygen Production
OP
OP
jokervueboi
Active Member
Yep that is exactly what i thought i was getting into. I also looked into how easily propagated the snake plants are. So i have a few pots of snake plants now!
I might get a few snake plants now! I actually have a CO2 monitor near my tank. Wasn't too expensive and wanted to see the effect of increased CO2 on my tank pH. If the house is completely closed up with the A/C running and with people around the CO2 level during the day can rise over 1000 ppm and can keep my pH from rising above 8.1 but if there is a window open and no people around the CO2 level stays around 350 ppm (outdoor level) and pH in the tank gets up to 8.35. Adding plants will be a good experiment!
cdness
2006 - Present
My PH used to drop to 7.5 - 7.6 when we were all home and would jump to 8.2 when we were gone for an extended period of time. After adding the plant I still have a drop, but I rarely see it drop below 7.8 now. I know they make a difference, It's just that you would need a jungle to make a huge impact.
My CO2 levels are so high that a CO2 scrubber is exhausted in less than 48 hours. It will never be cost effective to run one of those.
My CO2 levels are so high that a CO2 scrubber is exhausted in less than 48 hours. It will never be cost effective to run one of those.
Nitr8
Community Member
Very interesting. I have a lot of plants outside but only one very small cactus inside. I will probably look into some indoor plants in the near future. I don't have a CO2/pH issue with my tank but hey, it might help to keep it that way. Thanks.
jt17
Valuable Member
Actually they are degassing their o2 at night. the photosynthetic chemical reaction can only occur with light. So in a way were both right. The o2 is created during the day and released at night.
"Some plants (particularly those of dry regions, e.g., deserts) only open their stomates at night to avoid drying out to intake CO2 (and output O2) (CAM photosynthesis)" Anthony R. Brach, PhD Missouri Botanical Garden.."
Crassulacean acid metabolism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Whether day or night plants are good for our families and our tanks.
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