Who has experience in C02 planted tanks

[James5214]

I know this is a saltwater forum but this is home to me and I feel like most people here have had freshwater tanks. So I finally got my 5lb C02 tank for my freshwater planted 55gallon community tank. And finally opened the co2art regulator and diffuser and C02 air tubing that I purchased months ago. So excited! Anyone have experience in this and have any pointers and tips on C02 tanks. When is best to turn on C02 and turn off c02. Putting this together as we speak to get installed into tank

 

[Tathamet]

I turn mine on and off 1-2 hours before lights on/off

edit: also start slow if you already have fish in the tank. it’s easy to over do it and suffocate the fish. Co2 drop checkers take a couple hours to stabilize so you could be over doing it without knowing.

 

[James5214]

I have a drop checker and fluid. And I have a dual stage regulator and has a bubble counter as well. Will be starting off slowly letting into tank and watching drop checker

 

[James5214]

Regulator and solenoid

 

[DerpFish]

I know this is a saltwater forum but this is home to me and I feel like most people here have had freshwater tanks. So I finally got my 5lb C02 tank for my freshwater planted 55gallon community tank. And finally opened the co2art regulator and diffuser and C02 air tubing that I purchased months ago. So excited! Anyone have experience in this and have any pointers and tips on C02 tanks. When is best to turn on C02 and turn off c02. Putting this together as we speak to get installed into tank

I've had a planted tank running with CO2 for 5+ years. I by no means consider myself an expert but when I was doing the research to set it up most things suggested having the CO2 start an hour or so before the lights come on and stop about an hour before lights go out. I haven't looked into it further since setting it up so things might have changed, but this is how I run my tank and I haven't noticed any issues. Also, make sure to start off slow and introduce changes very slowly. I once did a heavy pruning without adjusting my CO2 and almost killed all my fish because there were fewer plants to eat up the CO2 and convert it to oxygen.

 

[Tathamet]

I have a drop checker and fluid. And I have a dual stage regulator and has a bubble counter as well. Will be starting off slowly letting into tank and watching drop checker

perfect you should be good to go then!

Also note: if the instructions say to add the drop checker fluid to aquarium water or tap water don’t do that. You’ll want to make a standard 4dkh solution to add it to. Easy enough to make with a quick google search and distilled/ro water and baking soda.

if its telling you to use just the fluid straight on its own you should be good to go as is.

 

[Tathamet]

Yes I agree with @DerpFish. It’s all a balance of light, nutrients, co2 and the amount of plants you have. One being off could cause issues. But don’t worry too much. It will all be a bit of trial and error in the beginning until you can get that balance.

 

[Tathamet]

This is my 10 gallon currently at my office. Setup with a Sodastream canister.

note the Monte Carlo is a bit yellow after a big trimming (was almost 2” thick and bright green!)

I also had a ton of stem plants but I removed them recently as it didn’t work for the look I wanted.

edit: looks like I just ran out of co2 as well lol.

 

[James5214]

Thanks for the advice guys will post more pics once I get it setup

 

[James5214]

This is CO2 fluid I have

 

[Tathamet]

Thanks for the advice guys will post more pics once I get it setup

Looking forward to see it!

oh another thing. I’d also recommend filling the bubble counter with distilled water. It prevents lime build up and you don’t have to worry if it gets into the tank. I’ve heard of others using propylene glycol or mineral oil as it slows down the bubbles to count easier and doesn’t evaporate as you can see mine has.

 

[Tathamet]

This is CO2 fluid I have

You should be good to use this one as is without the 4dkh solution I was referring to.

 

[Mschmidt]

I had a big black beard algae outbreak when I started my CO2. Killed the algae with a blackout of 3 days and then kicked up the CO2. my advice is keep flow in the tank so everything gets the CO2 and ferts. Seriously consider ferts too. Your plants will likely grow like crazy.
This is good advice:

I turn mine on and off 1-2 hours before lights on/off

edit: also start slow if you already have fish in the tank. it’s easy to over do it and suffocate the fish. Co2 drop checkers take a couple hours to stabilize so you could be over doing it without knowing.

This was the timing I used.

I've had a planted tank running with CO2 for 5+ years. I by no means consider myself an expert but when I was doing the research to set it up most things suggested having the CO2 start an hour or so before the lights come on and stop about an hour before lights go out. I haven't looked into it further since setting it up so things might have changed, but this is how I run my tank and I haven't noticed any issues. Also, make sure to start off slow and introduce changes very slowly. I once did a heavy pruning without adjusting my CO2 and almost killed all my fish because there were fewer plants to eat up the CO2 and convert it to oxygen.

Yes I agree with @DerpFish. It’s all a balance of light, nutrients, co2 and the amount of plants you have. One being off could cause issues. But don’t worry too much. It will all be a bit of trial and error in the beginning until you can get that balance.

Final advice: keep your defuser clean. I have a cheap in line that plugged up 6+ months ago that I need to replace. Haven't been running CO2 since then.

Edit: the bba was caused by CO2 being too low and poor flow.

 

[Tathamet]

Very good point as well! My first time using mine I let it plug up and the pressure built up a lot (didn’t realize it was plugged so I kept turning up the bubble rate)Scared the crap out of me when the line shot off the diffuser and sounded like an air cannon haha.

now I soak my ceramic disks in bleach water for 30 minutes every two weeks. Rinse then soak with water and prime for 30.

it’s also a good idea to have 2 diffusers/disks so you can use one while the other is being cleaned. Not absolutely needed though.

 

[Tathamet]

@Mschmidt Btw is that a wheaten in your profile pic? Miss my old buddy. He was a purebred Irish soft coated wheaten terrier.

sorry for derailing a bit lol

 

[James5214]

Here's the set up guys nothing fancy. Time to start the chemistry and balance. May need to turn pressure up diffuser isn't bubbling.

 

[SilverBulletPRN]

Turn co2 on an hour before lights on and off an hour before lights off.
Depending on how big or small your tank is, a bubble counter might be nice or worthless, gotta slowly adjust up to where the plants are pearling but not suffocate your fish (where they're going up to the water line and gasping for air)

 

[James5214]

I know it's hard for you guys to see but the diffuser is bubbling turned up the amount of pressure going to diffuser.. now to await and watch the drop checker change

 

[Mschmidt]

@Mschmidt Btw is that a wheaten in your profile pic? Miss my old buddy. He was a purebred Irish soft coated wheaten terrier.

sorry for derailing a bit lol

He's an Airedale. Great dog, but kind of a lot. He occasionally sees the fish and snaps at them. I think he gets confused about the floating.

 

[Tathamet]

Here's the set up guys nothing fancy. Time to start the chemistry and balance. May need to turn pressure up diffuser isn't bubbling.

I know it's hard for you guys to see but the diffuser is bubbling turned up the amount of pressure going to diffuser.. now to await and watch the drop checker change

Dang unfortunately I can’t seem to view videos on this site on either my phone or windows desktop.

what’s your working pressure at? I believe around 25psi is where I keep mine at. You can’t see it in my previous pic since the tank is empty lol.