5 replies to this topic

[dazzabozza]

A nice thorough article on CO2 and plants. Also a DIY kit. Might be useful to be kept as a sticky post.

http://www.qsl.net/w...ria/diyco2.html

Dazza


Edit 15/7/09 - new working link - http://web.archive.o...ria/diyco2.html

[Mr_docfish]

A more clear warning should come with this Link. Too much CO2 is dangerous in the aquarium, so test kits MUST be obtained to measure the KH and pH as least (there are CO2 test too which are better) and one MUST understand the chart within the link of KH vs pH ~ CO2. I have had customers with situations of bottles exploding and CO2 dumping on hot days etc, so care should be taken. And remember, less is more. And CO2 on its own wont help the plants grow better, if the other requirements are not met, like lighting, Macro and Trace Elements etc. Get these right first, then contemplate CO2.
Good link though, very thorough, but some 'issues' should have been highlighted.

[mm123]

ive also read this link. very very good. although i find my CO2 generator to last only 2 weeks. Never had any problems what so ever. Double your redundancy with 2L bottles running in series after your generators to just make sure on those hot days inside the house when your not home the yeast doesnt spill through into your tank. Dont know who has had theirs explode, must have overlooked the entire concept...lol. i can only laugh at their stupid mistake.

I also had to laugh when a certain aquarium shop tried to sell me a CO2 "generator" which ended up being a 100 dollar peice of plastic that you sit inside your tank and drop a little block of carbonate into.... ill take my yeast and sugar anyday, for the price of a one way valve and some spare silicon tubing... woopee!! might not be as high tech as a co2 bottle but it has certainly improved the growth of my plants alongside a few good ferts...

[temptazn]

oh wow i never heard of that trick with just dropping in some carbonate in... so in theory wouldnt baking soda work?? it IS in fact sodium bicarbonate after all... neither elements are harmful to plants or fish i think (correct me if im wrong).

also couldnt u then just pour a bottle of carbonated water (soda water) into the tank? Ive heard of people doing this with java moss and making them pearl which is a pretty hard thing to do apparently.

Vic

[sydad]

oh wow i never heard of that trick with just dropping in some carbonate in... so in theory wouldnt baking soda work?? it IS in fact sodium bicarbonate after all... neither elements are harmful to plants or fish i think (correct me if im wrong).

also couldnt u then just pour a bottle of carbonated water (soda water) into the tank? Ive heard of people doing this with java moss and making them pearl which is a pretty hard thing to do apparently.

Vic

Hello Vic,

You are of course correct about baking soda being sodium bicarbonate. This chemical is commonly used to increase the alkalinity of aquarium water, so judicious use of this substance is required if the addition is not to create problems: in other words it is very "capable" of being harmful to both plants and fish if misused. A problem that may arise with use of baking soda is that plants, under the influence of sufficient light, are capable of removing carbon dioxide from it, leaving behind the much more alkaline sodium carbonate ("washing soda"). This explains to some extent the pH swings sometimes experienced between night-time (dark) and daytime (light) readings.

As for using soda water, this is quite acceptable as far as plants are concerned, but unless only very small quantities are employed, may spell disaster for fishes, as CO2 reach sufficient concentrations to cause asphxiation of fishes. Note that before this occurs, respiration initally increases, then slows as anaesthesia occurs. If sufficient CO2 is present the fishes eventually die.

The "pearling" after adding soda water, to which you allude, is probably excess CO2 escaping, rather than the supposed oxygen increased by the addition of the soda water.

Regards, Syd.

[temptazn]

Hi Syd

Good point. Well im not going to try teh baking soda or soda water anytime soon... just wanted to clarify this 'theory' i heard with the more experienced people here.

Cheers

Vic