My new toy...

[moosejac]

Got this a few days ago, and I'm already getting results! It uses a disposable cartridge, and is supposed to last 173 days at 6 bubbles per minute. I have not had a noticeable drop in PH or KH...is there anything else I should be watching for? These are pics of the CO2 system, and the tank at the time of starting dosing. I will post later pic's to show growth.

 

[moosejac]

check that...I just tested ph, and it has dropped to 7.8. It stayed around 8.2-8.0 for the first 3 days, but today has shown a definate drop...should I buffer,or just let it be?

 

[3D-Reef]

I wonder if 6 bubbles/minute is enough.Since your not getting a drop in Ph?Is that the max out put or just how they calculated it?

 

[3D-Reef]

Answering My question before I ask huh?

 

[3D-Reef]

As long as your Kh stays up I don't see a problem.

 

[Samala]

Hmmm. Is the alkalinity the same as usual? If so, you are enriching the tank for CO2, causing the pH drop. Check those levels.

It looks pretty cool.. does it stay on overnight? Thats when I had trouble with dosing.. when I left it on at night. Stinkin' phyto bloom followed.

I'm so excited everyone seems to be toeing the line with CO2. :strooper:

>Sarah

 

[mr. bojangsjang]

Moosejac, What is your substrate made how and how many inches? Looks good.

That c02 system looks sweet, how much was it? Although the diffuser looks a tad ghetto though

 

[moosejac]

I started at 6/min to see what happened and to see how much difference I would see. I haven't checked alk, but I will. I have been running 24/7, and no problems yet (knock, knock). How much (bubbles per min) do you all do? I want to crank it up, but am afraid...

Nathan

 

[Samala]

I think my notes say 2 bubbles a minute. Hard to read.. wrote in pen and got saltwater on it.

You want enough to compensate for the CO2 being used in the tank. I have no idea what enriching (which will drop the pH) will do. Other than grow the plants better, which I'm sure will happen, I dont know how acid water plays into other chemical reactions going on in the tank.

>Sarah

 

[moosejac]

ohhhhhh, I thought I was running it slow with 6 per min, but if you got all that growth from 2 per, than I won't go any higher.

mr. bojangs, the substrate is about 4" of CaribSea AragaMud, which is a mix of sand and mud. The diffuser is just the powerhead that came with it, and I only had it out in view for photo. It is now behind the powerhead, almost entirely out of view. As far as cost, I got it from the Hydor rep at a trade show...a perk of working at LFS. I think he said it will retail at around $100.

Nathan

 

[Samala]

Well I found this in the CO2 Magic! thread:

I'm dosing about 1 bubble / 10 seconds on average.

So I take it back, I think your 6 bubbles / minute is right on. Or at least it wasnt crazily high or low for the tank I had.

Now.. the question is.. since your tank is twice the size of mine.. will it need a higher rate of bubbles? I think the dispenser you have is more or less pure CO2, yes? My source was a yeast-sugar culture, so CO2 wasnt the only exhalation.

It will be really interesting to see how this goes.

We still need an ingenious way to relate pH and alk to get to CO2 in ppm in our tanks folks. Any thoughts?

>Sarah

 

[moosejac]

Finally found time to post an update. Took the weekend off to have a garage sale, and its raining like crazy here in Wichita, so needless to say the sale is not going as planned.

I've been getting great results with the CO2, and the growth I've had in the last month have been tremendous. I have increased bubble rate to around 20/per min, and am dosing Fe and NO3 every day, along with 2 daily feedings of frozen mysis for the seahorses and my little boxfish, Crouton.

The day I started dosing the CO2, there where 6 shoots of Turtle grass and 7 shoots of Shoal, and today I have 12 shoots of Turtle grass, with roots going in three different directions and at least 60 shoots of the Shoal.

and the pic's...

this is Crouton

and the ugly Frogfish

 

[graveyardworm]

So in one month your Thallasia has sent up 6 new leaf shoots ( not sure what to call them) Basically doubling in growth? How long was the tank set up with Thallasia prior to adding the CO2?

After Sarahs thread and now this I am very interested in trying on some CO2. Only thing is my tank/system contains corals, but I think we gotta find out what potential this may have, after all corals contain plants so if PH can be kept in check do you think there may be any adverse effects?

Moosejac, where did you purchase this? Is there possibly a less expensive way to dose CO2? which is measurable without potential impurities?

 

[mr. bojangsjang]

Did I see a seahorse in there? Has your frogfish trampled any macros or anything?

How many pounds of sand do you have in there? The DSB doesn't look very deep but I cant really tell.

 

[moosejac]

graveyard,
The tank has been set-up about 6 months, and I've had the Thallasia for about 5 of those. I started with 2 rhizomes w/ 3 plants each, and it stayed that way until this past month, since the addition of the CO2.

I have had mixed results with corals since the addition of the CO2. I had some xenia that seemed to recede and finally die off after starting the CO2, but the ricordea mushrooms that are in there have not shown any signs of stress. I have not had a huge problem with ph swings with the CO2, but maybe enough to affect more sensitive corals, such as the xenia.

I was told by the Hydor rep who I got the system from that it would sell for around $100, which is a bit better than more elaborate systems I've seen. As far as maybe making one yourself, I would check with Samala or 3D-Reef, as I know they both run home-made reactors.

mr. bajangs,
I have a pair of Kelloggi seahorses, and the frogfish is about the size of a grape, so he hasn't caused too much damage...yet.

The tank has 120 pounds of AragaMud, making for about a 4" bed

 

[3D-Reef]

We still need an ingenious way to relate pH and alk to get to CO2 in ppm in our tanks folks. Any thoughts?

>Sarah

The ocean contains about 88% bicarbonate,11%carbonate and 1%carbonic acid.(Stumm and Morgan,1996)

Proye and Gattuso (2003) have a program for caculating Co2 in sea water.

The way I've been figuring it for my tank is,I take the P04 reading and work backwards.A reading of 0.125 ppm x 106 = 13.25 ppm.Which works out to 0.05 drop in PH.That is figuring 30 ppm per 0.1 drop in PH.

 

[Samala]

Excellent info. I'll have to dig up that formula for CO2 concentration. I'm really interested to see if we have optimal ppm levels for planted tanks.

And I'm kinda hoping these Hydor guys go on the market soon. I'm starting to really want one.

>Sarah

 

[graveyardworm]

OOOOh its not even for sale yet. Wish I had connections.

Sarah I know I've read through you CO2 dosing thread and I may have to read through it again, but I'm curious how you're dosing CO2. For some reason I thought you were using bottled CO2.

 

[Samala]

Nope, just DIY CO2 coke bottles for now. I'd like to go the canister route.. just a matter of getting the time to acquire the parts, or find someone who is letting one go. The bottles work okay, just inconsistent and dont last very long.

>Sarah

 

[3D-Reef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8204943#post8204943 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Samala
The bottles work okay, just inconsistent and dont last very long.

>Sarah

And thats if you get good yeast.