zvargulis

I have just started a proper planted tank.
im trying to go for that jungle look :-)
previously i had a couple of plants that were really good growers (cant remember the name)
always green. but i have just redon the tank and added about 5 more plants and cut up some of the old plant to distribute it around.

My question is i have previously had a bubble wall going 10 hours a day (on the timer with my light) because there is more plants is that bubble wall going to suck all the CO2 out and make those plants die off or not grow luciously.

what would be the ideal way to control CO2 and O2? someone told me have the bubble wall on at night when plants arnt making O2 and have a CO2 source i was thinking of getting one of those cheap diffusers as in my other post.



tell me what you think

sirdarksol

There are two camps on the CO2/O2 thing:
One camp (which I belong to) does not turn CO2 off at night, because turning the CO2 off causes a sudden rise in pH.
The other camp does turn CO2 off at night because leaving it on would cause a drop in pH, as the plants began adding their own CO2 to the mix.
Either way, you'll end up with a change in pH. In the former case, there will be a gradual, possibly slightly larger change in pH. In the latter, there will be a more sudden, but likely smaller change. I go for the more gradual change.

As far as O2, you generally don't have to worry about it. CO2 doesn't take O2 space until there's really a lot of it. Most people with CO2 systems never have to worry about it. (I think that if you had two diffusers going in a 10g tank, you might run into a problem).

ER9

i think i remember reading somewhere that co2 doesn't get to toxic levels until it gets around 50ppm. thats alot of co2. i'm struggling with a yeast system to even get it to 10ppm.

zvargulus in case you havn't found one yet...there are some great charts floating around the net that give you an idea of how much co2 is in your water based on your KH and PH.

http://www.aquatic-plants.org/articl...hph_table.html

heres one