Co2 regulator - > bubble count question type thing

[Nickguy5467]

so... i have my co2 turn on 1 1/2 hours before lights one on because pressure i guess is a normal thing so that i have sufficient co2 when lights come on , but it worries me that its still slow like 15 minutes before lights on i mean. most places i read suggest like a 30 minute turn on time before lights so it worries me that it has to be almost 2 hours for me like im doing something wrong. am i forgetting something?? maybe cleaning the diffusor if that helps? how often should i do that?

 

[SotaAquatics]

Ceramic diffusers are the least efficient way to inject CO2 in my experience, they will need frequent care and cleaning. The larger the bubbles/mist coming out, then the more CO2 will just instantly degas at the surface.

Your bubble count or how much CO2 you are putting in is probably a contributing factor, you may have to turn it up a bit as well to get CO2 to your target range. However if you have a gunked up diffuser then you will just be losing more CO2 to surface gas exchange.

As far as when you turn your system on, its highly variable. I have a system where I made a really goofy reactor that requires CO2 to come on about 6 hours before my lights do, but then it has enough CO2 in the reactor that the CO2 system turns off about 6 hours before lights go off and keeps it 30 ppm entire time. I don't think two hours is too extreme for a normal ceramic diffuser set up, especially depending on the size of the tank and water flow.

 

[Nickguy5467]

Ceramic diffusers are the least efficient way to inject CO2 in my experience, they will need frequent care and cleaning. The larger the bubbles/mist coming out, then the more CO2 will just instantly degas at the surface.

Your bubble count or how much CO2 you are putting in is probably a contributing factor, you may have to turn it up a bit as well to get CO2 to your target range. However if you have a gunked up diffuser then you will just be losing more CO2 to surface gas exchange.

As far as when you turn your system on, its highly variable. I have a system where I made a really goofy reactor that requires CO2 to come on about 6 hours before my lights do, but then it has enough CO2 in the reactor that the CO2 system turns off about 6 hours before lights go off and keeps it 30 ppm entire time. I don't think two hours is too extreme for a normal ceramic diffuser set up, especially depending on the size of the tank and water flow.

my levels during the day are fine. im just confused about the start of the tank day i guess. as far as ive learned is you want it at 30ppm when the lights turn on. and i feel like its not doing that. maybe ill give my diffusor a bleach bath. and or increase the turn on time to 2 hours maybe. ill try cleaning it first(only problem with that is that the only times i remember that i need to clean it is when its currently in use and i dont want to deprive my plants of co2 for a day to clean it )

 

[SotaAquatics]

Haha yeah, that's my curse too. Don't think to clean or do something when its not in use, only when its not available. Two hours is fine in my opinion, even longer. Ceramic diffusers are not the most efficient, plus it takes about two hours for a drop checker to adjust to CO2 levels, so you could be at your 30 ppm when lights come on even if the drop checker doesn't show it yet.