| CO2 |
Subject: CO2 by mervyn on 10/4/2013 12:08:34 Hi I installed a CO2 pressurised setup last Thursday and have gradually upped the bubble rate. I am now injecting 6 buubles per second and have a nice green colour in my drop checker. The plants are not pearling and I was told that there was not enough CO2. I upped the bubble rate to 7/8 per second but then the fish started to hang around the top of the tank. I reverted back to 6 per second and they stopped hanging at the top. The ph has dropped now to 6.8/7ppm. I do not know whether it takes a week or two before plants start pearling or whether it is only certain plants. The other thing is that the black algae appears to be coming back...but it appears to be only at the very front of the tank and on the gravel, not masses of it but enough to annoy  .I have good circulation and flow now. I have an Eheim pro3 250, a new wave circulating at 800 lph pointing to the front but I can up it to 1600 lph (on the higher rate the plants really lean over. I am also using a reactor/diffuser run via a small submersible pump at 300lph but I believe it is more likely 200lph. I am wondering if I swapped the in tank diffuser for a glass ceramic one I would get better results and use the small submersible to add more to the flow. I am concerned about this re-appearance of black algae although I would not describe it as bba taking into account the pictures of black hair algae that I have seen. It is more like black dirt! but it is not dirt obviously. My thinking is that by using a ceramic diffuser it may ensure more CO2 may reach the plants. I am new to CO2 this and clutching at straws really.  |