Should I turn off my C02 at night?

[djmatthewblack]

I just setup carbon on my planted tank and I was wondering if I should hook the power from the valving into the light timer so it shuts closed at night.

My tank looks great since I hooked up the carbon, the plants are pearling everywhere.

[eklikewhoa]

There are several ways you can approach this...

Me personally I would let it run 24/7 but adjust it slightly lower then you would if it was on a timer cause at night co2 will rise and pH might be effected.

[tnguyen]

agree with ek. Most of my tank are on 24/7. On nano tank, It's on a timer since the changes there can be huge.

[grillmasterp]

My tank looks great since I hooked up the carbon, the plants are pearling everywhere.

Glad the CO2 reactor worked out for you!
Running CO2 24/7 for larger volume tanks is fine. If CO2 is is stopped overnight, larger volume tanks will also take much longer return to proper CO2 levels.

[manifresh006]

Yeah like the guys say
And you might have a greater chance to run into BBA algae with the pH lowering and rising

[danielp]

What do you consider larger tanks? I'm running a 75 gallon plant tank and I run my co2 in concert with my lights for about 8 hours per day.

Do you feel that this is sufficient?

[tnguyen]

I should have mention also depending on the plant mass. 29 gallon and up I use 24/7. 10gal and below I do timer. Finding a balance to your setup is the key. I don't throw any fish or shrimp on a new setup until I the tank is balance. Usually 6-8 week. Got to have patience.

[wesleydnunder]

I guess I'm the oddball in the bunch. I run my co2 on my 125 gal. on a separate timer from the lights. I bring the co2 on two hours before the lights come on and turn the co2 off one hour before the lights go off. There is a swing in co2 concentration but, IMO, an acceptable one. My plants are vibrant and lush and my discus aren't stressed. I got the idea for using a different timer for my co2 and the on/off period from Tom Barr.

Mark

[manifresh006]

What do you consider larger tanks? I'm running a 75 gallon plant tank and I run my co2 in concert with my lights for about 8 hours per day.

Do you feel that this is sufficient?

Well depending on the plant mass or wat plants you have....
Also the amount of co2 that its getting injected
The substrate being used
The lights

Most if not all thanks should to fine with 1 bubble per second and 8 hours of (Adequate) light

But will do even better if your nutrients are balanced nutrients are the key towards growth and health of the plants

Ppl might have the best light, filter, and aquarium in the world but if the nutrients of tank are not balanced it aint going nowhere

And like tnguyen said Patience and lots of it with planted tanks

I guess I'm the oddball in the bunch. I run my co2 on my 125 gal. on a separate timer from the lights. I bring the co2 on two hours before the lights come on and turn the co2 off one hour before the lights go off. There is a swing in co2 concentration but, IMO, an acceptable one. My plants are vibrant and lush and my discus aren't stressed. I got the idea for using a different timer for my co2 and the on/off period from Tom Barr.

I was doing same thing last time b4 the algae and it also did GREAT only thing was my tank wasn't balanced AND found out timer was messing up LOL

[danielp]

The table is a little distorted can you increase the font size? or copy us on the link.

thanks

[danielp]

ignore i clicked into it and all is good

[danielp]

I'm good on the lightning running 230 watts on a 75 gallon tank. My ph measures about 6.8 and my water hardness is a 3.

Based on the co2/kh/ph table I'm running in the green zone which indicates a good balance.

I run my co2 on a timer in sync with my lights.

The only thing I'm not seeing is any pearling on my plants. I've recently changed from a diffuser to a reactor that's in line with my return since I've done this I'm not seeing any pearling.

Is pearrling truly an indication of anything? Do i need to inject more co2? I also add Florin-K Potassium daily and add flourish excel after water changes.

Any suggestions for maybe fine tuning this a little bit?

Thanks

[wesleydnunder]

I think good healthy plant growth is more important than seeing bubbles all over the plants. Some folks have to see pearling, others don't. My plants don't pearl very much but again, growth is prolific. Adding excel with co2 injection is a waste, IMO, unless you're trying to address a particular algae issue with the excel. Once you get the tank balanced, you shouldn't need the excel to combat algae. You're dosing K but not NO3. You may need to dose NO3 but you can test to see if you need additional nitrate. Do you dose trace elements of any kind?

Mark

[danielp]

I've got total substrate pellets from aquariumplants.com. What trace element product do you reccommend?

[wesleydnunder]

I use a mix that contains Plantex CSM+B, a proven trace mix. You can buy Plantex CSM+B at aquariumfertilizer.com separately or as part of an overall mix called PMDD pre-mix, which contains macros and traces.

Mark