# Many CO2/substrate Questions



## dchow (Oct 30, 2009)

Hello,

I'm sort of new to the planted aquarium but having seen some of the wonderful pictures I wanted to give it a shot.

I know I want to go with a pressurized CO2 setup... and from reading this is what I have gathered:

I need:

-some source of pressurized CO2
-some sort of regulator to control the CO2 flow 
-a bubble counter as a visual aid to see how much CO2 is going into the water
-a reactor or in tank diffuser. From what I gather an inline diffuser is with the output of a canister filter is best.
-visual indicator to see the amount of CO2 diffused into the aquarium

Since I am quite the newbie at this I was told to get this (88g Fluval Kit):

http://www.hagen.com/canada/english/aquatic/product.cfm?CAT=1&SUBCAT=118&PROD_ID=01075450010101

Comparatively speaking this seems like a much cheaper initial cost, followed by a more expensive upkeep (as I can only feed it fluval canisters for as long as fluval deems it profitable to produce). The alternative being a much larger initial investment buying each of the components and assembling with a 5lb or 10lb tank.

I've also read several items about "overdosing" livestock on CO2 at night. What does this mean? Ideally I would like to keep some variant of shrimp, either crystal reds, blue pearls, or yellow. I would only be keeping one strain, I just haven't decided on which.

Is there a reason I can't just keep the CO2 on all night? Also, how will I know how much CO2 is enough/too much?

My second question is in regard to substrate. I notice there are both plant and shrimp substrate. Am I suppose to use a mix of both? Or do I just use one or the other? I am quite confused about this.

Any insight you may have on my concerns would be well appreciated.


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## qwerty (Dec 15, 2009)

One of our members Darkblade wrote a great primer on pressurized CO2.

http://gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12271

Strongly advise you to read it.

As far as substrate is concerned you'll probably find different opinions depending where you look for advice. But overall I think it's less of an issue than it might seem.

Some people like special plant substrates for one reason or another. Some people feel that any substrate you use is only worth its cation exchange capacity and resistance to compaction, and a hell of a lot of people favour water column fertilization on high-tech tanks over trying to create extremely nutrient rich substrates in the first place.

I've seen fantastic tanks grown with pretty well every substrate. Sand, soil, flourite, cat litter, etc... People seem to be liking netlea soil. I personally like the soil substrate in my 10gal more than the flourite sand in my 29gal. I'm using miracle grow organic potting soil.

I never understood the shrimp substrates, but I'm not a shrimp nut.


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## dchow (Oct 30, 2009)

I actually read that guide last night. I just wanted to make sure that my interpretation was for the most part correct.

My real concern is about CO2 overdosing. I know in definition it means the dissolved CO2 levels are too high, and that this is more likely to occur at night once plants are not going through photosynthesis. 

I guess I want to know is it safe to leave the CO2 on overnight and still have some livestock? Sometimes my work brings me to the States for a week or five at a time. The only time I am really back in Toronto would be every second weekend. I have a housekeeper that comes by and feeds other tank but she won't be there at night (to manually turn off the CO2). I'm not really picky as to when she comes in the morning while I am not home (to turn back on the CO2). 

So is there a problem with leaving the CO2 on overnight?


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## qwerty (Dec 15, 2009)

There can be, yes.

This is why it's good to have a solenoid. 

The way I run my CO2 is I have the solenoid plugged into the powerbar that I have my lights plugged into. This power bar is plugged into a timer for the whole bar.

This way the CO2 turns off at night when the lights go off, and turns on again when the lights come on.

On another timer I have an air pump plugged in. This timer is set to go on at night after the lights go out, and shuts off a bit before the lights come on.

I haven't tried it but I'm sure turning the air pump on at night and leaving the CO2 running at the same time would be fine, but this seems wasteful. I wouldn't trust CO2 to be on all night without any sort of air pump though.


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## dchow (Oct 30, 2009)

So you turn on the air pump at night to bubble out the CO2? In addition you use a solenoid at night to turn off additional CO2 input to protect from overdosising?

I have to look into a solenoid and if I can integrate it into the fluval system.


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## qwerty (Dec 15, 2009)

I only run the air pump because I found the fish acting as if the oxygen was getting a little low for them at night.

I'm not saying you will necessarily have this problem, though. I haven't used CO2 on enough different setups and don't recall reading other experiences about this anywhere to comment as such. Just that this is what I've been doing, and works well enough that I haven't had to adjust anything or think about it since. If I had to change anything and money wasn't an option, I would have the CO2 on a pH meter instead of a timer.

But I'm sure between the oxygen and the surface turbulence it would be close to impossible to harm your fish with CO2 even if you left it running and had an air pump at the same time.

I don't know about the fluval system, but it might be worth looking into paintball CO2 systems. I do seem to recall hearing people complaining about the long-term cost of the fluval CO2 system. Wouldn't know personally though.

Sorry I can't be of more specific help


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## Jsu (Dec 4, 2009)

If you are considering the fluval co2 kit, make sure you use a monkey ranch to install the co2 cartilage. The build in needle valve is very sensitive. Also, CO2 cartilage sold at walmart and canadian fits, but requires a little filing to taper the thread (~20 mins).


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## dchow (Oct 30, 2009)

Qwerty, you've been a fantastic resource as is, and I thank you for your time in responding to my questions. 

The low initial cost of the fluval is what I like. I've also read upkeep in the long run is not efficient. When my career is slightly more settled I would definitely like a nifty system with all the toys but as of right now I don't know if the tank can be up a year or a month. It just gives me something to do on the weekends I am here.


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## qwerty (Dec 15, 2009)

Fair enough. I don't know how much the fluval system costs, but I would still look into a paintball CO2 system before ruling it out.

Another possibility is buying the equipment second hand from other hobbyists (who have a good selling reputation!). This is how I got my equipment. I got a great price on it, was a complete ready to use regulator with solenoid, and it's been working fantastically ever since.


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## totallyvacant (Jul 10, 2008)

_Another possibility is buying the equipment second hand from other hobbyists (who have a good selling reputation!)._

I don't have a reputation at all since I've never sold anything here. But I'm trying to sell a CO2 system (and everything else) in the buy/sell forum. I've got all you need to get started if you're interested.


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