# Co2 and airation



## OaklandFISH (Aug 13, 2013)

I have a newly established and fish less cycled 20 gallon tank. I want to raise and possibly breed guppies. Right now I have the old corner filter, a Biowheel 200 filter, and a bubble wand in the tank. I just planted a few Green Rotala. I should mention that I have brand new Fluval Daylight Aqualife & Plant LED Aquarium Lamp. I also purchased a Hagen Nutrafin CO2 Natural Plant System with CO2 Activator and Stabilizer, this has not arrived yet. I'm not sure how to proceed. Do I keep the bubble wand on while the co2 unit is working? I have read that you should turn the bubble wand off during the day when the light is on and then turn it on at night when the lights are off and the plants are at rest. I already know that I can make my own solution for the co2, I'm not going to waste the money on the expensive packets. Any information would be truly appreciated. Also I am looking for some kind of a floating plant life that would be good for frye to live in any recommendations would be awesome. I have had duckweed in the past and that was a mess. I am willing to try Frogbit again. I haven't had luck in the past with plants so that is why I purchased the co2 generator. I have always had pretty good LED lights though.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

The bubbles reaching the surface will cause a surface disturbance which cause the CO2 to be evacuated from the water. Most people that use both usually run them alternately and not at the same time. You can put them and your light on a timers that has one off while the other one is on. The light period is the time when the CO2 is being used and no other.


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## OaklandFISH (Aug 13, 2013)

I hear ya. From what I understand you can't stop the co2 process, so that is why you airate at night when plants will be using the oxygen in the water.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

That is what many people do that use DIY type.


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## OaklandFISH (Aug 13, 2013)

I have decided to put my light fixture and my bubble wand on timers. The bubble wand will be off during the day when the light is on and the light will go off at night and the bubble wand will go on. How long should I keep the light on per day. I have a Fluval Daylight Aqualife & Plant LED Aquarium Lamp.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I would start with probably 8hrs and see how things go with that.


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## OaklandFISH (Aug 13, 2013)

I finished my fish less cycle and did the test run by adding ammonia to 4.0ppm. The next day the ammonia and the nitrites zeroed out, so the cycle is done. I should add that the nitrates were 80ppm. Today I did the big water change of 80%. The ammonia and nitrites are still at zero and the nitrates dropped to 5.0ppm. I did treat the PWC water with API tap conditioner. The problem is my tank PH is a 7.4. The local fish stores (all 3 of them) said this is way too high. I brought in water samples to them and they all used the regular PH test. I told them it was just going to test out at 7.6 and asked them to do the high range PH test. They all said that the high range test is for salt water tanks only. I explained that the high range tests PH beyond the 7.6 and will give a more accurate number if the PH is on the high range. Needless to say they all tested at 7.4. I have read on here and many other websites that a stable PH of 7.4 to 7.8 is better than going up and down with chemicals. I want to have a community tank with guppies and possibly a few tetras. Am I best to use chemicals or just have the constant PH, drip acclimate, and do PWC's to stay on top of any ammonia or nitrates that pop up? After the big water change ( I'm assuming that the advice will be to stick with the constant PH) how long do I have to wait to stock my tank?


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## parkiller (Feb 4, 2014)

For floating plants get frogbit or duckweed. They grow like mad.


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## chenowethpm (Jan 8, 2014)

You have a cycled tank! You can stock it now. You shouldn't wait long because with no ammonia source the bacteria will starve and die off. Since you did the fishless cycle ing you should be able to fully stock right away. As for the ph, don't bother with chemicals, your much better of with a stable ph not one that fluctuates. I've gathered that using the chemicals to lower or raise ph don't work because the buffers in your water will always bring it back to where it starts. 7.4 is a good ph for the majority of community tanks . Go get your fish and drip acclimate them. Good luck. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

7.4-7.6 is just fine, I'm not sure why anyone would call that way too high. 7.0 is neutral. Guppies and tetras (depending on the tetras) are hardy fish and should adapt just fine to your pH. Don't mess with it.

Also, when you begin injecting CO2, it will drive the pH down below 7.0.


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## OaklandFISH (Aug 13, 2013)

If I'm using a yeast DIY co2 injector will I have to worry about too much co2 in my tank? Basically I'm using the Hagen nutrafin system without the ladder. I just attached an air stone.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

An airstone doesn't give you very good diffusion, and DIY yeast fermentation is pretty low output as well, so you've got nothing to worry about. For a better result, I'll ship you one of my old RedSea Max in-tank powered whirlpool reactors for the cost of shipping (they're $50, I have two).

With yeast fermentation CO2 generation, the biggest thing you have to worry about is over-filling the reaction chamber and having the sugar-yeast mixture make it into your tank. DON'T top off your reaction chamber, leave an inch or two between the tube and the level of stuff in the reaction chamber. It will foam a little.

Get a drop checker. I use RedSea, for $10, but there's plenty of other cheap ones that work great. They are THE way to know you're not gonna gas your fish. You can use the pH-KH algorithm, but that's assuming you have both test kits and are testing regularly, which is a HUGE pain compared to taking a quick glance at a drop checker, not to mention the pH-KH algorithm can be flawed by things like phosphates and tannins in your water.


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