# need help with co2



## djwagz (Aug 1, 2012)

Hello,

I have ordered some plants that will be here soon and have decided co2 is the way to go.

I have the basic understanding. It is a 75g with 2x54w t5 ho and 2x20w t8. not a great deal of light but already getting bba. was thinking of try diy co2 system after talking to aquariumplants aquascaper mark. He said you can get effective co2 this way as long as you have a quality reactor that doesn't waste. was thinking of diy rex grigg pvc type. 

Will this work with diy co2 hooked inline with a fluval 406. Do you need a rigid co2 line inside the pvc that runs from top where co2 tube is connected to the bottom of pvc? or do you just insert co2 tube into top? where do you put bubble counter/check valve etc. I have heard of people putting a "cup" right above co2 input and then check valve to keep co2 buildup at top of reactor down and skip need to tipping upside to purge gas.

any experience with just buying the cheap ista max mix reactor with chopping blades. is it loud. is it effective. will it leak 75g of water on my floor.

I will be upgrading to pressurized but I am strapped at the moment. am willing to try diy for a couple of months as this rebuild with new light, mts, $160 plant order etc. has flattened my wallet. 

I have seen many diy reactor threads, they vary, with internal rigid tube to bottom, and use of bio balls.

thanks for any input.


----------



## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

The only way that a DIY system can work with a 75g is if you had about 4 bottles ganged together. A standard DIY is usually only effective for 30g or less....or somewhere in that range. If you are already getting BBA from the higher light, the CO2 needs to be consistent and the only way to get there is by pressurized CO2. I don't think having a special reactor will make much of a diff. In theory maybe. You can try it, just don't get your hopes up.

Have you tried taking your lighting period down to about 5-6hrs per day? That may work for you.


----------



## Auban (Aug 8, 2010)

im sorry to hear you are getting BBA. unfortunately, BBA requires less light than most low light plants, and can utilize a wider range of light than most plants can, so it really is a pain to get rid of. for some people, CO2 seems to help. in my experience, it will not get rid of it, but it does seem to slow it down quite a bit.

i only have one three litre size DIY CO2 reactor on my 65 gallon planted tank, and i get excellent results with it. the key, i believe, is in diffusing the CO2 as much as possible. at the same time however, if you can manage to _completely_ dissolve all the bubbles, a single DIY bottle can actually produce enough CO2 to kill your fish, even in a heavily planted tank(learned the hard way). unless you are running it through an airlocked, agitated chamber, giving the CO2 no other way to escape than dissolve, i doubt you would have that problem.

anyway, the CO2(applied properly) should help slow the BBA down a bit, but i would suggest you look into other methods of getting rid of what you already have as well, unless you have the patience to wait it out, which could take many months. i dont have that kind of patience, so i used tannins, peroxide dips, peroxide nuking, and siamese algae eaters. 
what seemed to be the most effective to me was the combination of CO2, tannins, and siamese algae eaters.


----------



## djwagz (Aug 1, 2012)

I have basically gotten rid of all bba with direct peroxide spot treating, and one dip. one sword has yellowed some but everybody else is ok. 

update. I have come up with a large co2 tank a guy had in his basement from when he had a restaurant last year. It's large, 23" x7.5" plus control valve on top but it does just barely fit in stand. so I guess I'm going pressurized.

I know I need a regulator, needle valve, drop counter. I don't know what else as far as fitings, hoses, beyond that. there is a cheap chinese place on ebay.

would this regulator work or do you think it is probable junk and a waste of money:
CO2 INJECTION RELEASE SYSTEM REGULATOR EMITTER FLOW SOLENOID CONTROLLER W/ HOSE 051000891235 | eBay

as far as reactor. I have spoken a lot with mark, aquascaper and aquarium plants. he has been doing this awhile and his opinion is that flow thru systems like rex grigg etc. are inefficient and only something with a pump is worth it. I know he's plugging his products, but he designed this and says the co2 cannot leave until it's dissolved completely:

http://www.aquariumplants.com/CarbonDoser_Internal_CO2_Reactor_p/int.htm
CarbonDoser EXT5000 (External Reactor 5000)

any thoughts?


----------



## Auban (Aug 8, 2010)

that would be an incedibly efficent means of introduction in terms of how much CO2 is getting disolved, but it may not be much good at raising dissolved CO2 levels high enough to be beneficial. i personally like diffusion better. it can dissolve much more CO2 in the water at once, even if some of it reaches the top as bubbles.


----------



## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

CO2 doesn't get rid of BBA, never has, never will. It can however, prevent it. This isn't so much the case in lower light situations, but in higher light, say high medium-high, it is near imperative. You can go down the road with high light levels and no CO2, but you won't get too much light time and still remain BBA free.

In my 3 high light tanks (50+ PAR in each), BBA starts to form on plants when the CO2 starts to get a little off or the tank is low. What occurs is the light forces the plants to grow and when ample amounts of CO2 are not there to support that growth, the plant is compromised. Once that occurs the plant is weakened and BBA forms on the plant.

There are very few applications that will "get rid of" BBA. It usually requires something like peroxide baths, Excel, or Cidex.

auban - you should post your DIY CO2 experience here Fertilizers and Water Parameters - The Planted Tank Forum They would love to read about it.


----------

