# Co2 dissipation time ?



## FishFlow (Sep 13, 2011)

High Tech tank. I load up on CO2 during the photo period, currently getting the dc to yellow. And the next morning after lights off for 8+ hours, the DC is still bright green / yellow.

I am attempting to dissipate the CO2 over night (return dc to blue!) Prefer to have it return to blue quicker so plants have o2 during the night.

I’ve added an air stone. Which helped. But DC checker this morning was green. 

Question how long should co2 take to dissipate from my tank when/if I get the optimum surface water movement ?


----------



## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

It depends on how much surface agitation you get. I can completely gas my tank out with no CO2 added in about 2 days with no bubbler. With a bubbler, I can gas it out in 12 hours.


----------



## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Back it off some. Surface movement is more important than a bubbler, or it is much more effective anyway. You'll never completely gas out your CO2. Even surface movement can make CO2 get into your water just as it can O2, but it should get rid of the excess that you have forced in there.

Why are you going yellow? If it is because you have no fish in it, then why worry about going back to blue? Are you using a 4dkh solution? I shoot for a pale green and that is as far as I like to push it. I have gassed a few fish trying to play around a little.


----------



## FishFlow (Sep 13, 2011)

Thanks Guy. 12 hours is a bit more than I was hoping, but I am still learning, I only had the bubbles on for ~ 6 hours maybe. (no idea it'd take so long) I'll time the bubbles to come on/off opposite the photo period. Bubbles is for additional surface agitation. Spray bar is pointed towards surface (albeit, not very strong current)

Good Point JC. Hadn’t considered that. I’m reading tid bits suggesting plants like o2 at night. I took that to mean, no co2 at night. I can’t measure o2 though. 

Tank has issues and trying to figure them out. Tank is not uptaking PO4 or NO3 as much as it should, as I have a lot of it in the tank at weeks end. I may be limiting uptake by inadvertently limiting CO2. If I cut PO4 at all, gsa appears. Been upping co2 over the course of several weeks, and plants are growing much faster, and algae (besides gsa) is almost nil. (first for me.) So, pushing forward. Only 4 fish in the tank, and will be looking to remove them if I have to push much further. No signs of gassing. 

Note, I did back off on the yellow. Thinking about it now, I didn’t up it, it went into yellow over the course of a couple days. (co2 not degassing enough at night ? )


----------



## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

That is how I have gassed my fish...an accumulation thing.


----------



## FishFlow (Sep 13, 2011)

To close this up. After 2nd night of bubbles. DC was a deep blue this AM. DC was a bright green yesterday prior to lights out. I think I got this where it needs to be. 

Thanks for the help!


----------

