Starting CO2 For 55 Gal

[Devinl3]

I am currently working on getting everything setup in my 55 gal long planted freshwater tank for CO2 injection.

 

I have a CO2Art Dual Stage Pro Se regulator on a 5lb aluminum tank and one of their ceramic bazooka diffusers.

 

I've read a lot of people trying to fine tune their bubble counts and use drop checkers with CO2 and heard many others stating that bubble count is irrelevant and that you should use the pearling and fish to indicate whether you are at good levels. I'm curious as to what the best indicator would be here.

 

I am also having trouble understanding how I should start off with my CO2 levels. Do I need to start at 1 bps and then bump it up every couple of days? Or do people just jump right into having a higher injection?

 

How soon should I have the CO2 turn on before my lights and when should I turn it off? 2 hours before and 1 hour after they turn off? I've heard a HUGE variety of opinions on this side.

 

Any input is great!!

[AllFishNoBrakes]

I’ve had c02 on 4 of my tanks. Currently have it on 3 of my tanks. Here’s what I would do:  

On 1/16/2024 at 1:17 PM, Devinl3 said:

I'm curious as to what the best indicator would be here.

Drop Checkers are a must as you get things dialed in. It’s a super easy way to see if you’re getting a pH change (as indicated by a color change in the drop checker). You can easily go “no change, I can up the c02” or “Oof, too far, need to back it down”. 
 

On 1/16/2024 at 1:17 PM, Devinl3 said:

I am also having trouble understanding how I should start off with my CO2 levels. Do I need to start at 1 bps and then bump it up every couple of days? Or do people just jump right into having a higher injection?

My 55 is set at 3 bubbles per second, and honestly I could do more. I could also add a wavemaker or something to better distribute the c02 and keep it in suspension longer. Currently, I get no change in color on the drop checker in this tank. Better distribution of the c02/keeping the bubbles in suspension longer would be more efficient. 
 

One of my 29’s is about 1-1.5 bubbles per second. This tank has a canister filter and the outflow helps push the c02 back down after rising from the diffuser and pushes the c02 around the tank. I  hardly ever see any kind of change in the drop checker, indicating that I could do more c02 if I wanted to. 
 

My other 29 is at ~2 bubbles per second. This tank has an internal filter with a spray bar. The c02 rises out of the diffuser, goes to almost the top of the tank, and then the spray bar is angled down at about 45° so it pushes the c02 back down and across the tank. I do get a color change on the drop checker in this tank, but I could still do more if I wanted to. 

Here’s the drop checker. It’s green, but it’s not a bright lime green. Bright lime green would indicate 30ppm, or max c02. 
 

On 1/16/2024 at 1:17 PM, Devinl3 said:

How soon should I have the CO2 turn on before my lights and when should I turn it off? 2 hours before and 1 hour after they turn off? I've heard a HUGE variety of opinions on this side.

On all my tanks, the c02 turns on 1 hour prior to the lights turning on. This allows the c02 to start to build up before the lights kick on. When the lights turn on the plants are then able to utilize the c02. C02 is turned off 1 hour prior to the lights turning off. The thought is that the plants are able to utilize the c02 in that last hour of the light being on. When the lights turn off, the plants can’t utilize the c02, so keeping it running after the lights go off isn’t useful. 
 

Keep in mind that I’m not shooting for 30ppm or MAX c02! I’m just trying to give my plants a little boost. It all depends on what your goals are. 
 

If it was my tank, I’d have the c02 kick on an hour before the lights, I’d have either a spray bar or some kind of wavemaker/internal filter to push the c02 around the tank and keep it in suspension longer, a drop checker is a must, and I’d start at 3 bubbles per second and adjust from there. I’d also have the c02 turn off an hour before the lights turn off.
 

Some other tips that could be helpful:

-Keep in mind that a drop checker is a look into the past, approximately 2 hours. If you do too much and your drop checker goes yellow, you’re a couple hours behind, and it will take time to get the c02 out of the tank via gas exchange. Start lower and increase if you need or want to based on what you’re trying to achieve. I would start at 3 bubbles per second and go from there. 
-3+ bubbles per second is hard to see/count with the naked eye. Take a video of the bubble counter on your phone. Make it ~10 seconds long. Then use slow mo and count the bubbles. 30 bubbles counted in 10 seconds would be 3 bubbles per second!
 

Hope this helps! Feel free to ask questions or shoot me a DM if you wanna chat more!

Edited January 17 by AllFishNoBrakes

[MattyM]

I don't inject enough CO2 for a drop checker to turn green, I just want a plant health boost and all my plants are pretty basic and don't need high CO2 levels, and I also don't want to be constantly trimming plants and pumping fertilizer into the tank. I bought a PH checker, and followed the guidance in this video: 

 

[Devinl3]

On 1/16/2024 at 10:35 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

I’ve had c02 on 4 of my tanks. Currently have it on 3 of my tanks. Here’s what I would do:  

Drop Checkers are a must as you get things dialed in. It’s a super easy way to see if you’re getting a pH change (as indicated by a color change in the drop checker). You can easily go “no change, I can up the c02” or “Oof, too far, need to back it down”. 
 

My 55 is set at 3 bubbles per second, and honestly I could do more. I could also add a wavemaker or something to better distribute the c02 and keep it in suspension longer. Currently, I get no change in color on the drop checker in this tank. Better distribution of the c02/keeping the bubbles in suspension longer would be more efficient. 
 

One of my 29’s is about 1-1.5 bubbles per second. This tank has a canister filter and the outflow helps push the c02 back down after rising from the diffuser and pushes the c02 around the tank. I  hardly ever see any kind of change in the drop checker, indicating that I could do more c02 if I wanted to. 
 

My other 29 is at ~2 bubbles per second. This tank has an internal filter with a spray bar. The c02 rises out of the diffuser, goes to almost the top of the tank, and then the spray bar is angled down at about 45° so it pushes the c02 back down and across the tank. I do get a color change on the drop checker in this tank, but I could still do more if I wanted to. 
 

Here’s the drop checker. It’s green, but it’s not a bright lime green. Bright lime green would indicate 30ppm, or max c02. 
 

On all my tanks, the c02 turns on 1 hour prior to the lights turning on. This allows the c02 to start to build up before the lights kick on. When the lights turn on the plants are then able to utilize the c02. C02 is turned off 1 hour prior to the lights turning off. The thought is that the plants are able to utilize the c02 in that last hour of the light being on. When the lights turn off, the plants can’t utilize the c02, so keeping it running after the lights go off isn’t useful. 
 

Keep in mind that I’m not shooting for 30ppm or MAX c02! I’m just trying to give my plants a little boost. It all depends on what your goals are. 
 

If it was my tank, I’d have the c02 kick on an hour before the lights, I’d have either a spray bar or some kind of wavemaker/internal filter to push the c02 around the tank and keep it in suspension longer, a drop checker is a must, and I’d start at 3 bubbles per second and adjust from there. I’d also have the c02 turn off an hour before the lights turn off.
 

Some other tips that could be helpful:

-Keep in mind that a drop checker is a look into the past, approximately 2 hours. If you do too much and your drop checker goes yellow, you’re a couple hours behind, and it will take time to get the c02 out of the tank via gas exchange. Start lower and increase if you need or want to based on what you’re trying to achieve. I would start at 3 bubbles per second and go from there. 
-3+ bubbles per second is hard to see/count with the naked eye. Take a video of the bubble counter on your phone. Make it ~10 seconds long. Then use slow mo and count the bubbles. 30 bubbles counted in 10 seconds would be 3 bubbles per second!
 

Hope this helps! Feel free to ask questions or shoot me a DM if you wanna chat more!

Honestly this was everything I needed to know! Thanks for taking the time to put this response together and outline what your process looked like.

I'll likely take a similar approach to the co2 and see where things get me.

 

Do you have much pearling with your plants in the 55 at 3 bps? I've heard a lot of people saying they need more like 5-7 for their planted tanks.

 

I am using an external filter with a spin lily pipe and not a spray bar as well. Would you recommend I put the diffuser at the bottom of the tank with it being directly under the lily pipe? I'm assuming that will be the best case when it comes to diffusing the co2 as much as possible. (One day I'd like to get a reactor for full dissolution).

On 1/17/2024 at 10:26 AM, MattyM said:

I don't inject enough CO2 for a drop checker to turn green, I just want a plant health boost and all my plants are pretty basic and don't need high CO2 levels, and I also don't want to be constantly trimming plants and pumping fertilizer into the tank. I bought a PH checker, and followed the guidance in this video: 

 

I've actually watched this video and lost it so thanks for resending haha.

 

I am planning on using this method to better dial things in as I feel the drop checker isn't very accurate given the time delays and that its better to use this method.

@AllFishNoBrakes What kind of ph drop are you experience when running co2? I've heard people say they look for a 1 degree drop from your starting ph. Do you feel that's accurate?

[AllFishNoBrakes]

Sorry, my quote is being weird. Responding to pearling in my 55:

Nope, but I’m not going for max. My Amazon Sword leaves sometimes pearl after a water change but that’s about it. 
 

Honestly, the only real pearling that goes on in my tanks is in my 6 gallon cube. It’s a dirted tank with a forest of pearl weed. No filter. No ferts. No c02 and that tank pearls like crazy. 

On 1/17/2024 at 11:11 AM, Devinl3 said:

Would you recommend I put the diffuser at the bottom of the tank with it being directly under the lily pipe?

Is the idea that the c02 will rise from the diffuser, get sucked into the lily pipe, go through the filter, and then come back out the outflow and back into the tank? If that’s the thought it makes sense to me that it would allow for maximum dissolution into the water. 
 

On 1/17/2024 at 11:11 AM, Devinl3 said:

What kind of ph drop are you experience when running co2?

I’ve actually never tested it. The only real change on the drop checker is in my Pea Puffer tank where it turns green, but not bright lime green. I’m obviously getting some pH change, but I couldn’t tell you the value. I think -1 is the general rule of thumb, though. 
 

Typing this out last night I remembered I purchased a tiny wavemaker like 4 years ago when I was going through crazy MTS and setting up a bunch of tanks. At one time, I thought my 55 was going to be a saltwater tank, so I bought that little wavemaker. I forgot I had it. I installed that this morning on my 55 and I’m excited to see how it changes things! I should get better c02 distribution and better dissolution with the bubbles suspended in the water longer. We’ll see, and I’m excited to see.

I’m in the same boat as @MattyM that I’m going for just a little extra boost and not 30ppm. 

Edited January 17 by AllFishNoBrakes