# Co2 Question



## blurry (May 10, 2010)

I just got a 10 pound co2 tank and im just wondering how long do you leave it on for and how many bps in the bubble counter. My tank is a 20 g Long.
Thanks


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## Captured Moments (Apr 22, 2010)

How long to leave it on? Usually the same length of time as the lights are on. Normally Co2 is turned on one hour before the lights turn on and is turned off one hour before the lights are off..or something similar. 
How many bps? That depends on your method of diffusion and the efficiency of it. Don't get too hung up on this bps rate because it really can be different for many setups and is only a rough guide.
It's like a garden hose where you are trying to water the plant with the right amount of water but there are leaks everywhere...so you need more water at the source and thus you waste water. In this case Co2 so you will need a higher rate of bps Co2 injection to compensate for the inefficiency of the diffusion system. Also higher plant biomass would require more Co2 than lesser biomass, etc..


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

If you're new at this, you should really get a drop checker. That's the only way to tell if you're getting sufficient CO2 at peak periods. I used to run my CO2 early, like 30 minutes before the lights came on, but never as early as an hour. Now that I'm running more efficient CO2 diffusers (atomizers and bazooka diffusers), I either run them at lights on or 15 minutes before. What I've done is increased the surface agitation significantly at the expense of a little CO2 offgassing and now I can get CO2 levels up very quickly even if I turn them on with the lights. I normally shut the CO2 off with the lights of 5 or 10 minutes before. You may need to turn on your CO2 a bit earlier if your tank is huge and you have a single diffusion point with an inefficient diffusion method.

My fish seem to be much happier with that setup.

If you'll tell us your setup and your objectives, our answers may be more specific: tank size, lighting power and type, photoperiod, substrate, flora, fauna, filtration/circulation. The more information, the easier it is for us to help you. Just telling you so and so bubble rate and at these times may have a disastrous effect if you are running an AquaRay LED tile in a 10 gallon vs. T8's in a 120 gallon.


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

Do you suugest to have more than one diffuser in the tank?
I have just a regular diffuser with a ceramic disk, is that considered an inefficient kind?


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

I'd personally use an atomizer that hooks up to your filter output line. Those are far more efficient IMO.


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## Captured Moments (Apr 22, 2010)

If you have a small tank I would say the ceramic diffuser would be fine imo but I don't think they are efficient at diffusing Co2 in itself. They tend to clog up over time and you have inconsistent bubble size, then most bubbles rise to the surface and dissipate before having the chance of being much diffused into the water column.
As 2 previous posters said, there are better diffusers you can use such as the atomizer or you can build yourself a Co2 reactor out of plastic bottle or PVC pipe. The Co2 reactor is pretty efficient at diffusing Co2.
As I said earlier and everything else being equal, the more efficient the diffusion the lesser bps required to achieve a target Co2 ppm concentration.
One point worth mentioning is that the Co2 diffusion is only one part of the equation or the Co2 for that matter. Other factors taken into account are nutrient level and light. You can set yourself up to varying degrees of "sophistication" from low tech to high tech setups.
For example you can have a poor Co2 diffusion method in a lower tech setup (light intensity is lesser, plants grow slower, nutrient requirements are mostly met naturally by the fish waste and fish food, one in a while dosing nutrients only, seldom water change, low maintenance, no need to prune your plants frequently, cheaper to run, better choice maybe if you are a busy person).
In high ligh tech setups, you need to use a better method of diffusion because the demand of Co2 by the plants will be greatly increased.
Obviously also are other factors to consider such as surface agitation for gas exchange, water circulation, plant density in the tank. These affect to bps required.


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## mikey (Jan 3, 2011)

blurry said:


> I just got a 10 pound co2 tank and im just wondering how long do you leave it on for and how many bps in the bubble counter. My tank is a 20 g Long.
> Thanks


Hey where did you pick it up from? I am looking for a 10lb too


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## blurry (May 10, 2010)

I got it off craiglist, check out CANADIAN AQUATICS they have 10 pound there with everything.


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