AQUARIUM CO2 SYSTEMS
by Mick
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CO2 systems are added to the aquariums to enhance lush plant growth where the plants use light energy to utilise the CO2 to promote their growth.
Several aquarists have success with their
planted aquariums with installing these systems but for typical “Dutch Aquariums” these certainly play a major part in their success. How many times have we looked in magazines & wondered how on earth do they get them to look like that well hopefully this
article will help to explain how they work & the choices available.
Basics of CO2 in the aquarium:
Plants need
carbon for growth as well as adequate
lighting but a balance has to be reached as
lighting alone will not provide ideal conditions for the
plants, hence the need to bubble in CO
2 as this will provide the
carbon required.
Too much CO
2 also can cause problems as this will affect the
pH of the
water & this will then lead to a
pH crash, also bear in mind excessive CO
2 will produce carbonic acid (H
2CO
3) which is toxic, definitely not good so most systems have some form of regulator with them so you are always in control.
There are several systems on the market & if you are a bit of a DIY addict then one can be assembled with a few basic skills
Systems available:
Most CO
2 systems will incorporate a pressurized CO
2 bottle with a regulator valve which is normally set by a bubble count per minute & some of the top systems will also have a CO
2/
pH controller. This is an example of the kit you require with the pressurised bottle system.
Another option is the yeast method where yeast is mixed with sugar & through the fermentation process CO
2 is produced & a bubble trap is added to the silicon piping to control the amount of bubbles released into the
water. This version is produced by Nutrafin & I have personally used it myself in smaller
tanks with great success.
DIY System;
I have made a system quite easily by using a 2ltr pop bottle using the yeast method, adding the yeast, sugar solution & attaching silicon
airline attaching a cheap flow valve to control the amount being released into the system purely by counting the amount of bubbles per minute & adjusting accordingly (note; silicon tubing is used as the CO
2 can erode standard
airline)
So how does the yeast method work – simple?
The yeast feeds on the sugar & the by-product is CO
2.
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Aquarium CO2 Systems
has been viewed times since June 30, 2009.
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