CO2 and Air Stones

[giroux68]

I have a DIY Co2 maker with the line feeding into the uptake of the 350 magnun filter. I also have a sponge filter at the other end of the tank with a airstone. Does this defeat the CO2 injection? I tried attaching the sponge to the canister filter intake and it could not suck up enough water. Any suggestion? :-

[Ekar_Ogrit]

If you are really worried about it. It's not the bubbles bursting that cause a lot of CO2 loss, but the surface agitation of the water. You could devise something to keep the bubbles from making waves across the tank. I wouldn't worry about it though. CO2 is relatively cheap. I would just up the rate of injection.

Ekar

[ChloroPhil]

Giroux,

At the rate most DIY CO2 units produce gas, yes, the agitation from your sponge filter is pretty much nullifying your CO2 input.

How big is your tank? If it's large enough to mandate the use of a Mag. 350 it's really too large for a DIY CO2 system. Trust me here, it's *very* worth your while to make the investment in a pressurized CO2 system for tanks over 15g. As soon as I'm able to, all my tanks, even the 5.5s are going to be hooked up to a centralized CO2 canister. DIY just doesn't cut it..it's too much work and is too unstable.

[Ralph]

Phil, I want to see photos of the CO2 set up when you get it going (did you get a digital camera for the holidays?).
That is a lot of filtration unless you have a large fish load. I would pull the sponge filter (unless there is a special reason for it) or maybe run it only at night. Your plants will tell you though if they aren't getting enough CO2 with slow or no growth.

In general, my DIY CO2 has worked for me. I am sure that the tank maintenance would be easier overall with CO2 tanks, etc., but for me it is not enough to justify the huge cost difference. When my DIY expires, my plants don't seem to suffer for the couple of days it takes to get a new one up. But it is an individual call based on your needs and expectations.
Giroux, that is a great idea to put the CO2 output at the input of your canister, saves you the need of a CO2 ladder.

[giroux68]

The sponge with the canister might be over kill. 55g with 5 discus, 1 cory, 4 rummy nose, 9 neons. One reason I put it in was for redundency - came home from a 3 day trip to find the magnum output had gone to almost nothing and the fish were sucking air at the surface. The DIY system has 2 bottles connected with a T fitting, redo one bottle a week.
If I had the room, a CO2 bottle connected to a Keg Fridge and the fish tank would be a great combo....