Why is pressurized CO2 not recommended for a discus tank?

[William1]

I have a 56 with three plants in pots and was running a bottle with a slow drip on it because I have the equipment. There is no question how it helps the plants and with keeping bad algae down. I just moved the bottie over to my 120 planted because that one ran out, so no CO2 in the discus tank till I get a refill. I have read the use of CO2 in a discus tank is frowned upon by some and was wondering why. These guys are doing great, we'll see, maybe better without the CO2, but I've seen no adverse affects so far.

[shrinkwrap]

I've been doing it for years. But don't run it at night at you may kill the fish. I made that mistake once

[William1]

I have it on the same timer as my lights, and on this tank, a slow bubble count.

[zchauvin]

Do you have any idea of the concentration you are able to keep?

Im sure it has a lot to do with having trouble keeping 30ppm co2 as well as a well oxygenated water column. Higher temps already lead to less oxygen so be careful that you don't suffocate your fish. A little common sense and you should be fine.

[Filip]

Main problem is constant slight PH shifts that discus don't put up with well.
And even bigger problem is doing large WCs that you often have to do for your discus and big PH shift they encounter while doin it in a co2 pumped water.

Second is that co2 interferes the ability of fish to use/absorbe oxigen thus making them feel like there is low o2 levels.And If you increase oxigen or surface agitation trying to change this , than the co2 levels drop.

I believe that you can encounter problems on the long run,depriving them from their perfect conditions , rather than see it bothering discus right away.

[shrinkwrap]

I have it on the same timer as my lights, and on this tank, a slow bubble count.

You will not have a problem if you use recommended amounts of CO2 and your KH is at least 3-5 to buffer the CO2. I use a drop checker to be sure I'm not overdosing the CO2. My pH swings from night to day are from 7.1 to 6.2. I don't notice any distress in the fish from that. If you just have a few plants and low light you probably don't need much CO2 but there's not question that CO2 supplementation makes a huge difference in plant growth. I have a densely planted tank.
97803

[bluelagoon]

I have a 56 with three plants in pots and was running a bottle with a slow drip on it because I have the equipment. There is no question how it helps the plants and with keeping bad algae down. I just moved the bottie over to my 120 planted because that one ran out, so no CO2 in the discus tank till I get a refill. I have read the use of CO2 in a discus tank is frowned upon by some and was wondering why. These guys are doing great, we'll see, maybe better without the CO2, but I've seen no adverse affects so far.

You only have a few plants.You don't need CO2 in a low tech tank.CO2 is usually used where ferts,proper lights and lots of plants are being added.

[William1]

I have a planted 120, with pressurized CO2. I had another set up, because my 56 discus tank was planted before I switched over. I had the gear, so I figured I would use it on a slow drip. The bottle on my 120 ran out, so I moved the bottle over from the discus tank. Since I have three pots with anacharis, a sword and a ruffled sword I'm going to leave the CO2 off for a bit and see what happens. They are good low tech candidates. They are in pots with dry ferts and are doing well. The question was really a general question, I think I have an idea what way to go from here.

[zergling]

Pressurized CO2 is another variable or risk that can go wrong. When you have hundreds (thousands?) of dollars spent on your discus, you don't take risks lightly.

Don't get me wrong, a planted tank with pressurized CO2 is amazing when you've got it dialled in with the right amount of light and fert dosing. Been there, done that.

What's frustrating is when things go wrong - end of CO2 tank dump, regulator malfunction, timer malfunction, and even filter malfunction / lack of water flow can give headaches. The demand for other nutrients also come into play - nitrates, phosphates, trace elements, heck even magnesium deficiency.

The reward for all that work? A beautiful planted tank..... and you get to add pruning of plants to your maintenance list LOL!

PS - shrinkwrap, your planted discus tank is beautiful!

[William1]

That is a great answer and it is much appreciated. I'm going to leave the CO2 off the 56 discus tank for now. Since taking it off, the aggression level has really amped up in the tank, which is a good thing. There may not be a direct correlation, this is their tenth day in the tank, so it may be the natural order of things, but there is a noticeable difference in the fishes' activity level. I'll just keep watching and monitoring things. I have my 120 planted 'tetra grow out tank' to satisfy my interest for pressurized CO2. And pruning. Fun!
Great tank shrinkwrap. That is awesome.

[shrinkwrap]

Thanks Guys re: my tank. You're right, it's a tremendous amount of work 3+ hours weekly and I'd like to spend more to get it just right. I would be interesting to have a bare bottom tank with discus or maybe one with just hardscape but without the plants and compare the health and longevity of the discus isolated from each other in these 2 types of setups. I might try it.

[kilnakorr]

Although all of the above i correct using CO2 depends more on the type of plant along with ferts an lightning. Some plants will surely die without CO2 added. If you run with pressurized CO2 then add a PH controller. This will keep CO2 constant aswell as PH.

[Filip]

If you run with pressurized CO2 then add a PH controller. This will keep CO2 constant aswell as PH.

+1 .
This is the best and the least harmful way for discus , if someone decide to mix co2 with discus.
But even with pH controller we are still risking big pH swings during large WCs.Its hard to match the pH and co2 amount of tank water with water we change.

And shrinkwrap , you don't have to do comparisons and experiments with discus in planted vs BB tank .
It has been done 1000 times before us here and the results were always the same .
High tech planted tank is an environment of constant struggle for discus and for the owner too.

[a.person61]

If you would like to avoid large ph swings, try doing your water changes before your co2 turns on; or see how long it takes for your tank to reach normal ph levels and do it then.

Ive tried doing water changes while the co2 was on (only up to 15-20% NON DISCUS) To find the ph went up by about 0.10 now take that to 50% thats about 0.30. My tank went from 7.5 to 6.6 to 6.7 every morning found no fish flaoting but please note there was no discus

[Clawhammer]

My lights kick on at 9:00am, my CO2 at 7:00am. I do my water changes at 6:00am when co2 concentration is the lowest. I use aged water that has been oxygenated with airstones.

[DISCUS STU]

You will not have a problem if you use recommended amounts of CO2 and your KH is at least 3-5 to buffer the CO2. I use a drop checker to be sure I'm not overdosing the CO2. My pH swings from night to day are from 7.1 to 6.2. I don't notice any distress in the fish from that. If you just have a few plants and low light you probably don't need much CO2 but there's not question that CO2 supplementation makes a huge difference in plant growth. I have a densely planted tank.
97803

Gorgeous tank and aquascape!

[shrinkwrap]

Thanks. I found Scapefu.com really helpful. I hate that Art has quit producing them!