DIY CO2 System questions.

Cornelius1208

Thanks, I took back all my plastic adapters and got brass ones. =)
But crap, what if I already have fish in my tank? Would starting CO2 not be a good idea?
And since I have a 55, would getting a nano glass diffuser not be recommended? If not, what size should I get? I'd like to get something that I can hide among the decor...
And I got myself a bottle for a bubble counter too. I almost have all the parts and I'll be ready to assemble everything. =)
But what I AM missing though is the rubber stoppers mentioned in the video I posted. I'd rather not use silicon to seal the tube in the cap that comes with the bottle, I'd rather use the rubber stoppers. It seems a lot more convenient to use the stoppers, and I found them online for like 80 cents but shipping was a ridiculous $6.00! So I was wondering, does anyone knows any stores where I can buy them so I don't have to order the online?

dfbiggs

Well from looking at your list of inhabitants you should keep you pH above 7. However I don't know what pH your fish require. But if you go below 7 after long term or sometimes short term depending on your snail health their shell will deteriorate with the acidic water. Just keep alot of calcium in their diet as you figure out how to stabilize you CO2 system. I'm not going to say it is safe for you to start a DIY CO2 system in a tank with inhabitants..I would recommend you check your parameters often. When I first started I did it every 2 hours. It can drop quick and of course you know pH swings are bad for any fish/inverts. In my opinion I think fish are more sensitive to swings.

If you get the nano with the 2 bottle set up it will have a constant higher flow because it is coming out of a smaller opening..with the other (like the pic I sent you) it will have a high flow also but with the diffuser a slight bit larger it will take more pressure to push through and will be easier to slow down. Not really a big deal at all. And I wouldnt worry about size so much unless you are using it in a tank 20g or less. It will be easy to hide either in a 55g.

I had the same problem with the rubber stoppers. I looked all over Ace Hardware where people told me to get them and didn't see anything that would work..so thats when I decided to use the bottle caps.

Side note: No matter if you use stoppers or bottle caps it will help if you get a couple extra so you can shake the mixture because the others are attached to your system..just something that is forgotten sometimes

Cornelius1208

The majority of my fish actually prefer a neutral to slightly acidic water range, but you're right about the snails. What would you recommend to be the most efficient way to give snails calcium?
And I ordered two nano diffusers in a joint pack for a good price that I'm pretty excited about. I'm going to give in and get the stoppers too because I really want those. I'm going to hate paying the shipping though...

But thanks dfbiggs and 1077 for all your help, I hope I'm not asking too many questions!

dfbiggs

Your really going to have to try and keep the pH above 7. But google a list of foods high in calcium..spinach is normally at the top of the list. But you'll want to change it up. So to add calcium to the water there is liquid calcium made by Kent which you don't want to overdose. I'd say the more safe route is to put a cuttlebone in the tank..you can get them in the bird section of pet stores. They will slowly release it instead of dumping it in all at once. Or alot of people use seashells.

Do you have a GH/KH/Ca test kit? This is where you will need it.

Cornelius1208

I don't have a test kit for any of those things. =( I grab a cuttle bone today if I have time. I've also heard of people using the Reptomin Reptoguard Turle Health Conditioner blocks, because it's almost all calcium sulfate hemihydrate, or something like that. Would that be a good idea, and do you think it would actually work?

dfbiggs

I'm not familiar with turtle supplies sorry. So I can't say whether they would be good or not.

noledoc

I've wondered if it makes sense to allow CO2 bubbles to be trapped under some sort of underwater shelf in the tank so that they form a pocket of CO2. This would allow a continuous gas/liquid interface. With bubbles simply rising thru the water there is very little time for the gas to diffuse into the H2O.
I do wonder if it would be difficult to control the actual amount of CO2 and leave the ph to be driven where it shouldn't go. I think one could learn how to control this but it might take time. One thing, it seems that it would maybe allow for very little CO2 to go a long way.
One more thing, Al Gore would be very proud. He did after all invent CO2.
Thanks
Paul