Water circulation

macrotten

I have recently seen my fish gasping a little for air during the day...i use a CO2 Canister dispenser and have an air stone on at night only for O2. I feel i need more water circulation during the day but do not want to use the airstone as it effects the CO2 efficiency i heard...i do a partial water change..around 25% each week and change my filter once per fortnight.

question 1 - what else can i use to help with more water circulation during the day that does not effect the CO2 content..?

question 2 - i also put in some plant liquid sustrait once per week and have reduced the filter to only having filter wool and ceramic blocks...no carbon elements as heard this filters out any substraits, plant feeding that you put in..am i doing the right thing..??

herefishy

Any surface agitation will dispel CO2 as the surface tension is lessened, or broken, and allows for oxygen exchange. You could use a timer to run your system as I do. When the lights are on, the pumps are on. At night, when the plants need the CO2, the pumps are off. I learned of this little tidbit only recently after having the same observations as you. The timers are the same as on my lights. I went cheap and bought a model with fewer outlets on timers as I already had the lights on a seperate timer. I believe that I paid either $49 or $79 for my timers. The DELUXE, supercharged, all the whistles and bells model ran $149, I believe. Had I not already had the lighting in timers, I probably would have gotten the DELUXE, supercharged, all the whistles and bells model.

You may also want to check your water parameters as CO2 injection does change it considerably. You may have to make some adjustments to the amount of CO2 you use.

macrotten

Thanks but not sure i follow...air pump / airstone is ON at night but OFF during the day..i need to know what else i can use during the day instead of the airstone to circulate the water more..??

cedricb

I bought my timer in target
5 dollars including taxes......

it works great.

cedric

cedricb

if you want to circulate the water a bit more you can use a powerhead.

I bought an aquarium (2 gallons I think) and inside their was a filter that you can submerge. I use this little filter as a power head. it works great, no noise because not too much powerful and fish love that.

the interesting thing is that you can regulate the flux of water and you can also spits mixed air and water if you want.

if you want the ref of the aquarium ask and I will write it in a next post.

cedric

macrotten

NOT SURE I QUITE FOLLOW...AT NIGHT WHEN PLANTS NEED THE CO2 THE PUMPS ARE OFF..WHAT PUMPS ?..THOUGHT THAT PLANTS USE MORE O2 AT NIGHT SO THE AIRSTONES SHOULD BE ON..ARE YOU THEN TURNING OFF THE CO2 AT NIGHT AND ONLY ON DURING THE DAY..??
I HAVE THE FOLLOWING CO2 SYSTEM
http://trade.ferplast.com/en/pagina_4469.html

MKSII

I was always told that plants will RELEASE CO2 at night and use oxygen. I have my airstone on at night as well, and use a timer with lights and air.


Do you have a bunch of plants? I have a good deal and my fish never seem to be trying to "breath".

As mentioned above, you might need to check how much CO2 is actually being released in the tank. It could be too high and that is what is going on.

macrotten

DO YOU HAVE ANY GOOD TIPS ON WHICH PLANTS / TYPES ARE ACTUALLY BEST AT RELEASING CO2..?? PHOTO LINKS WOULD BE HANDING - THANKS

MKSII

All plants release CO2 at night. Not sure if any are better at it though. As for what is a high oxygen plant, I heard that Anacharis are.