Hagen/Nutrafin DIY CO2 and Fluval Edge?

[tetraontheedge]

Hi everyone.

I am getting ready to introduce CO2 into my heavily planted Fluval Edge, as soon as I can be sure my kh/gh is sufficient to keep things stable.

I have a ton of cherry shrimp, plus 8 juvenile neon tetras. I also have a lot of plants (java moss, java fern, cabomba, pearlweed, various anubias, rotala, subwassertang, amazon swords and micro chain sword, blyxa japonica, and some crypts).

My question concerns the risk of gassing my fish and shrimp. My understanding is that surface agitation oxygenates the water (as well as the plants during the day), but that CO2 will rise at night.

I can't add an airstone because the last time I ran one it caused splash that blew out my lighting system.

Is the CO2 generated from this system likely to overwhelm my fish and shrimp? If so, would putting less yeast and sugar in the canister decrease the CO2 output sufficiently?

This is the system I will be using: http://hagen.com/uk/aquatic/addinfo/co2system.html

For those who are not familiar with the Edge, it is a 6-gallon largely sealed aquarium, with a 5" x 7" or so open area for surface agitation and access, with a 20 gallon rated aquaclear power filter.

I have upgraded my lights with led bulbs and strips.

Thanks for any advice you can provide.

[newportjon]

Do you have a drop checker?

Before I switched to pressurized, I had one of these units on my 6.6 gallon. I had no problems as far as gassing fish was concerned. I also have relatively low GH, 7, and KH, 2.

You should be fine, just keep a close eye on your inhabitants.

[tetraontheedge]

Yes, I will be using a drop checker. I am glad to hear about your experience with the 6.6 gallon.

Re. keeping an eye on the inhabitants, one of my concerns is that this is an office tank, so I am only able to observe it during the day.

Obviously I would not start running the co2 right before a weekend--I guess I'd start on a Monday.

Should I disconnect it at night in the beginning, just to let it ramp up gradually and have more of a chance to see adverse effects in time to remedy them?

[Optix]

a CO2 ladder is so inefficient that I doubt you could gas your fish with [essentially, an overpriced] DIY CO2 generator

pro-tip> when you first introduce the ladder, the bubbles will get stuck...its perfectly normal, it takes about 3-4days for the ladder to develop a layer of bioslime that allows the bubbles to glide across smoothly

[newportjon]

In all honesty, I don't think that it will produce enough co2 to gas any of your fish or shrimp. Like you said, start it on a Monday to allow yourself the week to monitor everything.

I wouldn't worry too much, if I were you.

[tetraontheedge]

Okay, thanks Optix and Newportjon. I can be a little overcautious sometimes...both your advice is much appreciated.

[newportjon]

No problem, dude!

Good luck w/ the tank.

[sugarbyte]

I personally had some issues with diy co2 in my fluval edge. I'm not sure if the small surface area + lack of surface agitation made it worse overall. I lost a few shrimp and one of my juvenile killifish. I doubt the fluctuating ph levels helped at all...despite having a drop checker

Anyway, I'm sure you'll be successful! I just wanted to share my experiences. Let me know how it works out for you, maybe you can share your secret!

[BlueJack]

Same here...gassed a fish. The way that tank is built gives it such a small surface area for gases to transfer. Also, that ladder is kind of hard to hide in there.

When I was using DIY CO2 I was always having to trim plants since they would reach the top in no time. Working in that tank isn't the easiest thing to do either. After I went non-co2 my plants grew at a pace that I could deal with. Seems to be working well without CO2 and water changes once every 3 weeks.