[tankpants]

I'm running CO2 when the lights are on with a diffuser. I have about 1 bubble every 2 seconds. Is that enough or too much? It a 75 gallon tank with Anubias, swords, and some cuba. thanks.

 

[Pattern8]

Are you running low, med, or high lighting? Also, do you know your ph?

I would keep it where you've got it for a few weeks and use the cuba as kind of your barometer. In my very short time of running co2 and with your particular plant mix I would say that the affects of co2 will make itself apparent in the cuba before anything else.

 

[tankpants]

3 watts per gallon on the 75 gallon tank. PH is 7.4ish. it's tough to get the damn tap water PH down.

 

[Radical MT]

3 watts per gallon on the 75 gallon tank. PH is 7.4ish. it's tough to get the damn tap water PH down.

I believe the problem is the way is diffused.
I have an 125gal tank and my tap water is about 8ph and I'm able to drop the ph to 6.2 if necessary. Work with that first and then worry about bps later. Remember to check your fishes every time you do adjustments to prevent gassing the fishes. Try a cerger method

 

[Pattern8]

If anything I would venture to say you're most likely on the "not enough co2" side of things. Would need to know your KH to be sure but I would very highly doubt your running too much. pH can be a frustrating thing to adjust due to a number of factors involved. The KH of your water, additives, etc. Local water authorities here add lime stone and phosphates. This results in a KH of 3, a phosphate level of 1 ppm, and ultimately a resting pH of 7.6-7.8. I finally gave up and purchased an RODI unit from aquafx.

If I remember correctly 3 watts per gallon is med/high so you may need to increase the bbs. But as I said before try running it with what you have for a couple of weeks and keep an eye on the Cuba. If you have good health and growth there and no major algae problems you may be set. If not slowly increase your bbs and reevaluate.

PS If if you have any shrimp in there I have heard many "old timers" suggest turning up the co2 Unit the shrimp start to slow down and start to appear a bit drunk. At that point you would want to dial it back slightly and you're good to go hahah

 

[Hoppy]

One average size bubble every 2 seconds is not going to be a significant amount of CO2 for that size tank, no matter how much light you have. That is a number normally associated with 10-20 gallon tanks.

 

[lksdrinker]

I'm running CO2 when the lights are on with a diffuser. I have about 1 bubble every 2 seconds. Is that enough or too much? It a 75 gallon tank with Anubias, swords, and some cuba. thanks.

Its too much if your fish are heading to the surface and gasping for air. If they're not then its either just right and you'll see the result in your plant growth; or its not enough and you wont see any results in your plant growth.

Comparing rates of co2 injection by how many bubbles you see is essentially worthless. Whats a standard bubble? How much pressure does your system run at to create that bubble? what kind of bubble counter? what kind of medium is in the bubble counter. Hell your elevation above sea level and barometric pressure could even play a small role in the variations there. My point is, dont worry about how much you inject compared to how much someone else injects.

The bubble counter is nice for you to have as a visual reference. But it doesnt really tell you much other than maybe you're injecting more today than you were yesterday. Still wont tell you if you're injecting enough, too much, or not enough. Use the bubble counter coupled with a drop checker. Now you have an idea of how much (using the bubble counter) you need to add to see a drop in ph of about 1 (using the drop checker). Once you get to that point is where the fine tuning comes in and what I think the best thing to do is watch your livestock. Essentially keep adding co2 until you see an adverse reaction from the fish (gasping for air at the surface). Now back off on the co2 a bit and you've pretty much found the sweet spot for this tank and this tank only.

 

[PlantedRich]

Its too much if your fish are heading to the surface and gasping for air. If they're not then its either just right and you'll see the result in your plant growth; or its not enough and you wont see any results in your plant growth.

Comparing rates of co2 injection by how many bubbles you see is essentially worthless. Whats a standard bubble? How much pressure does your system run at to create that bubble? what kind of bubble counter? what kind of medium is in the bubble counter. Hell your elevation above sea level and barometric pressure could even play a small role in the variations there. My point is, dont worry about how much you inject compared to how much someone else injects.

The bubble counter is nice for you to have as a visual reference. But it doesnt really tell you much other than maybe you're injecting more today than you were yesterday. Still wont tell you if you're injecting enough, too much, or not enough. Use the bubble counter coupled with a drop checker. Now you have an idea of how much (using the bubble counter) you need to add to see a drop in ph of about 1 (using the drop checker). Once you get to that point is where the fine tuning comes in and what I think the best thing to do is watch your livestock. Essentially keep adding co2 until you see an adverse reaction from the fish (gasping for air at the surface). Now back off on the co2 a bit and you've pretty much found the sweet spot for this tank and this tank only.

Got to agree with this thinking. No way to say how much is enough. some plants grow and use more, some less as well as all the other variables. Like watts per gallon? The type of light using those watts and lots of small things like how far away and how deep the tank, how tall the plants and what types? Too many factors to say what is right, so just slowly increase and watch the fish is good for me.

 

[tankpants]

Thanks all.