[justinq]

I just got the Foster & Smith semi-automatic CO2 package. I set it up two days ago, and set the bubble counter to what I estimated to be four or five bubbles per second. I don't have a drop checker yet, so I was going to use the method I've read about here of waiting till the fish are at the surface and then turning it down a little.

Anyway, I set it up on Wednesday and the fish were fine for the last two days. The system timer is working, so it has been shutting off every night. This morning when I checked the tank, all the fish were gasping on the surface, even though the CO2 had been off all night. I have an XP2 filter with the spraybar set halfway down in the tank, with the jets facing against the glass and downward so there is no surface movement. Since the fish were gasping, I angled the spraybar up to agitate the surface and also stirred things around a bit with my hand.

I'm not sure how to keep the CO2 at optimal levels, though. It took two days for the fish to end up gasping at the surface (well, maybe a day and a half since I set it up late on Wednesday), without adjusting for more bubbles. Is that typical and will turning it down a bubble or two solve the problem? I have heard people here talk about lifting the spray bar every night to get the CO2 out, but that would be a real pain to do every night because I can't do it without sticking my arm down into the tank. What's the best way to approach this? I'm totally new to pressurized, so any help is appreciated.

 

[fishtastic]

If u want an easy solution here you go. Get an air pump and air stone and a timer. Run the airstone 1hr after lights out and turn off 1hr before lights on. There are different methods to adjusting it, but I like having the high co2 concentration. My co2 runs all night long, and with the air pump/stone, I have yet to have my fish "gasping" at the surface. Im sure someone else will give u alternatives, if u dont want this one. Hope it helps.

 

[Rex Grigg]

That's pretty bad advice on how to set up a CO2 system if you ask me. Akin to using the baby to tell you if the bath water is too hot. As in.....

To determine the correct bath temperature for baby keep turning up the hot water till the babies skin turns red and starts to peel off. You will know at this point the water is too hot.

Why not measure the tank water pH and shoot for a 1° drop?

 

[fishtastic]

That's pretty bad advice on how to set up a CO2 system if you ask me. Akin to using the baby to tell you if the bath water is too hot. As in.....

To determine the correct bath temperature for baby keep turning up the hot water till the babies skin turns red and starts to peel off. You will know at this point the water is too hot.

Why not measure the tank water pH and shoot for a 1° drop?

Thats hilarious!!roud:

 

[LS6 Tommy]

That's pretty bad advice on how to set up a CO2 system if you ask me. Akin to using the baby to tell you if the bath water is too hot. As in.....

To determine the correct bath temperature for baby keep turning up the hot water till the babies skin turns red and starts to peel off. You will know at this point the water is too hot.

Why not measure the tank water pH and shoot for a 1° drop?

Nice!

roud:


Tommy <9))>>{

 

[KDahlin]

I don't have a drop checker yet, so I was going to use the method I've read about here of waiting till the fish are at the surface and then turning it down a little.

You read about this method on this forum?

 

[Joetee]

If he read this from one of my threads, I think he may have misunderstood me or I just wasn't clear. I use the PH/KH charts for now. I turn off my CO2 1 hour before lights are out, and turn it back on 2 hours before lights come back on with a solenoid and timer. And run an air pump with an air stone at night. While I was setting this up, I turn up the C02 just a little everyday. When I had bad algae, I turn it up a bit more everyday. When I first saw a few fish start to gasp I turned it back down a bit.

Now I learned that more water circulation with a power head has salved my Algae problem, at least I think this is what salved it. And now I still use the PH/KH chart until I can get the Drop Checker.

I dose all my ferts dry using the E.I. method. I use the NutriCalc calculator from Quenton from the Barrreport.com forum. I like this one the best out of all I've seen so far. I've looked at Chuck's, the Fertilator and another one. If there is something better, Please advise me.

I hope this helps.

Joe