[sandiegoryu]

I recently purchased a drop checker to find out my CO2 at day is constantly at yellow, meaning >30 ppm.

My shrimp are doing fantastic and I also had one oto in there and he was doing fine too.

So shrimp have a higher tolerance to CO2 then do they? I think its fair to conclude that through what I have observed. Are dwarf crayfish also tolerant of high CO2?

The reason I kept it high is because if I lower my CO2, my CO2 stops after it being off for the night via solenoid+timer. I think its just a shotty needle valve but if I keep the CO2 rate high enough it'll keep going. And I also had a recent outbreak of BBA and I'd like to do everything possible to prevent this beast from coming back.


Any input on this? One thing I noticed at high CO2 is that the shrimp tend to fly away much much faster. When the CO2 is low they would pick at my tweezers which frequent the tank while at high Co2 they run away just at the site of it. Like 5 of those tail swings to the back of the tank.

 

[plantbrain]

You can try less light and less CO2 also.
Less light = less CO2 demand = slower growth.
Amano shrimp seem pretty tolerant of high CO2.

Generally, a good needle valve is worth it's weigh in gold.
I have used a number of vlaves, I really like the Nupro/Swagelok brand, but a nice valve from www.Aquacave.com recently peeked my interest, 21$ but it's much nicer than the 18$ clippard's and has a direct 1/8" MTP thread(vs the tiny 10-32 thread which is hard to find parts for and easy to unseat since there's only a small thread and a thin rubber seal) that you can screw with teflon tape right into a solenoid housing and reduce the leaks and potential issues, then use tygon tubing from there after the reg-solenoid-needle valve manifold->> low pressure, 1-3 psi etc.

If you run the CO2 line to the tank and then add a valve at the end, it will have much higher pressure and leak potential through the lines(generally ran at about 10-20psi pre needle valve pressure).

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[sandiegoryu]

I have an Azoo Regulator that came with the needle valve which is attached to the solenoid itself.

Well I was gonna experiment with my CO2 but I learned today that my 20z paintball canister had ran out :-(. Time to go to Sports Chalet! Only 3 bucks or so for a refill! I hope this doesn't trigger a BBA breakout! So scared...

 

[Canadiancray]

You could also try a proper setup with a PH monitor that will maintain a set PH level. That way there is no guessing.

 

[sandiegoryu]

Uh... yah. If only I had the money! lol. I'm gonna refill my tank today. Noticed an increase of growth in BBA and staghorn. Something is wrong with my water but I can't find out. I hope its just because of the sudden decrease in CO2

 

[oblongshrimp]

you could always just have your CO2 turn off for an hour or two in the middle of the day so the levels don't get to high. There will still be plenty in the water but you shouldnt have as high of levels by the end of theday.

 

[sandiegoryu]

That is a good idea. I'll try that out. Thanks.