co2 regulator on a timer?

[cradlefan]

I have read of people setting their lights and co2 to go off at the same time....Is that just as good as purchasing a ph probe and monitor to shut off my solenoid(If that's actually how the solenoid works anyway)? I am new to the whole pressurized co2 thing. Let me give you the whole rundown. I have the tank, light, everything except the diffuser(which is coming). Anyway, this will be my first attempt at press. co2...I just bought an AquaticLife co2 regulator and put it on my tank....now I am wondering how to set it up?....It's a regulator with a solenoid, do I even really need a solenoid if I am running it on a timer? What exactly is the solenoid for? I am kinda lost and don't want to kill any fish life when I start this thing.... Thanks for the help in advance!

 

[Sigrid]

Hello,
New to the CO-2 pressurized method? Little scary, I admit.

In my 125 gallon tank (the avatar picture) I am using a Dupla - from Germany - regulator. I leave the CO-2 provision on 24/7, and I have no fish losses.
On the outside of the tank I have a bubble counter in which I can count the bubbles per minute going to the reactor (where the CO-2 dissolves).
On the inside of the tank I have a visual indicator from Dupla. *see my Personal Gallery*
This is a visual indicator, not a drop counter!
To this indicator I add TANK WATER - amount required shows on the body of the indicator. To this TANK WATER I add 2 drops of indicator fluid, snap the little indicator apparatus together and place it into the tank.

The beauty of this German indicator is that you don't have to mess around with measuring and adding all kinds of chemicals, distilled water and more, you do as the instructions tell you, and at a glance you can see how the water/CO-2 conditions in the tank are.
Yellow = danger, CO-2 way too high
Green = perfect, all is well
Blue = too little CO-2 in the water, increase the number of bubbles per minute.

Red Sea Company carries the German visual indicator and the indicator fluid.
I have been getting lots of responses from participants here at the forum because they don't believe that the Dupla appliance is so easy to use. Because I received such conflicting information here at the forum, I did call the manufacturer in Germany and was reassured that I had been following the instructions correctly by using TANK WATER and not tap water. *see my Personal Gallery*

 

[cradlefan]

thank you for your response. I have used the drop indicator stuff before for my diy co2 setup. I'm not sure if I am brave enough to run my pressurized co2 while my lights are off....Maybe I will just put it on a timer to be safe? Uh, I don't know what I have got myself into....

 

[Dreamweaver]

Hi, not an expert by any means, but will offer my two cents worth anyway Think of it this way, in the wild there is no one to turn off co2, and fish don't die right ?? I don't turn mine off either, it runs 24/7 & have lost no fauna because of it. Just sayin

 

[Mgamer20o0]

I have read of people setting their lights and co2 to go off at the same time....Is that just as good as purchasing a ph probe and monitor to shut off my solenoid(If that's actually how the solenoid works anyway)? I am new to the whole pressurized co2 thing. Let me give you the whole rundown. I have the tank, light, everything except the diffuser(which is coming). Anyway, this will be my first attempt at press. co2...I just bought an AquaticLife co2 regulator and put it on my tank....now I am wondering how to set it up?....It's a regulator with a solenoid, do I even really need a solenoid if I am running it on a timer? What exactly is the solenoid for? I am kinda lost and don't want to kill any fish life when I start this thing.... Thanks for the help in advance!

a timer just turns it off and on nothing like a ph probe. a ph probe really isnt needed for the most part. turning the co2 off and night saves you money and time effort for not having to refill the tank so often. with a solenoid it opens up as long as there is power. no power it turns off.

Hi, not an expert by any means, but will offer my two cents worth anyway Think of it this way, in the wild there is no one to turn off co2, and fish don't die right ?? I don't turn mine off either, it runs 24/7 & have lost no fauna because of it. Just sayin

yes but we inject co2 into the water at a much higher level then any wild lake river stream. i have run co2 tanks 24/7 it is possible. though turning it off saves a lot of co2 though.

 

[SubRosa]

Supplementing CO2 at night makes no sense since the plants are giving it off as a waste product during that time.

 

[Cerianthus]

Hi, not an expert by any means, but will offer my two cents worth anyway Think of it this way, in the wild there is no one to turn off co2, and fish don't die right ?? I don't turn mine off either, it runs 24/7 & have lost no fauna because of it. Just sayin

There is no induced CO2 injection in the wild to begin with, thus requires no shutting off. Thus all are well in the wild unless balance/equilibrium is lost/disturbed for whatever reasons.

All on equilibrium in nature same as your tank is situated without CO2 injection.

Depending on the tanks, amt of plants or should I say CO2 demand will vary and #/types/size of fish affects whole system..

 

[rockhoe14er]

Hi, not an expert by any means, but will offer my two cents worth anyway Think of it this way, in the wild there is no one to turn off co2, and fish don't die right ?? I don't turn mine off either, it runs 24/7 & have lost no fauna because of it. Just sayin

In the wild you can't grow the lush aquascapes that we can create in our aquarium. I agree running co2 24/7 is pointless and can be stressful to fish. I like to turn my co2 on an hour before my lights come on and turn it off an hour before lights go off. I would also like to suggest that you get lots of surface agitation in your tank. This will help make the higher levels of co2 less stressful to your fish by putting in more o2 into the water. Yes you will lose some co2 in this but just crank up your co2 a bit more and you should reach a great equilibrium.

 

[Cerianthus]

View attachment 168520Hello,
New to the CO-2 pressurized method? Little scary, I admit.

In my 125 gallon tank (the avatar picture) I am using a Dupla - from Germany - regulator. I leave the CO-2 provision on 24/7, and I have no fish losses.
On the outside of the tank I have a bubble counter in which I can count the bubbles per minute going to the reactor (where the CO-2 dissolves).
On the inside of the tank I have a visual indicator from Dupla. *see my Personal Gallery*
This is a visual indicator, not a drop counter!
To this indicator I add TANK WATER - amount required shows on the body of the indicator. To this TANK WATER I add 2 drops of indicator fluid, snap the little indicator apparatus together and place it into the tank.

The beauty of this German indicator is that you don't have to mess around with measuring and adding all kinds of chemicals, distilled water and more, you do as the instructions tell you, and at a glance you can see how the water/CO-2 conditions in the tank are.
Yellow = danger, CO-2 way too high
Green = perfect, all is well
Blue = too little CO-2 in the water, increase the number of bubbles per minute.

Red Sea Company carries the German visual indicator and the indicator fluid.
I have been getting lots of responses from participants here at the forum because they don't believe that the Dupla appliance is so easy to use. Because I received such conflicting information here at the forum, I did call the manufacturer in Germany and was reassured that I had been following the instructions correctly by using TANK WATER and not tap water. *see my Personal Gallery*

I, myself, WAS a Dupla user although all the gadgets are packed away.

I dont know why anyone would use tap water in the indicator as indicator is to indicate dissolved CO2 level of tank water and independent from regulator. It's just an indicator to assist in determining volume of CO2 injected.

I bet you probably would yield same result when used standard pH (not high range)indicator instead of solutions from Dupla/Europe.

Wondering if youre using solenoid valve and if so, hooked up to Dupla pH Controller?

btw, awesome tank!

 

[coach_z]

pH probes are a waste. They need to be calibrated, and are overall a pain.

a timer to turn on/off your solenoid is the best method. Many people have it turn on 1 hour before their lights turn on and one hour before they turn off. This allows co2 to build to proper conditions before lights turn on, and allow co2 to 'run out' during the remaining hour of the photoperiod. Running co2 24/7 is a waste IMHO. Save 14 hours of co2/day and use it for the other half of the year.

co2 in the wild? Co2 reaches a higher equilibrium in nature (why? google it) than in the tank. in a tank it is only about 2-3ppm. This is why we inject co2. also to get even better growth than we could.

also, 4dkH is the new 'technology' that is being used in drop checkers. Using tank water is an outdated way of doing it.

But...In the end, do what you want and keep doing it if it works for you.