CO2

[olson78]

Anybody know where I can get a good, affordable CO2 reactor in Ottawa?   I'm thinking of doing the do it yourself C02 generator, but I think I'd like to go with a good reactor.

Would it be best to turn off my airstones during the day and turn them back on at night?  

Am I supposed to leave my C02 running all the time?

Cheers,
Mike

[BigDaddy]

You can make a very simple reactor by following the instructions here:

http://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/diyco2.html

Turn off CO2 at night.  CO2 is for plants, and plants don't use CO2 at night.  With the setup above, you can put the powerhead on the same timer as your lights (or maybe an hour earlier to get CO2 levels rising to target levels before the lights go on)

Yes, you should turn off your airstones during lights on, otherwise you will outgas CO2.  At night, its perfectly acceptable to run airstones.  Although, with good plant growth, the need for airstones is not really an issue anymore as the plants are generating lots of oxygen during the day.

[olson78]

great article.  Thanks!

[BigDaddy]

Yup... that's my favorite page to refer people to who want to get started with CO2

[jrs]

Thanks,  that is a great article!  I will definately being setting that up.

One question:  What keeps the pillow filter pad from blowing out the bottom of the tube?

Jrs