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Hello All,

I've been posting threads to disucss the use of CO2 to help my plants and thus battle green hair algae. Yesterday I got and used a CO2 test kit by Red Sea. Below are my tank specs. The amount of co2 I have in my tank right now is 4ppm. Is this enough based on my specs? (specs below)

Thanks
Eric
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Tank – 46gl bow-front

Lighting – time = 12hrs.
Coralide compact fluorescent 92W 6400K
25W fluorescent on half the time

Parameters –
Ammonia = 0.01
Nitrites = 0
Nitrates = 35

Fish –
5 adult, four juvenile Panda Corys (always spawning)
3 Otto cats
6 Gold White Clouds
8 Harlequins
6 Amano shrimp
(may seem overstocked but with stable parameters and Cory spawning it’s a good environment  )

Plants -
Not being too expert in plants I used Tropica to help me identify my plants. This is what I think I have –
A good stand of Hygrophila polysperma
A few good Hornwart plants, but some are covered in green hair aglae
One stem of Egeria densa
Something that I belevie to be Echinodorus tenellus, on the smallish side but it’s spreading
What I believe to be Cryptocoryne wendtii ''green'', good size and growing well even though it’s covered with green hair algae
A small bunch of Java moss
One small algae covered Anubus Nana

Fertilizers and Additives –
(all Seachem, dosed per instructions)
Twice Weekly –
Trace nutrients
Flourish
Iron
Excel
Potassium
Their Nitrate supplement

Once a month or so Phosphorus to keep the level at 0.10

Hi,

That's actually still a low amount of CO2. Try to get saturation up to 15-20ppm.

And that tank is actually not overstocked at all. I have 15 harleys, 4 yo-yo loaches and a BN in my tank, and I consider that slightly understocked... You're just fine

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Back in the saddle!

Eric,

For some reason I get the impression that you have the tendency to create a new thread with basically the same question whenever your previous thread’s responses are not what you would like them to be. First it was [link=This One]http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/forums/Planted%20Aquaria/65713.html?200510311430" style="COLOR: #ff6633[/link], then it was [link=That One]http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/forums/Planted%20Aquaria/65854.html?200511030941" style="COLOR: #ff6633[/link], and now you ask it here again.

I am not going to repeat here my entire statements that I made in the other threads, just a quick summary:

Nitrates are too high and CO2 is too low. I predict that the CO2 system you purchased will not be able to handle your tank size.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Ingo,

Please forgive me. I thought that a new thread for specific questoins was OK. I won't do that again. I asked the general question - is 4ppm of CO2 OK. I take that it's not high enough.

Next time I'll keep an old thread going even if the subject no longer applies

Thanks again for your input

Eric

Eric,

You are forgiven

You are absolutely right; a new thread for a new question is the right thing to do.

But I am not so sure that you actually have a new question as you list your specs again so people can make a judgment if your CO2 of 4ppm is enough. Anyone looking through these specs will have to come to the same conclusions then they would in your other threads.

One of your major goals with raising the CO2 is to battle your algae, but as long as all the other thing are not in sink this will not work. I actually believe that it will magnify your issues. And all suggestions delivered to you in the other threads should be considered at least as seriously as your desire to raise the CO2.

Do you happen to have a ph and KH test kit? With them you could verify your findings with the CO2 test kit.

Are you using the Turbo CO2 Bio-System already?
You know that the addition of Flourish Excel will not create a reading on your CO2 tests, right? Neither does it alter the ph.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club