KARENRANDALL

As is clearlyshownin this photoof Rotala wallachii coveredwithoxygenbubbles, oxygensupplyis not a problemin a properly managedplantedtank, evenwithsupplemental CO2.

Providing Supplemental CO2

There are several commercial CO2 systems available for those who would like to go that route. These systems vary from fully automatic to completely manual. The best of these systems are extremely reliable and fairly easy to install and operate. Be aware, however, that there are other commercial systems that are very high priced for the value you receive. f you are going to buy a commercially available system, do your homework and shop carefully! "or those of you who want to provide supplemental CO2, but would rather put together your own system, that too is possible, and not that difficult. t costs a lot to set up a tank of even moderate si#e. $hen you are talking about a tank of 2% gallons or more, the cost is usually up in the range of several hundred dollars when all is said and done. & homemade pressuri#ed tank CO2 system will cost under '2(( and will be much more useful than many expensive commercially available systems. f you are investing a fair amount of money in your setup anyway, it may make sense to add a pressuri#ed tank CO2 system at the same time.

Do-It-Yourself Pressurized Tank System

Take the time to do some comparison shopping )see the sidebar entitled *+aterials ,ist for -o. t./ourself 0ressuri#ed Tank 1ystem23. have found that the cost of CO2 supplies varies considerably from one supplier to another. CO2 canisters also vary considerably in price. $ith many gas suppliers, you *buy2 a tank, but when you bring it in for a refill, you don4t get the same tank back 5 they trade it for a full tank. This way, they can make sure that tanks are tested periodically, as re6uired by law, for the safety4s sake. /ou can find even less expensive tanks at fire extinguisher companies that sell used hydro.tested tanks, but make sure you also have a place that will refill these oddball tanks for you. 7emember, you will now be responsible for making sure that periodic safety checks are performed on the tank. +y first regulator was purchased from a welding supply shop for about '82(. This is an industrial.grade regulator, and is really not optimal for our purposes because the lowest pressure on the output gauge is higher than would like. "or my second setup, found a

store that speciali#ed in winemaking and beer brewing supplies. There, the regulator was less than half the price of my first regulator, and the lower flow was more suitable for my purposes. This was definitely a case where cheaper was better! 9eedle valves can be purchased from scientific supply houses and commercial plumbing suppliers )such as :rainger at www.grainger.com3. f you don4t have access to one of
MaterialsList for Do-It-Yourself PressurizedTankSystem CO2 cylinder(5 poundor 20 pound) $25 to $100 Regulator $55 Needlevalve $10 to $40 Air line tubing $2 Gravelvacuumor small clear plastic bottle $1 or $7 Total: $105to $214

these companies, check with a doctor, veterinarian, plumber or science teacher for some help locating one. Connect the regulator to the CO2 cylinder and the needle valve to the regulator. 1ome people make do with a regular air line gang valve. -on4t do it! /ou take the chance of dumping the entire tank of CO2 into your a6uarium in the case of an accident. f you would like to run several a6uaria off the same CO2 tank, several needle valves can be cobbled together with plumbing fittings to make a safe, effective manifold. &ttach a piece of air line tubing to the outflow of the needle valve. The air line tubing will be fed into your reaction chamber. $hile run my CO2 systems continuously to maintain as steady a p; as possible, some people feel the need to turn the CO2 off at night, when the lights are out. f you do this, you must also use a CO2.safe )not plastic3 check valve. 1mall amounts of CO2 actually diffuse right out through the tubing. $ithout positive pressure, the water level in the tubing will back up until it starts siphoning the water out of the tank. Besides the obvious dangers of a wet floor and dry fish, this can also damage your regulator, or even the CO2 tank itself. use Teflon plumber4s tape on all threaded connections to help seal the <oints. have heard some people say that small bits of Teflon can get into and damage a regulator, but if there is positive pressure in the system, and all old tape is removed and replaced each time the tank is changed, don4t see how it could get into the regulator. Check all connections for leaks by painting on a solution of dish soap and water. f bubbles form, you are losing CO2! There are a couple of options as to where to infuse the CO2 into the system. The first is to insert the air line tubing directly into the intake of your canister filter. n this case, the

CO2 will dissolve in the water inside the filter. There are two disadvantages to this method. "irst, the bubbles hitting the filter can make a fair amount of noise. 1econd, you cannot visually monitor the rate of flow unless you add a bubble counter to the system. 1ome people solve this problem by replacing the filter intake tube with clear tubing, but the filter must still be turned off temporarily to check bubble count. The method prefer uses the wide end of a gravel vacuum or a clear plastic water bottle )with the bottom cut off3 as a reaction chamber. This can then be attached to the outflow end of your canister filter. The air line tubing from the CO2 system is then fed up into the bottom of the gravel vacuum. /ou will be able to see the exact flow rate of CO2 by counting the bubbles through the plastic. The bubbles will tumble around in the filter outflow inside the cylinder, and be dissolved. find it helpful to attach a *=2.shape piece of rigid air line tubing to the end of the flexible tubing to help keep it in place within the reactor. There are a couple of parameters to keep in mind when setting the CO2 flow rate. "irst, you want the p; to be between >.( and ?.@ or so. 1econd, the CO2 levels in the tank should be between 8( and A( milligrams per liter )mgB,3. suggest staying in the middle of this range for safety4s sake. /ou will have to make sure that your carbonate hardness is such that you can stay within these guidelines. The recommended levels for carbonate hardness are between C and ? dD;. There are no hard and fast rules to follow as far as how much CO2 should be added to the tank. t will depend on the si#e of the tank, how much CO2 is being driven off by surface turbulence, how heavily the tank is planted, the stocking levels, and lighting. 1tart slowly and work up to the optimal level of CO2. would suggest starting with a flow rate of one bubble every five seconds and work upward from there. -uring the period when you are ad<usting the level of CO2 infusion, monitor the p; very carefully. /ou should check the p; every couple of hours for the first day or two. Then, when you think you have it ad<usted properly, continue to monitor the p; three times a day for another week. f you go a week without needing to ad<ust the flow rate, you4ve probably found your optimum level. Even then, it is important to check the p; regularly to avoid problems.

;ere lies the difference between this system and an expensive, fully automated system. n a fully automated system, you set the desired p; level and the system automatically uses <ust the right amount of CO2 to maintain your chosen p;.

Fntil you are thoroughly familiar with the use of CO2 and are confident of the infusion levels, would run an airstone on a timer set to come on when the lights go out. This will drive off excess CO2 and avoid ma<or p; drops overnight. &s time goes on, you will find that if the carbonate hardness )D;3 is ade6uate )between C and ? dD;3 and the plants are growing well, and if stocking levels are moderate, the p; will remain more stable without the use of an airstone overnight. But, until you are sure of yourself and your system, it is better to be safe than sorry.

Pop Bottle Yeast ea!tor CO2 System

f you4re <ust not convinced yet that you are willing to spend the money on a pressuri#ed tank system, or if you have only a couple of small a6uaria that need supplemental CO2, here4s a system that anyone can afford. The amount of CO2 produced is small, so it4s hard to hurt anything if you make a mistake. 1tart with a plastic bottle approximately 2 liters in si#e. have started using <uice bottles rather than soda bottles because they are a little sturdier and don4t collapse when you try to pick them up with one hand. /ou need to make a hole in the cap of the bottle big enough for a piece of air line tubing. 4m sure this could be done with an appropriately si#ed drill bit. use a large nail that hold in a pair of pliers in the flame of my gas stove. $hen it is hot, simply melt a hole in the plastic cap. t takes a little pressure, and may have to reheat the nail a couple of

times, but get a nice smooth edge and a tight fit. +ake the hole <ust slightly smaller than the diameter of the tubing. Cut the end of the tubing on an angle and use your pliers to pull the tubing through the hole in the cap. The fit should be 6uite tight. This will give you a fairly CO2.proof seal all by itself, but you don4t want any CO2 to leak out around the edges, so it is best to seal the tubing in place.

have found that a6uarium sealant doesn4t do a very good <ob. am able to get a good solid seal using a hot glue gun. &t this point you need to decide where you are going to feed the CO2 into your tank. One method is to set up a diffusion bell made of an inverted baby food <ar glued to small suction cups. The suction cups keep the <ar suspended on the back of the tank. "eed the end of the air line tubing into the bottom of the <ar. CO2 collects in the <ar and dissolves in the tank water. Commercially available diffusion bells are inexpensive and work fine too. &nother possibility is to feed the end of the air line tube directly into the intake or outflow of a canister filter. $hile don4t really like this option for pressuri#ed tank systems, with the smaller amounts of CO2 coming from a yeast reactor, this method is easy and effective. The mixture use in my yeast reactors is 2 cups of sugar and 8 teaspoon of yeast in an almost full bottle of lukewarm )not hot3 water. This mix lasts up to four weeks before half the mixture needs to be replaced. /our results may vary depending on the water supply, the yeast used, temperature and other variables. f your water is very soft and the p; is low, you may find that the yeast produces too much CO2 in the beginning, then exhausts itself 6uickly. n this case, the addition of a teaspoon of baking soda will slow down and even out the reaction. 0lay around until you find what works best for you. 0eople who use yeast reactors on an ongoing basis usually start a new bottle a day or two before they expect the old one to slow down to maintain as consistent a flow of CO2 as possible. +ake sure to either keep your yeast reactor higher than your tank, or use a CO2.safe check valve between the reactor and the tank. Otherwise, you can end up siphoning your a6uarium water out into the bottle with unpleasant conse6uences! This system is simple enough for anyone to put together, and extremely inexpensive. f you4re intrigued with the idea of supplemental CO2, but are reluctant to lay out the money for a bigger system, this is a good way to get your feet wet. & yeast reactor takes a little more maintenance than a semi.automatic system, but it is perfectly capable of producing the amount of supplemental CO2 needed by your plants, particularly on a smaller tank.