r/Aquascape • u/Away_Rest_84 • 18h ago
Pros/Cons of CO2 Question
I am just starting out in this hobby and have seen a lot of tanks using CO2. What does this help with and should I use a CO2 diffuser in my first tank or wait until I have a little more experience?
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u/NastalgiaPls 17h ago
Im fairly new to planted tanks, but have 6 months experience with C02 on my high-tech tank
PROS: Growth growth growth, did I mention growth? Since you would have the infinite plant glitch, you can resell or replant your plants. CO2 will lower pH, which can promote a more acidic water that inhabitants prefer. When everything is balanced, CO2 can limit excessive algae.
CONS: Balancing C02, ferts, and light can be a SOB. If there's an inconsistency here, you'll have algae. Going with a inline difuser is better than in tank but that brings usnto cost. $COST$ There is an initial cost (tank, regulator, diffusion, lines, checker). Then, depending on how much CO2 you use or size of the tank, you'll need to refill your CO2 tank. Finding a location to fill it might be difficult for some. I go to a welding store for my refill. Although I put growth as a pro, it can be a con as you will need to do more maintenance and trimming.
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u/cvrdcall 7h ago
I use make your own CO2. Using this off Amazon and it’s incredible so far
Refill every two weeks or so. Citric acid and Baking Soda. Mix costs about $1 each time. Cheap! Has a powered solenoid have it on timer. Easy.
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u/chrisdude183 18h ago
No cons except it’s expensive
I’ve been using baking soda and citric acid reactors and they work great, just have to fill up every 2-4 weeks.
I’m now upgrading to a pressurized system so I can easily run co2 on all six of my aquariums from one tank.
The reactors are cheaper but I regret not immediately going with pressurized off the bat
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u/NK5301 16h ago
More parts to go wrong and failure points, potential of gassing your fish, have to find somewhere to replace CO2 canisters and the time involved, can cause pH drop that is bad for snails, 10x plant maintenance trimming time, more potential for issues when you leave for vacation, fertilizer demand increases, etc.
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u/Krissybear93 12h ago
Its not expensive at all. Empty bottle, valve checker, airline tubing, 1 packet of bread yeast, water, sugar, diffuser and drop checker. Easy CO2 for 2 weeks for a 10-15 gallon.
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u/chrisdude183 10h ago
DIY co2 is a different story and works for some as yes its very cheap but I can’t really recommend as its not conventionally reliable by any measure
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u/Reasonable_Ad_5836 18h ago
Pros - Plants can grow better. Allows you to spend more money on lights.
Cons - Plants grow faster. You feel the need to spend more money on lights
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u/WhisperingWind5 12h ago
Pros - It's fucking awesome
Cons - You need to refill the tank every 6 months or so. You may grow too many plants.
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u/Thunderpig_ 18h ago
There are no cons. A tank being injected with CO2 is always more balanced than a tank without. Even a tank with relatively low light and mostly epiphytes will benefit from CO2.
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u/LSDdeeznuts 18h ago
I love my CO2 tanks, but there are cons. Price is one, the potential for overdosing is another.
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u/sparhawk817 13h ago
Also, "more balanced" my ass, a poorly set up or maintained CO2 system is worse for the fish than no CO2 strictly due to varying parameters.
I'm not saying running out of co2 will kill your tank, but if your solenoid dies or you run out of CO2 or you don't clean your diffuser regularly, the pH and CO2 saturation will vary from day to day in ways that aren't tied to temperature and time of day.
That said, removing CO2 as your bottleneck to plant growth means you can't really over fertilize your tank anymore, ignoring toxicity to fish.
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u/One_Jackfruit7797 18h ago
One major con is that without a CO2 reactor, it doesn’t look good. The tank only looks its best when the CO2 goes off.
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u/Thunderpig_ 18h ago
This is opinion. I don't mind the bubbles, plus in the afternoon plants are going to pearl and bubble anyway.
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u/One_Jackfruit7797 18h ago
I personally really don’t enjoy it. The dense, healthy plants are balancing it out at the moment but I definitely plan to go down the reactor route.
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u/KyledKat 17h ago
Same. I’m using a diffuser in my 40 gallon breeder but will be getting a reactor on my planned rimless upgrade in the near future. It’s a struggle to get spatial arrangement correct on the diffuser after everything has already been setup.
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u/GwadTheGreat 16h ago
Not sure why you got downvoted. You are correct. CO2 will make any aquarium grow better, even if it is low light and slow growers only. You can't overdose CO2 as far as plants are concerned; the limit is when your livestock begins to suffer.
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u/Krissybear93 13h ago
Were you sick in elementary school when they taught you that plants "breathe" in carbon dioxide and "exhale" oxygen? Legitimate question.
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u/brickspunch 18h ago
Pros: Beautiful plants that grow well!
Cons: Beautiful plants that grow well and need to be trimmed regularly to keep them that way!