Refugium

[mohamed]

Hi Guys,

Have any of you tried inducing CO2 to your refugium? Any consequencing effect on that?

[lightningstrike]

excessive CO2 will cause pH to drop.

[mohamed]

Ya. PH will drop.

But CO2 is good for macro's growth.

[terryansimon]

would you want your tank to suffer from low pH, and have all fish die/get stressed as a result and have a nice garden of macroalgae to boast about?

or would you rather let your CO2 levels be natural, let them macroalgae grow naturally, and have happy and healthy fishes who live in ideal pH ranges?

[mohamed]

The question here is whether the refugium's condition is ideal for macro's growth? And what can be done to improve and accelerate its growth cause it is a form of nutrient export.

Does anyone have any experiences with dosing CO2 without much indifferences?

[ervine]

why bother to pump CO2 in??

From what I know dissolved CO2 gas does not remain in the water column for long, especially so for a marine tank with an overflow, skimmer etc... So in essence all your CO2 injected will be quickly released back into the atmosphere...

[mohamed]

If that's true, how then can macros' grow?

I believe, there is CO2 content in saltwater. But if, we are able to increase it, can they grow better?

[terryansimon]

heard of photosynthesis? they require more than CO2 my dear friend.

why do you think we put lights in the refugium, instead of CO2 bubble dispensers...or whatever you call that gizmo. (=

I don't bother pumping in CO2 simply because it's a waste of money and time. and besides, my macroalgae grow quite well thank you very much, even without additional CO2. why? that is because I have a high nutrient tank, and high nutrient = NO3. since NO3 is required for the growth of all plant forms, including macroalgae, my macroalgae blooms as a result. when I mean bloom, they really bloom. like wildfire. (=

[mohamed]

my friend, I was into planted way before marine.

and i know photosynthesis requirements.

What I want to know is whether inducing CO2 will improve their growth? Cause mine isn't doing too well. Main purpose is to remove NO3 of course and not to have a beautiful macro garden which I had before in planted tanks.

[terryansimon]

why are you so uptight over whether your macroalgae is doing well or not?

if they aren't doing well, it could be due to the lack of NO3 to fuel their growth *which is good!*, lack of adequate lighting *not that it really matters*, or simply bad water chemistry that we may not know of *uh-oh*.

unless you are going for a marine planted tank, I don't see why you should engage yourself in a philosophical quip about whether injecting CO2 is good for macroalgae growth, when it has been shown without a shadow of a doubt that it may do more harm to your tank and your pockets.

PS by shown I mean from what the other reefers have mentioned in the posts prior to mine.

[mohamed]

brother, how I wonder there is no NO3.

purpose for the macro algae is to reduce the NO3. Since the cylinder is lying around, might as well put to use. therefore, asking around whether anyone has experience inducing to refugium=promoting their growth=reducing NO3.

[weileong]

what type of macro are you trying to grow?

and how old is your reef already?

how about lighting schedule in your refigium?

[mohamed]

Caulerpa. Tank is 150g and abt 6 mths old. reverse lighting cycle for 9hrs.

[Melvyn Tan]

I think mohamad is just trying to ask a simple question and whether anyone have experience in inducing CO2, it appears, in my opinion some of the replies are a little bit harsh and antagonistic, at least the tone of it.

Do be more cordial, it will build everyone up

[terryansimon]

me? harsh?

I'm just blunt. (=

I'm sorry if I appear to be blunt, but that is just me. anybody can testify to it. (=

[Melvyn Tan]

Hehehe

Anyway, mohamad - i think there is no need to induce CO2 as it will cause more harm than good. Sometimes when setting up a refugium it will sort of cause the macro to turn "white" or it does not grow well at all, but i would like to think that it will be good to let it run its course naturally.

By inducing it makes the algae grow artificially but does not help the system to balance itself, which the intent in having a refugium is to do just that...

Anyone wants to further contribute???

[williammuk]

I think that is a fair summary by Melvyn Tan.

[cheese]

Hi Guys,

Have any of you tried inducing CO2 to your refugium? Any consequencing effect on that?

Hi, me also do plant tank before, also have a cylinder laying around. Also thought of adding in, but second thought, hope I'm not too wrong:-

1. it will cost PH to drop, and with objective to keep above 7.8, that mean unless I need a probe to control its dosage accurately, else it may be a problem.

2. so where does those CO2 come from? Not just the live stocks, anything that decompose, that include food remains, waste. And when all are sleeping, CO2 will be induced naturally. So, how much is your live stocks load?

3. as we know any bubbling will release the CO2, the skimmer and flushing flow into the sump tank will get rid much of the CO2, but will it remove all?

4. how bad is the NO3, how well will the plant able to absorb it, even with CO2 comes in?

Personally, find it possible to put in the CO2, but with well balanced condition and accurate dosage, and that could be a harder things to do, and may miss-cue causing disaster easily.

Cheers!

[ervine]

I also have a planted tank.. i've not bothered to injected it with CO2 for well over 2 years... and the plants still grow like crazy...

Aquatic plants (freshwater) can draw on other forms of carbon, namely dissolved organic carbons as compared to only dissolved CO2 gas... I believe macroalgae will be able to do the same as well... i do not believe that the ocean contains a lot of dissolved CO2 gas anyways...

Well if you don't believe us why don't you try to inject the CO2 into your refugium and see for yourself...

I too tried several types of macroalgae before, sea lettuce, calpura etc... but they never seemed to survived for long, after several tries only an unidentifiable macroalgae survived and thrived in my refugium...

[cheese]

Another idea for your CO2 application, which I have also think for a long long time...Calcium reactor.

Cheers!

[mohamed]

Ervine,

What algae are you having now that is thriving?

Melvyn, Tks.

Anyway, there are artificial methods of promoting growth and maintaning a reef tank such as calcium reactors which supplement calcium and skimming. If I remember correctly there is a reefer who maintains a skimmerless tank. Although inducing CO2 may not be critical as the others, there are people who have failed in their refugium. Maybe CO2 could improve macro's growth? I don't know. It's worth trying.

[kareen]

Hi mohamed!

1) Introducing CO2 is a no no for this case unless u had a CR.

Macro algae not doing well could only be light not enough **normal case**

1) u can try having your refu. lighting ON for 24hrs first and see how.

2) still fail then give it more light. Also, best to get 6500k type

Side note from what I observe when I applied reverse lighting period for my tank is that the macro algae turn a bit white **asexual, I think** and not doing too well so I had the light on 24/7.