Yugang CO2 Injection with tops tank

[WhoIsRoscoe]

I have a 125 Gallon tank that I am Co2 injecting for the first time. I do not like the Co2 reactor I have now so I am going to build a Yugang Rector but do not want to mess up my calculations when building. How does my tops effect the Yugang calculations, plus how safe is it to have tops on the tank as far as gas exchange and oxygenation is concerned. I have a photo showing the top of the tank.

Thanks

 

[Koan]

The calculations will be the same, it depends on what your goals are.

Are you growing stem plants that you want to grow super fast? With no fish or other livestock? Then you'll want to use the calculations for a 1.5 pH drop.

Do you want a more modest growth rate and / or lots of livestock? You want to use those calculation factors which are designed to provide much lower rate of injection, maybe 0.9 pH drop.

You'll also want to adjust your top in order to provide much more venting for room oxygen to circulate to the water surface, and make sure you have lots of surface agitation

Yugang reactor provides stability , injection without bubbles, set it and forget it reliability but it does not make adjustments for other inhabitants besides plants. That's up to you!

 

[That Guy Brian]

The calculations will be the same, it depends on what your goals are.

Are you growing stem plants that you want to grow super fast? With no fish or other livestock? Then you'll want to use the calculations for a 1.5 pH drop.

Do you want a more modest growth rate and / or lots of livestock? You want to use those calculation factors which are designed to provide much lower rate of injection, maybe 0.9 pH drop.

You'll also want to adjust your top in order to provide much more venting for room oxygen to circulate to the water surface, and make sure you have lots of surface agitation

Yugang reactor provides stability , injection without bubbles, set it and forget it reliability but it does not make adjustments for other inhabitants besides plants. That's up to you!

Maybe I'm misunderstanding (It's been a long week), but are you saying that if when using a Yugang reactor , there needs to be air vents and not a solid lid on the aquarium? Newbie here still waiting on my first tank to arrive, but want to make sure I have the proper path, as it's coming with a complete lid that I'm going to cut to fit equipment (spray bar etc). It's acrylic, so I can drill holes, if needed...

-B

 

[Unexpected]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding (It's been a long week), but are you saying that if when using a Yugang reactor, there needs to be air vents and not a solid lid on the aquarium? Newbie here still waiting on my first tank to arrive, but want to make sure I have the proper path, as it's coming with a complete lid that I'm going to cut to fit equipment (spray bar etc). It's acrylic, so I can drill holes, if needed...

-B

You want solid gas exchange via water surface movement. Lids will hinder this a bit.

 

[Koan]

when using a Yugang reactor

No this is true for any CO2 injection.

What I meant was, in answer to your original question the lid itself isn't going to change your calculations. Only your choice of plants, plant growth rate and livestock will.

If the lid on any CO2 injected tank is too tight, you will not get adequate oxygen from room air circulating over the aquarium water surface. Oxygen has to get to the water surface in order to get dissolved into your tank water.

You need adequate oxygen circulating to the water surface if you want to support fish, shrimps and snails

 

[That Guy Brian]

No this is true for any CO2 injection.

What I meant was, in answer to your original question the lid itself isn't going to change your calculations. Only your choice of plants, plant growth rate and livestock will.

If the lid on any CO2 injected tank is too tight, you will not get adequate oxygen from room air circulating over the aquarium water surface. Oxygen has to get to the water surface in order to get dissolved into your tank water.

You need adequate oxygen circulating to the water surface if you want to support fish, shrimps and snails

10-4 I understand better now. Thank you!

-B

 

[hamfist]

I use a Yugang on a 150 gallon tank which is fully covered, apart from two 4 "x 2" access gaps. I'd say it likely makes a small difference, in that the overflowing Yugang (assuming its used in Overflow mode) "burps" its CO2 overflow out into the space between the water and the lid. This will increase the CO2 concentration in that gap quite considerably during the "CO2 period". This will reduce CO2 loss slightly from the tankwater surface compared to an open tank (down to the basic rules of diffusion). For me, in use, in my particular situation I am able to get reasonable CO2 levels in the tank water using a Yugang slightly smaller than might be needed according to the "traditional" calculations. If I was forced to guess, I'd say that my whole Yugang CO2 injection system becomes around 10-15 % more efficient compared to using it on an open tank.
One also has to just keep an eye out that O2 levels in that space below the lid do not get too low, as clearly it could potentially lower O2 levels in the tank if it went to extremes. Just for completeness .... I do not aerate during the day, only at night and in my particular setting that seems to work very well. My livestock never show any signs of low O2 levels. (PLants producing O2 during the photoperiod will obviously help here too).