Aquarium CO2 Systems

"Photosynthesis" - we all learnt about it in school didn't we? No doubt you know this already, but just to refresh, here's a definition of Photosynthesis:

"Photosynthesis is a chemical process through which plants produce glucose and oxygen from carbon dioxide and water, using only light as a source of energy."

Essentially, what this means is without a source of Carbon Dioxide, your aquarium plants can't properly Photosynthesise to produce the sugars they need to survive. Or to put it another way: No CO₂ = A Dead Plant.

But how do you give your aquarium plants CO2? Thankfully, it's not as difficult as you might think; just as you use an air pump to pump Oxygen into your aquarium, you can buy Aquarium CO2 Systems to pump Carbon Dioxide into your tank. We'll look into that more further on.

One problem you may encounter while operating your CO2 system is actually sourcing the CO2 cylinders needed for your system. Our range of CO2 systems come with an (optional) adapter that enable you to use a range of easily accessible CO2 cylinders as your CO2 source. These include: SodaStream cylinders, Disposable Welding CO2 cylinders, or Paintball CO2 cylinders - simply select which type you'd like.

By using one of these adapters you are assured that a supply of CO2 is always conveniently available from a high street shop. Our CO2 Systems are customisable to enable you to select which adapter you would like to use.

A gas regulator is needed to 'regulate' the high pressure from the CO2 cylinder to a lower, usable pressure for use in the aquarium. Our range of regulators are purpose-built for aquarium use and very safe, easy to install, and use.

The regulators included in our Aquarium CO2 Systems come with an integrated solenoid magnetic valve, which enable use of a timer plug to turn the CO2 off when the lights in your aquarium are switched off and the plants are not Photosynthesising.

A bubble counter is a simple but effective piece of equipment that enables you to monitor the dosing of CO2 into your aquarium. By counting the number of bubbles flowing through the unit, you can adjust the flow controller on the regulator to achieve the 'bubble count' you require.

For example, for a 150L aquarium a bubble rate of 60 bubbles / minute is a good starting point.

The bubble counters that we sell also include an integrated 'check valve' (aka 'one-way valve') that will prevent water from siphoning down the tubing from the aquarium and into your regulator, possibly causing damage.

Going back to our school days again, in Science lessons we learnt that the rate of a reaction can be increased by increasing the surface area of the reactant, e.g. turning a solid block into a powder. The same principle applies to diffusing the CO2 in your aquarium water; the more surface area the CO2 has in contact with the water, the better the level of diffusion you will achieve. The way to do that is produce very small bubbles of CO2, rather than one large bubble.

The part responsible for this is the 'CO2 Diffuser'. The diffuser emits very small bubbles of CO2. The smaller the bubble, the more surface area, and the better the level of diffusion achieved.

We stock a wide range of diffusers, but the type included in our CO2 systems are known as 'atomizer' diffusers. Atomizer diffusers, as the name suggests, produce incredibly small bubbles of CO2, and therefore achieve very high levels of diffusion.

A drop checker is deployed within the aquarium and changes colour to reflect the level of CO2 in the aquarium water; yellow indicates too much CO2, blue indicates low CO2 levels, green indicates correct CO2 levels. This eliminates any guesswork as it enables the correct level of CO2 dosing for a specific aquarium. Adjustments can be made using the flow controller on the regulator, and using the bubble counter to monitor the dosing level.

The solution for the drop checker comes pre-mixed, so set-up and installation is done in just a couple of minutes.

To connect your pieces of equipment together you will need to use tubing. It is not recommended to use the same PVC or Silicon tubing used for an air pump because it will react with the CO2 and will eventually crack or become porous, resulting in a leak. Instead we supply high-grade CO2-resistant Polyurethane tubing, which will not react with CO2.