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Anyone use CO2 in hydro setups?

Hinky

Hinky

I figured if it's good enough for aquarium plants it's got to be good enough for something, right?

I got a bunch of CO2 tablets, as intended for aquarium plant growing. I honestly don't know if it's helping or not, but it certainly doesn't seem to be hurting any- I just drop a couple in the nutrient bucket every few days. If anyone else has experimented with this and have any empirical results, I'd sure be interested in hearing about it. I suppose I could use the CO2 bottle from my kegs, but I'm definitely not interested in flat beer- I've got priorities!
 
I think to gain benefit from using co2 you must have it airborne so that the plant can "breath" it through it's leaves. I have heard of up to 30% increase in yeild when used with not so legal plants. People even brew up a special yeast solution that releases co2 into the sealed grow area.
 
I believe you're right Nova. Plants absorb oxygen through roots, CO2 through leaves. You might want to be careful adding CO2 tabs to your res, might mess with the pH or something.

I've also read that supplementing the air with CO2 is only helpful if your plant is already growing fast enough to make use of all the currently available CO2, otherwise additional CO2 simply doesn't get used by the plant. Also it doesn't do much good to supplement CO2 if you have a lot of ventilation since it will just be sucked right out of the room. I believe you are supposed to use CO2 in closed environment.

Dunno though, I do not speak from experience on this subject, only things I've read so I could be completely wrong. Where's Willard?
 
Yeah, the only way I can see CO2 being useful is in a completely closed system where there are lots of plants full of foliage.

Mike
 
well i have used co2, a 20# tank and i have to say i got greater growth from using it .... TX said it, has to be inclosed room for it to work right, i also know that your temps in the room need to be a bit hotter for the plants to use all the co2 in the room ... and there is a new thing out, co2 in a bucket and i have heard that it works good....i think it is called co2 boost i would have to look it up if your interested...also your ppm should be 1500ppm for max growth in the room when lights come on till they go off...
 
Thanks for the heads up, red. I'd be interested in more info on the bucket.
I have no troubles with the enclosed room part since it's currently 20 degrees outside and snowing. My 'little shop of horrors' is enclosed, I don't have any worries about pissing away CO2 in the house or anything. Currently it's 80°F and 82% humidity in the incubator and 75°F and 63% humidity in the main lab.
Here's a thought- what about using a Mosquito Magnet to produce CO2?
 
Hinky said:
Thanks for the heads up, red. I'd be interested in more info on the bucket.
I have no troubles with the enclosed room part since it's currently 20 degrees outside and snowing. My 'little shop of horrors' is enclosed, I don't have any worries about pissing away CO2 in the house or anything. Currently it's 80°F and 82% humidity in the incubator and 75°F and 63% humidity in the main lab.
Here's a thought- what about using a Mosquito Magnet to produce CO2?
Click to expand...

Don't even know what a mosquito magnet is but I believe this is the style bucket redeyes was talking about:
DIY CO2 bucket system:
http://www.rollitup.org/general-marijuana-growing/121920-diy-co2-bucket-system.html

Yes it is on a pot forum, but these guys know their shit. Haha with a name like redeyes i figured you'd have this page bookmarked :P
 
Heh- sorry, I should have explained- mosquito magnet is a device that kills mosquitoes. Lots and lots of them. It's the best God Damned thing invented for the backyard, EVER. What they do is mimic human scent through the use of a small (STINKY!) disk, and by using a very small propane burner that is coupled with a catalytic converter to make CO2.

I'd have to dig it out of the shop since it's winter and all, but I'm pretty sure that it's got a huge by large warning on it saying you're not suposed to use it indoors.

Thanks for the interesting link- it looks like even the potheads are having a hell of a debate on the use of CO2. As one pot poster pointed out, I'm not so sure that plants solely inhale CO2 in leaves, and that they inhale O2 from roots. I was thinking the same thing that the yeast guy was thinking, in that diffusing the CO2 into the nutrient solution will bubble up to the leaves, and that it will be absorbed by the roots as well.

I've discovered that the potheads using that forum as well as others are definitely not the same potheads I grew up with. They definitely do know their shit!
 
Hmm, sounds pretty cool. May increase heat substantially in an enclosed grow room depending on the size. They do use co2 generators that burn stuff to generate co2 for larger grow ops. Dunno, higher temps are ok with higher co2 levels or even recommended as redeys said so it might not be a bad thing especially in winter. I'd be at least interested to see the results.
 
wordwiz said:
Yeah, the only way I can see CO2 being useful is in a completely closed system where there are lots of plants full of foliage.

Mike
Click to expand...

Agreed Mike large producers here have furnaces in there greenhouses
which keeps the temp up and obviously gives the plants all that lovely co2 they need :)
 
I don't know about the aquarium tabs but generally carbonated water is good for plants since it contains more nutrients.

http://spot.colorado.edu/~basey/ldanzell.html
If plants are fed carbonated water for a period of time then it should grow faster than plants given regular tap water. This is because most plants absorb nutrients dissolved in water through their roots. Club Soda or carbonated water contains macronutrients essential to plant growth. Those macronutrients are: carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, phosphorous, potassium, sulfur, and sodium. Given proper nutrients, plants should grow at a faster rate than those who do not acquire as much of the nutrients
 
It may be worth a try. I'm experimenting with some plants now as far as sowing and then transplanting them so I can try some using only club soda, some with 50/50 soda/tap water and the rest with just tap water.

Mike
 
Yes it is on a pot forum, but these guys know their shit. Haha with a name like redeyes i figured you'd have this page bookmarked :P[/QUOTE]

i was thinking the same thing about your name..yeah i have been around the block 1-2 times TX... i know how to grow almost anything in hydro... ok here is a web site that has the co2 bucket system ... http://www.co2boost.com/home.aspx
 
For higher carbon dioxide levels you can also use dry ice, C02 pucks, a C02 generator, or if in cold climate any open flame heater.
 
Anyone every try the Yeast/sugar/water in a milk jug method?


Thread didnt seem too old, thought I'd post in it instead of starting a new thread.
 
POTAWIE said:
For higher carbon dioxide levels you can also use dry ice, C02 pucks, a C02 generator, or if in cold climate any open flame heater.
Click to expand...

BE CAREFUL with open flame heaters! It takes lives daily! Better then co2 is giving your roots air! My aeroponic chamber has been working awsome for chiles so far, but once the roots met the water level in the chamber. I added air stones under each plant. Holy crap did they take off!:shocked:
 
joeknowsjolokia said:
BE CAREFUL with open flame heaters! It takes lives daily!
Click to expand...

We've been using open flame heaters in the greenhouse industry for many years since it serves two purposes, CO2 and heat, and these days propane is cheaper than CO2 tanks
 
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