Lowering PH with Co2?

[Jynn]

I know that pressurized Co2 will lower tank PH.  Is this a valid method for lowering and regulating PH in a shrimp tank?

 

Does anyone do this, or have any good sources for guides/information on doing so, or any warnings as to why this is a terrible idea?

[Sandovalsbco]

Co2 drops ph very quickly compared to other methods. In my 40breeder the ph will drop a whole point almost while the co2 is on then elevate back up after the co2 is off. With shrimp you need a steady ph and co2 is to unpredictable. I would imagine in order to keep you ph low with co2 you'd have to have it triggered to turn on whether the ph goes up to a certain number, but then you run the risk of having the co2 on a night with the lights off and co2 only gets broken down to a usable state when the lights are on for plants to use. I know they sell regulators that switch on and off at certain ph ranges but they are pretty pricey. I'd go with an active substrate such as Amazonia or bright well volcanic substrate and that'll keep it at a ph suitable for most shrimp. This is my two cents with what knowledge I've gained with dealing with co2. What do you have to work with? RO water ? New tank? Substrate ideas?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Pescador]

To be honest I have never tried it on a shrimp tank but on my 70 gallon planted tank I use a Milwaukee PH monitor/Controller. I had been using a timer to turn the C02 on an hour before lights on and then off an hour prior. I was getting big PH swings and started developing black beard algae which really seems to like a CO2 imbalance.

Prior to using the controller my Ph would measure around 6.2 in the morning and 5.6 at night once C02 and light were both on for awhile. Now my PH is steady at 5.6, drop checker is always green, plants are growing like crazy and the black beard algae has almost completely disappeared.

Now for the problems using it on a shrimp tank. I would be concerned that shrimp really like high Oxygen levels and keeping both Oxygen levels and C02 levels high is difficult. Next issue is fertilizer because with all the C02 you need to add fertilizer and high light to keep the tank in balance. For a planted tanks these are the three ingredients to success, C02, ferts and light. For shrimp, Oxygen, PH, biofilm and pure correctly mineralized H20.

[Vpier]

To be honest I have never tried it on a shrimp tank but on my 70 gallon planted tank I use a Milwaukee PH monitor/Controller. I had been using a timer to turn the C02 on an hour before lights on and then off an hour prior. I was getting big PH swings and started developing black beard algae which really seems to like a CO2 imbalance.

Prior to using the controller my Ph would measure around 6.2 in the morning and 5.6 at night once C02 and light were both on for awhile. Now my PH is steady at 5.6, drop checker is always green, plants are growing like crazy and the black beard algae has almost completely disappeared.

Now for the problems using it on a shrimp tank. I would be concerned that shrimp really like high Oxygen levels and keeping both Oxygen levels and C02 levels high is difficult. Next issue is fertilizer because with all the C02 you need to add fertilizer and high light to keep the tank in balance. For a planted tanks these are the three ingredients to success, C02, ferts and light. For shrimp, Oxygen, PH, biofilm and pure correctly mineralized H20.

It's like trying to juggle 10 apples with one hand.  There are much easier ways to lower PH.