Understanding CO₂
Short answer: CO₂ is optional: many easy plants grow fine without it, but injected CO₂ speeds growth and helps carpets when light and nutrients are balanced.
By Alfa Low, aquascaper. 2nd place, 2019 aquascaping competition (event name to confirm) · 2023 entry (result to confirm).
Details
- CO₂ is a plant nutrient. Injected CO₂ speeds up growth when light and nutrients also allow it.
- Use a drop checker as a rough guide (green is the usual target) and raise CO₂ slowly while watching your livestock.
- Switch CO₂ on about an hour before the lights and off about an hour before lights-out.