# Dry Ice and CO2 plant question



## Geckoguy (Dec 10, 2008)

So I bought some dry ice today to give my tank a co2 gas treatment for some creepy crawlies in my tank that I did not want. I know the massive dose of CO2 is good for the plants and I have all this extra dry ice in my freezer now so can I just give the viv a co2 bath every day to promote plant growth or every few days or what??? I DO NOT have frogs in the viv yet i hope to get them at the end of the month so I dont have to bother with getting them out to gas the tank. I figured while I dont have them in there if I could boost plant growth I might as well. Anyone have any ideas.


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

you can give them a small dosage everyday to have better growth, fresh water tanks with plants usually have a continuos CO2 supply so in thsi case if you have a pond or water feature then i would just put the ice in there and let it melt and dissolve the gas.


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## Geckoguy (Dec 10, 2008)

Oh ok so i can just let it disolve right in my water feature; thats even eaiser. Thanks


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## markbudde (Jan 4, 2008)

Yeah, that should work so long as you don't have any frogs in there. The dry ice won't last more than a week, though.
-mark


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## postal (Aug 12, 2008)

Dry ice melts eventually in the freezer.

But since it's "dry" it melts to gas- there's never a liquid stage.

Use it or lose it.


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## Geckoguy (Dec 10, 2008)

Ya im gonna use it every day this week till its gone... It came in a 5 lb block so I got way more then I needed for the task at hand


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## mellowvision (Feb 6, 2009)

careful, overdosing your water could lead to an algae bloom. (if you have a water section)


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## james67 (Jun 28, 2008)

Ok I started to reply to a similar post a few days ago but it accidentally got deleted by myself. so here goes... yes plants use co2 and convert it into oxygen. however, by putting a piece of dry ice, or co2 generator in your tank you have a much higher possibility of killing your plants then promoting growth. this is because anything over 1600 parts per million ( if I'm not mistaken) becomes detrimental to plant growth. aside from purchasing a tank regulator and controller /computer it is nearly impossible to maintain a co2 rich environment with the proper ratio. now that said, to promote vigorous and lush growth your best bet is a metal halide light fixture. you can use a solid piece of glass over the tank and a MH with a fan blowing heat away and get great results. this can be achieved for around $40 whereas an accurate co2 system ranges in the $1000 range.

constant exposure to high levels of co2 (as in an everyday bath)will very likely kill your plants. im not trying to sound harsh but this is the second time this has come up in the last few days and i think people should know not to waste money killing their plants with dry ice.

i really do mean this only as friendly help i hope it hasn't come off as something other than that. and if anyone can give evidence to the contrary i would be happy to hear it. 

james


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## Geckoguy (Dec 10, 2008)

Nope thats great info. I just had some extra ice and it only lasted 3 days so they only got a couple little doses in those days. But they all seem to be doing fine still. The tanks only been planted 2 months Im just starting to get some really vigerous plant growth.


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## Marty (Feb 27, 2004)

postal said:


> Dry ice melts eventually in the freezer.
> 
> But since it's "dry" it melts to gas- there's never a liquid stage.
> 
> Use it or lose it.


sublimation - going from solid to gas. Just in case you had the word at the tip of your tongue


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

I think with small chunks every day in the viv there is a slim chance of co2 overload. I f I remember right plants can use co2 at a level at least 30 x what our atmosphere contains. May be wrong about the exact amount. Putting a little chunk in there should be fine, especially for encouraging low lying plants like riccia into rapid development.


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## markbudde (Jan 4, 2008)

I've kept plants in 95% CO2 5%O2 for 24 hours without killing them.


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## Link3898 (Sep 18, 2008)

how long would it take at 95% CO2 concentration for any and all O2 breathing pests to be eliminated?


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## markbudde (Jan 4, 2008)

I would guess about a day. But that 95%CO2/5%O2 was made by mixing pure CO2 and Oxygen gas. I'm not sure what the concentration of CO2 in a tank with dry ice would be (it probably depends on a lot of parameters). I would guess that most pests should be eliminated within 24 hours, but I would treat again 2 days later and then 2 weeks later, to make sure nothing was hiding in dormant phase. I have mostly looked at the survival of nematodes, which can't grow above 15% but take about a day to die in 95% CO2. I think it also depends on size, with larger animals being more sensitive than small animals. I used pure CO2 to stun some large springtails once, and they died after about 15 seconds of exposure. Also remember that if you have a really thick soil layer it may provide refuge for some things to hid out in during the CO2 treatment.
-martk


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## LZeppelin513 (Jan 16, 2009)

I would be skeptical of using high levels of CO2. As the gas CO2 concentration increases in your tank, more CO2 will also dissolve into the water solution that is inside the plant's cells. This dissolved CO2 reacts with water and forms carbonic acid. Depending on how much the pH in the cells drops from the carbonic acid (which depends on the concentration of CO2), the cells could die = dead plant. Something to think about. For a short time i wouldn't be too worried though. More options for improving plant growth are to maintain high humidity, good air movement, and very good lighting. It seems like a lot of ppl do not worry about air circulation which is beneficial, especially in a terrarium.


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

I'd be concerned that adding CO2 on a regular basis would interfere with the beneficial microfaunal populations that should be allowed to grow before adding frogs.


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## james67 (Jun 28, 2008)

i may be wrong but i believe the basis if the thread was the supplementation of co2 through the use of dry ice to benefit plant growth. micro-fauna and tank sterilization are entirely different issues. i think that it has been established that this is in all likeliness a great waste of money (assuming that you are purchasing the dry ice for this purpose) and likely to inhibit growth or kill plants either way. 

to markbudde: 
that is incredible that's 950,000 ppm. co2. that is assuredly deadly to most any life. im surprised that your plants didn't show signs of stress much less that they lived through the experience.

but really, anyone considering this as a viable option would be wiser to invest in better lighting, and proper humidity, which should produce more vigorous and lush growth than co2 supplementation without these anyway.

just my two cents 

james


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