CO2 discussion

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Gcroz

2yr HCC Awarded Stud
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I'm curious if anyone has, or had, a CO2 generator in their growing space. What I'm really looking for is a Pro/Cons discussion as I've been told it's not a bad ideato have one. Any thoughts?
 
I've heard (from Russ Vernon of New Vision Orchids in IN if I remember right) that the Eric Young Orchid Foundation supplements CO2. I used to use yeast CO2 generators for planted freshwater aquariums. The theory is sound IMO, but culdn't say how much is needed to actually see a benefit.

-Ernie
 
I breathe heavy around my orchids. Does that count?:p

Can I watch:evil:

I use a CO2 system for controling pH of effluent samples in our lab test rooms.

I leave the monitoring system on full time, and its pretty wild how the CO2 concentration in the room bounces around between 600 and 800 ppm without the CO2 turned on. At 1500 ppm the water in our tests will get pretty acidic (pH 6.5). Any algae that we might be culturing at the time does better. But we leave the lights on continuously and plants only use CO2 when photosynthesizing.

Once again the hydroponic people really like the stuff, but I'm not aware of any orchid growers using it.
 
Floricultura advises it for some genus, I will check. Or if anyone has time, browse www.floricultura.nl, go to the culture leaflets ( very informative, and interesting anyway, and they are very good growers). Quite a few pot plant growers use it...
 
Can I watch
Sure, but it won't be as much fun as you think. I'm fighting some minor bronchitis now. Sheesh, you guys are pervs.:rollhappy: What did you think I was talking about;)
 
There have been a few studies that have shown orchids benefitting from as much as 1500 ppm of CO2 (you can do a web search for the documents) but for most of use the challenge is this:

Orchids absorb CO2 during the day, then release it and absorb Oxygen at night. If you're running a greenhouse with evaportive cooling, there's no sense in adding CO2 because it goes right out the vents. There's also no reason to add CO2 at night because it's counterproductive to what the plants want.

If you have a controlled environment, like artificial lighting and a sealed room, then CO2 may add benefits and it's worth experimenting provided you have the resources for the test and can exchange the air at night to reduce the CO2 levels.
 

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