I read an interesting article on enriching your root zone with CO2. I know that aquatic plant growers use CO2 Bio-systems to enhance plant growth. A CO2 Bio-system consists of a container, such as a 2-liter soda bottle, with small amounts of yeast, sugar, pH-buffer, and water. These ingredients naturally ferment to produce CO2. The container has a stopper with a hole through it for a piece of stiff plastic tubing that attaches to a piece of flexible tubing, which dangles into the aquarium and allows the CO2 to bubble into the water. The CO2 in the bubbles dissolves into the water, increasing the the concentration of CO2 and the growth of the plants. This is a very low-tech, natural, and inexpensive way to add CO2 to aquarium water. Has anyone ever experimented with CO2 enriched water? Would this be beneficial in a DWC system? or better for soil?
Aquatic plants get their CO2 from the water because....well, they can't get it from the air. The roots do NOT use CO2; they use oxygen (O2). Adding CO2 to a DWC system will benefit your plant as much as tying a bag around your head and filling it with CO2 would benefit you. http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/articles/4384.html Should I add C02 to my hydroponic reservoir? I noticed an aquarium product called Nutrafin CO2 Natural Plant System. It adds CO2 to the water. Would it help the plants in my hydroponic drip system, which has a small reservoir? Steve, Internet Adding CO2 to the water will not help the roots and in fact will hurt them. Plants use CO2 when they photosynthesize, the process which results in the production of sugar. Photosynthesis occurs only in areas of the plant that receive light and contain chlorophyll, the source of plants' green color. It is absorbed through pores called stomata. Roots have no chlorophyll and don't ordinarily come in contact with light so they have no use for CO2. Plants use the sugars they have manufactured as a source of fuel. Their metabolism is similar to the method used by animals. Sugars, which are hydrocarbons, are chemically "burned" in a controlled reaction that occurs when they are combined with oxygen. Energy is released and the waste product CO2 is created. Both CO2 and oxygen dissolve in water. When water is saturated with CO2 it cannot absorb oxygen so the roots have no source of the element oxygen, which is needed for their metabolism. This weakens the roots and promotes the growth of anaerobic bacteria, which thrive in oxygen-free environments and attack roots. When water in a reservoir is circulated, it releases the dissolved CO2 to the air and dissolves oxygen. That's why circulating water in a reservoir using a pump is beneficial to roots: It removes the CO2 and supplies the water with oxygen. Nutrafin CO2 Natural Plant System Tablets spur the growth of photosynthetic underwater plants.