Does CO2 really help your plants grow?

Lots of hydroponics growers have big questions about carbon dioxide -- this can be a costly addition to a hydro garden, and can involve some strategy for getting tanks or other resources into a small hydroponics space. At the same time, there are questions about when and how carbon dioxide really helps plants.

Carbon Dioxide Check List

The common consensus with experience growers is that carbon dioxide only really helps plants if other conditions are optimized first; growers have to take a look and check on the following:

• pH value
• temperature
• air and water circulation
• nutrient density
• nutrient intake
• protection from harmful bacteria

All of these things are super important and carbon dioxide can't fix any of them.

Benefits of Carbon Dioxide

In some cases, a better carbon dioxide ratio does help plants with photosynthesis and important biological processes. It can be helpful to “inject” carbon dioxide into your grow space combined with a normal amount of oxygen, enough natural or artificial light, and a rich diet of nutrients.

Types of Carbon Dioxide Accessories

Growers can get carbon dioxide in tanks to add to a hydroponic environment. Other types of resources deliver this gas in other ways. You can also get good diagnostic carbon dioxide tools to measure a grow area to understand just exactly how much of this stuff is getting dumped into the hydroponics environment.

Monitoring Plants

With or without additional carbon dioxide, growers need to be able to monitor plants on a regular basis and adjust the atmosphere as necessary. PH value is an important example -- the pH value in the reservoir can change quickly, and this means growers need to be able to react quickly by either adding chemical elements, flushing the reservoir, or adopting some other strategy.

The same goes for things like temperature and humidity. These may not be as time sensitive as pH value, but they also need to be addressed. Growers need to get these measurements routinely and change anything that's wrong with their plant environment to give hydroponic crops the best chance of maturity and healthy harvest.

For a lot more about hydroponics, take a look at the Dealzer website and everything we offer to growers around the world. We help growers to achieve their hydroponic dreams one day at a time, with the best equipment and materials that promote healthy plant outcomes.