Co2 System Questions For A 10 Gallon Tank

[agutt]

Hi all!

I am an aquarium n00b and have been all over this site getting information for my first tank so thanks for all the help!

My question regards adding a CO2 system to my fish tank.

I have a 10 gallon tank with a marineland penguin filter, an aerator, and a 50W heater. I plant to have a fully planted tank with about 6-10 fish in it. I am going to begin my fishless cycle with my plants tomorrow. I have heard many good things about having CO2 systems and was thinking of doing a DIY soda bottle filter with a glass diffuser.

A. Do I even need this CO2 system?

B. Will this system be adequate?

C. With a CO2 system what are the dangers for my fish and how do I prevent them?

Any other information or insight anyone has would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[agutt]

ADD:
Other options other than the glass diffuser were putting the CO2 tube in the back of my filter or perhaps getting a venturi injector...recommendations???

 

[Mr Bliss]

The CO2 will definitely be a boon for your plants. Whether you need it or not depends on how strong your lights are, but even with low light it's going to help.

The DIY CO2 will certainly be adequate for 10 gal. If possible, I reckon running two bottles in parallel so you can change the mix at alternate times. This will keep your CO2 level stable. I don't think you can overdose on CO2 using a DIY system, but it is possible to get the ppm fairly high soon after changing the mix, so you could just halve the usual amounts of sugar+yeast mix in the two bottles to keep the amount of CO2 same but stable.

The greatest danger to your fish comes from the decrease in pH. CO2 injection will normally lower your pH by 0.8 or so, unless you have very low KH in which case the pH can crash dramatically. If your KH is 3 or more I wouldn't worry.

 

[agutt]

ADD:
Other options other than the glass diffuser were putting the CO2 tube in the back of my filter or perhaps getting a venturi injector...recommendations???

thanks! (sorry for the double post admins)

 

[agutt]

...and i do plan on having high light in the tank.

 

[waterdrop]

I'm not an expert but in a tank that small another option is to try liquid carbons, such as Seachem Flourish Excel, to provide the carbon nutrient rather than CO2 providing it. Its probably not quite as good as the DIY would be and if you do indeed use high light then neither liquid or DIY may be be enough as your carbon needs will be high. Pressurized is expensive to set up but is much easier and more stable to run in the long run, but fairly rare on tanks that small I'd say.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[data276]

...and i do plan on having high light in the tank.

which kind of light do you plan on having? bad lighting means dead plants so its really important to have the right type of light.

 

[agutt]

18 watts....so 1.8 watts per gallon...

 

[aaronnorth]

is that of T8 or T5??

 

[Mikaila31]

Your HOB filter is going to drive off most of the co2 you inject.

Also that's not very high light for a 10 gal.

 

[agutt]

i have done more research and will probably upgrade to a 40W which should be much better...

i have considered the filter issue but its what I got is there any way to avoid losing the CO2 based on the plans of my setup the CO2 will be on the opposite side of the tank

 

[rabbut]

The "watts per gallon" rule goes out of the window with smaller tanks. For some reason you need to use more light than usual in smaller tanks to get the same growth rates as in a larger tank by WPG guidelines... High light is usualy considered as 3WPG or above, but it is going to need about 5WPG for the same effect in a tank of that size. How or why this is the case has never been explained to me, but most of the people that know their plants that I have spoken to have told me this, and I have obsereded the effect myself. There must be a reason for it, and I'd love to know it if anyone here does. (sorry a bit of a hy-jack)

You can easily overdose CO2 in a small tank. I have done it myself with a DIY kit in a 10g. Yes, DIY will give you more than enough when set-up, so start with small ammounts of yeast and work your way up to the right amount I used a plastic bubble ladder for mine. Most glass diffusers I know of don't work on a DIY kit, as they need more pressure

Alternatives in Low light tanks are the Seachem Florish Excel that Waterdrop mentioned, and pressurised CO2 can also be used for many other applications, low or high-light

All the best
Rabbut

 

[agutt]

Thanks rabbut and everyone else!

I am going to return my other light and get this one:

http/www.aquariumguys.com/20satellite.html

40 wpg should be much better....plus the moonlights will be cool

and as for a pressurized system...Christmas is coming!

(lets just hope we still have an economy by then)

 

[aaronnorth]

rabbut: it is to do with inimum light thresh hold, better to work in lumens than in wpg with smaller tanks, but with this being a 10g then it is ok, if it were less then you would be needing more light, the same applies for tanks over 30g but you need LESS light. this is a good guide:

http/www.rexgrigg.com/mlt.html

dont attempt to run 40w on your tank without the pressurized CO2, you will end up with algae, and lots of it, also, what are you going to be dosing for ferts??

 

[agutt]

Thanks aaron... I checked out rex's site and it was very helpful. I ultimately after doing much research caved and opted for a CO2 system (with rex's regulator). As far as ferts go I am starting with sea chem flourish.