Co2 Worth It In This Situation?

[gsta13]

What i was thinking was applying just under half the reccomended ferts as the low light and the low co2 and low ferts whould balance out i hope, well thats the plan ill let u know how it goes i guess.
Greg

 

[Underwurlde]

Applying ferts to the water column is the most efficent way for a plant to get them - i.e. through its leaves.

Andy

 

[lljdma06]

What i was thinking was applying just under half the reccomended ferts as the low light and the low co2 and low ferts whould balance out i hope, well thats the plan ill let u know how it goes i guess.
Greg

Hold out on that. I keep four, low-light tanks with and without CO2. Take a look at your livestock levels first. If you are understocked, then consider adding ferts as you suggest, but if you're overstocked or want a good fish bioload, I wouldn't add much regarding ferts. My oldest system is over 6 months old. It runs on 1.4WPG, CO2 injection, and it is considered overstocked by some standards. I do not add ferts to this tank, except rootabs every 3-4 months for my root-feeding plants, which I keep a lot of. I have little, if any algae in my tanks, but it is because I don't mess with the ferts. I let the fish, the rootabs, and my wood hardscapes take care of things. Wood can release trace elements, by the way. You also then get to keep fish, which is pretty nice. Just something to consider.

I'd adopt a wait and see approach. The tank will tell you what it needs and when it needs it. I know, very Kung fu, but there is truth to it.

llj

 

[Underwurlde]

Dosing ferts in itself does not cause algae - I do not believe there is any correlation between the two.

Andy

 

[jimbooo]

Dosing ferts in itself does not cause algae - I do not believe there is any correlation between the two.

Andy

i'm afraid i disagree andy. it's all about balance. if the tank has sufficient ferts and is balanced adding more ferts (in particularly with a low light situation) will cause algae.

if the plants have enough and aren't using the excess then somethings going to use the surplus. in high light situations the plants will adopt a luxury intake scenario and then yes you are correct algae wont be an issue.

to clarify my previous post all i was saying is that algae do not use carbon to any major extent. adding more carbon to a tank via co2 will not benefit algae at all as they have plenty for there use in the water already. if you pump a low light tank (with an algae problem) full of co2 and do nothing else then the plants will improve and the algae will stay the same. only when the plants out compete the algae will the algae reduce. the co2 itself will have no effect on algae either way.

in my opinion and experience anyway.

sorry to be unclear when i'm posting at work i have to be quick. i cant pay the mortgage if i get the sack. lol

hope that helps..

James

 

[gsta13]

Yeah it does mate thanks. Ok so the ferts are on hold as i think the wood i have in there, and the planted substrate should be ok for now. On the fish front, the aquarium will have no stock in there tillim happy, i currentlyhave a 15ukG tank with 3 rams and 2 full size guppies and various stage fry. These will be going into the 55UkG only when im hapy and i can leave the 15 running aslong as possible. Will adding the ferts to the water coll. affect the fish or did i jus mis interpret your post llj?
I never knew that ferts would affect fish if that is the case..... (re reads all posts in planted forum )
Thaks again for your help guys, i think the planted forum on this site is extremly helpful!
Cheers
Greg

 

[Underwurlde]

if the plants have enough and aren't using the excess then somethings going to use the surplus. in high light situations the plants will adopt a luxury intake scenario and then yes you are correct algae wont be an issue.

Absolutely. I think we are actually in agreement all along, just not elaborating on our train of thought.

Guess who else was at work at the time......

Andy

 

[Squid]

if the plants have enough and aren't using the excess then somethings going to use the surplus. in high light situations the plants will adopt a luxury intake scenario and then yes you are correct algae wont be an issue.

Absolutely. I think we are actually in agreement all along, just not elaborating on our train of thought.

Guess who else was at work at the time......

Andy

hehe.. im always on here at work too.. people talk about all this free information on the internet, but it looks like its costing our employers.. oops

 

[lljdma06]

Yeah it does mate thanks. Ok so the ferts are on hold as i think the wood i have in there, and the planted substrate should be ok for now. On the fish front, the aquarium will have no stock in there tillim happy, i currentlyhave a 15ukG tank with 3 rams and 2 full size guppies and various stage fry. These will be going into the 55UkG only when im hapy and i can leave the 15 running aslong as possible. Will adding the ferts to the water coll. affect the fish or did i jus mis interpret your post llj?
I never knew that ferts would affect fish if that is the case..... (re reads all posts in planted forum )
Thaks again for your help guys, i think the planted forum on this site is extremly helpful!
Cheers
Greg

No, adding ferts doesn't really effect the fish, and while you don't have fish in your tank, adding ferts would be beneficial, as long as you don't over do it for your lighting levels. I actually didn't say that adding ferts were harmful to fish at all, I said that it'll effect your nutrient levels in your tank for your plants. Fish produce Potassium, Nitrogen, ammonia, and phosphorus, through their urine (yes they urinate) and their fecal matter, all of which plants consume. I just didn't want you to add too many ferts when you may already have a good supply for your lighting level once your tank is stocked, that, as Jimbooo implied, can upset your balance and cause algae in lower-light systems.

Just out of curiousity, why no fish now? If you're densly planted, adding fish shouldn't be a big deal. I added fish less than a week after adding the plants in my tanks. As soon as the tank looked good, in they went. Not all at once, mind, but a few every week, until I was stocked. Plants also consume ammonia, and if you're densly planted, you actually bypass the effects of cycling. But I also have pretty heavy filtration and I am religious about water changes (30% once a week for my big tanks, 30-50% twice a week for my nanos). Your three rams and guppies can easily be added to a 55g tank with no threat of overstocking. Another suggestion to speed things along is to take a sponge or some filter media from your 15g and add it to the filter in your 55g. I did this with my 36g by adding a sponge from my 20g filter and boom! The bacteria will readily colonize the new filter.

llj

 

[Dave Spencer]

Just out of curiousity, why no fish now? If you're densly planted, adding fish shouldn't be a big deal. I added fish less than a week after adding the plants in my tanks. As soon as the tank looked good, in they went. Not all at once, mind, but a few every week, until I was stocked. Plants also consume ammonia, and if you're densly planted, you actually bypass the effects of cycling.
llj

I second this. I added Otos and Bumblebee Shrimp to my densely plant EI tank after about one week, satisfied that my tank was not going to cycle. They are pretty delicate species, but they made themselves at home straight away.

 

[gsta13]

Yeah it does mate thanks. Ok so the ferts are on hold as i think the wood i have in there, and the planted substrate should be ok for now. On the fish front, the aquarium will have no stock in there tillim happy, i currentlyhave a 15ukG tank with 3 rams and 2 full size guppies and various stage fry. These will be going into the 55UkG only when im hapy and i can leave the 15 running aslong as possible. Will adding the ferts to the water coll. affect the fish or did i jus mis interpret your post llj?
I never knew that ferts would affect fish if that is the case..... (re reads all posts in planted forum )
Thaks again for your help guys, i think the planted forum on this site is extremly helpful!
Cheers
Greg

No, adding ferts doesn't really effect the fish, and while you don't have fish in your tank, adding ferts would be beneficial, as long as you don't over do it for your lighting levels. I actually didn't say that adding ferts were harmful to fish at all, I said that it'll effect your nutrient levels in your tank for your plants. Fish produce Potassium, Nitrogen, ammonia, and phosphorus, through their urine (yes they urinate) and their fecal matter, all of which plants consume. I just didn't want you to add too many ferts when you may already have a good supply for your lighting level once your tank is stocked, that, as Jimbooo implied, can upset your balance and cause algae in lower-light systems.

Just out of curiousity, why no fish now? If you're densly planted, adding fish shouldn't be a big deal. I added fish less than a week after adding the plants in my tanks. As soon as the tank looked good, in they went. Not all at once, mind, but a few every week, until I was stocked. Plants also consume ammonia, and if you're densly planted, you actually bypass the effects of cycling. But I also have pretty heavy filtration and I am religious about water changes (30% once a week for my big tanks, 30-50% twice a week for my nanos). Your three rams and guppies can easily be added to a 55g tank with no threat of overstocking. Another suggestion to speed things along is to take a sponge or some filter media from your 15g and add it to the filter in your 55g. I did this with my 36g by adding a sponge from my 20g filter and boom! The bacteria will readily colonize the new filter.

llj

Yeah iread about planting bypassing the cycling process, i just havent put any fish in yet because im still waiting for the plants to arrive i will be puttin the filter from the 15g in with the external filter in the 55g, the bacteria is already enough to hold the bioload of the 15g so its jus few fish over time rule. oh n i dunno wht im puttin in yet lol
Greg