Co2 ?@*%?

[aqua786]

Hi tfk's,i have been keeping tropical fish for a fare few years now,in the past have used compost in my planted tanks with very good results,but i was wondering after seeing some planted tanks using co2 and how healthy the plants look,if i should make the jump and start indroducing co2 to my set ups in the future,any advice would be appreciated and also what is the take on d.i.y. co2 units that use yeast and suger,is this method effective,co2 units do not come cheap and if the home made co2 units work,then why not?

 

[@ombomb]

CO2 only becomes worthwhile when you have high lighting over the tank

what size is that tank and what lights are on it?

are you using any plant supplements?

 

[Vail3r]

It depends what you want to grow and how much you want to spend, if you did want co2 I wouldn't personally bother with yeast seems a waste of time IMO. Lots of people have very nice planted tanks without co2 but then probably spend a fortune on ferts..

 

[saz326]

If you want to give the idea a try on a budget you could use something like "easy carbo" which is a liquid suplement that you add in a similar way to fertilizers on a daily basis. If you like the results this gives after a month or two you could then know whether to invest in the purchase of pressurised CO2 and a regulator.

Note: Dont go buying those expensive aquarium store cannisters of gas. Look in welding supplies stores for CO2. it is much cheaper

 

[aqua786]

CO2 only becomes worthwhile when you have high lighting over the tank

what size is that tank and what lights are on it?

are you using any plant supplements?

HI,thanks for your reply,what do you mean,high as in wattage and brightness or high as in height from the surface of the water? the tank is a 36x15x15 and i was hoping to use an over tank luminaire with 3 t5's on it. I dont think ill be needing to use any supplements i.e root tabs or anything like that if the use of co2 is effective enough,what do you think?

 

[aqua786]

It depends what you want to grow and how much you want to spend, if you did want co2 I wouldn't personally bother with yeast seems a waste of time IMO. Lots of people have very nice planted tanks without co2 but then probably spend a fortune on ferts..

Hi,i did have a previous 48x15x18 set up and i had it running for nearly 3 years,it was a compost substrate and i mixed it slightly with coral sand and then had a layer of sand to cap it,i cant remember what make they were but i did use root tabs every other month,i just used to push them into the substrate about 2 inches deep,and also was using liquid ferts,but it wasnt that expensive,i think all in all it used to cost me £10-£15 a month so it wasnt too bad.The tank was a really good set up and it was beleive it or not very low maintenance,it was so easy.What are your veiws on co2 units and also what do you think of the yeast set ups,you sound as if you dont rate them very much,any info would be appreciated.!!

 

[RadaR]

CO2 only becomes worthwhile when you have high lighting over the tank

Change the word worthwhile to neccasary and we're on to a winner.
You'll still see great results with CO2 even if the lighting is only low light.

aqua786, the problem with DIY yeast CO2 is that the prodcution of CO2 is purely dependent on the respiration of the yeast cells. When the mixture inside the container (that holds the yeast, sugar and water) gets cold the respiration slows down therefore CO2 output will also decrease. Over time the yeast will die because of the ever increasing production of ethanol (alchol). The batch starts to die and so CO2 production decreases. As a result of all this unstable CO2 output, BBA is always a risk when using this method. BBA (black brush algae) is common in tanks which experience low/unstable CO2.
So in smallish/medium tanks (up to 30gallon) Easycarbo is a better option and not too hard on the wallet either. Obviously if the tank has loads of lighting then Easycarbo wont be able to hack it and so pressurized is your only option.
Setting up a pressurized CO2 system is initially costly but in the long run it's a solid investment.

Here is some links on CO2.

Link1
Link2
Link3

 

[aqua786]

CO2 only becomes worthwhile when you have high lighting over the tank

Change the word worthwhile to neccasary and we're on to a winner.
You'll still see great results with CO2 even if the lighting is only low light.

aqua786, the problem with DIY yeast CO2 is that the prodcution of CO2 is purely dependent on the respiration of the yeast cells. When the mixture inside the container (that holds the yeast, sugar and water) gets cold the respiration slows down therefore CO2 output will also decrease. Over time the yeast will die because of the ever increasing production of ethanol (alchol). The batch starts to die and so CO2 production decreases. As a result of all this unstable CO2 output, BBA is always a risk when using this method. BBA (black brush algae) is common in tanks which experience low/unstable CO2.
So in smallish/medium tanks (up to 30gallon) Easycarbo is a better option and not too hard on the wallet either. Obviously if the tank has loads of lighting then Easycarbo wont be able to hack it and so pressurized is your only option.
Setting up a pressurized CO2 system is initially costly but in the long run it's a solid investment.

Here is some links on CO2.

Link1
Link2
Link3

Hi thanks RADAR,that was really nice of you,the links were helpful,

 

[aqua786]

If you want to give the idea a try on a budget you could use something like "easy carbo" which is a liquid suplement that you add in a similar way to fertilizers on a daily basis. If you like the results this gives after a month or two you could then know whether to invest in the purchase of pressurised CO2 and a regulator.

Note: Dont go buying those expensive aquarium store cannisters of gas. Look in welding supplies stores for CO2. it is much cheaper

Thanks for the advice,will do that,co2 cost so much !!