Completly Confused About Co2 And Oxygen Please Help

[spazzinout53]

Ok well in my 5 gallon tank with plants a few guppys and a molly...

THe mollys been gasping for air lately so i turned the airpump on full blast so there would be enough oxygen for him.
NOWWWW im reading that to much oxygen can take away plants co2, and now ive been noticing that the leaves are starting to fall off and the plants starting to loose all there greenness

Ive read you can put the airpump on at the night because thats when plants are not taking in co2
AND ive also read i can set up a cheep co2 system,
it consists of taking 2 cups of surgar and 1/2 table spoon of yeast in a coke bottle of water and connecting that to an airline tube to the intake of my filter???

well anyway, what are your thoughts, right at this point im thinking of filling up my aquarium with my friends cheap plants (so they start giving off oxygen, and only having the airpump on at night

then if i really want to,i could eventually create that co2 system

please help

 

[Underwurlde]

THe mollys been gasping for air lately so i turned the airpump on full blast so there would be enough oxygen for him.

Airstones don't actually do much for the oxygenation of water believe it or not. Better to correctly postion any filter outlet to 'gently disturb' the water surface will be better! Hard to grasp I know....

NOWWWW im reading that to much oxygen can take away plants co2, and now ive been noticing that the leaves are starting to fall off and the plants starting to loose all there greenness

Not true.... The action of the airstone bubbles breaking the water surface is what will be driving off CO2. I doubt however if this is the reason for the leaves falling off. I'm betting that this is coincident to poor nuitrient availablity for the plants. Lack of CO2 manifests itself as just poor growth.

Ive read you can put the airpump on at the night because thats when plants are not taking in co2

As above... pointless.

AND ive also read i can set up a cheep co2 system,
it consists of taking 2 cups of surgar and 1/2 table spoon of yeast in a coke bottle of water and connecting that to an airline tube to the intake of my filter???

Correct: DIY CO2 yeast based systems. There is a pin on how to make these somewhere. There is a drawback with these things (yeast based CO2) - they do not provide a stable supply of CO2 - they 'run out'. STABLE CO2 is desireable because if it is not, then you tend to get Algae. To this end, use 2 but prepare the mix for #1 on say Saturday and the mix for #2 on Wednesday....

well anyway, what are your thoughts, right at this point im thinking of filling up my aquarium with my friends cheap plants (so they start giving off oxygen, and only having the airpump on at night

How many plants have you got in there? I mean, as a percentage, how much of the substrate is covered? As I'm asking, what substrate do you have?

then if i really want to,i could eventually create that co2 system

You don't need to be adding CO2 for plants.

Andy

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Yep Andy summed it all up pretty well.

I would say that an airstone in a non-CO2 tank is actually of benifit to both plants and fish.

As Andy said the airstone itself doesnt do a lot but the increase water movement it creates helps with the gas exchange. This can actually help where CO2 isnt added as the plants will use the available CO2 during the day so the surface movement helps to equalise this as well (at least this is what I have read, Im not a chemist though ).

You might want to check your other water parameters though (including the temp), if the fish are gasping at the surface it doesnt always mean low oxygen content.

 

[Underwurlde]

Indeed, I am thinking that there is something else amiss here to make your fish gasp. Perhaps as those dead leaves rot down, ammonia is being released. Have you removed any dodgy looking leaves? I would do so if I were you....

Are you seeing an algae kicking off in there as well?

Andy

 

[spazzinout53]

ohhh ok so maybe the dying plants are creating amonia spike which is making the fish gasp ok
and ya i no that the airstone isnt creating oxygen, i thought i just needed more agitation to get the olxgen to fold in
when i said about my firends plants i ment just cover the back of the tank in a thin wall like thing
it wouldnt grow over the gravel
and my gravel is just basic gravel with 1 fetilization tablet in it
thansk underwurlde your answer realllyyy helped

right now im going to take off every dead leaf i see
what else should i do?

 

[Underwurlde]

OK, ask yourself this question: "Do I really want to get into keeping plants"?

Plants are far, far, far more difficult and potentially expensive to do than fish imho.

I don't mean to put you off or anything, but I started with plants thinking 'they'll just grow'. Boy was I wrong. A year later, a LOT of learning (on-going, trust me) and some cost (I've gone out of my way to do things inexpensively & hence more complicated) and I THINK I'm just about getting there....

Andy

 

[xxBarneyxx]

While I know many people will say plants can be done very cheaply without much effort I'm 100% with Andy here. My planted tank takes far more time then any of my other tanks (include the marine tank) and I went for the easy (but expensive) options.

I'm sure it must be possible to have a lightly planted tank without any problems but I have never managed to do it (though I have thought about giving it a go now I know a bit more about them). When I tried before it always ended up with dead, messy plants and lots of algae

All that being said though I love my planted tank and wouldnt swap it for anything (well expect for the materials to start fresh with a new one so I can do it again with the knowledge I gained from this one ).

 

[spazzinout53]

well the reason im working so hard at this is because ive had had my tank planted since i started it , and now the plants are slowly dieing and im starting to get issues, so i want it back to the way it is.

most of my plants im getting from various friends so the only cost is fertilizer ive boughten for the plants, its not really a big deal when they die, its just frusterating

 

[Underwurlde]

Good... I reading that you're willing to put the effort in and want to go this route.... GREAT. Welcome to the planted side!

So....How many plants have you got in there? I mean, as a percentage, how much of the substrate is covered? As I'm asking, what substrate do you have?

Andy