Do I Need To Use Co2

[Ben M]

i have a 4ft community aquarium, that is well stocked with small fish, and an algae eating crew of 5 sae's , 5 ootocinclus catfish and i am buying 20 red cherry shrimp. i am going to start using TPN+ fertiliser and my lighting is from 2 30watt florescent tubes. do i need to use co2? and where could i get it from? i think i've seen a c02 system in my lfs

 

[Geoff1991]

What are the rest of the tank dimensions ?

 

[aaronnorth]

what symptoms are your plants showing before dying?

 

[Ben M]

the tank is 120cm x 45cm x 40cm and holds 216 ltrs.

the plants get covered in a slimy algae and sometimes the growing tips rot. also sometimes they don't grow at all, and look really dirty

 

[Ben M]

do i need to use fertiliser?

 

[aaronnorth]

you dont need CO2, you have low lighting... what plant species do you/ did you have? some need higher lighting than others.

 

[baron von bubba]

do i need to use fertiliser?

check out this link to identify the algae
http/www.theplantedtank.co.uk/algae.htm

what is lighting duration?
is it heavily planted?

yes i would use a fertiliser altho TPN+ may not be the best choice as it has nitrates and phosphates

 

[Ben M]

i didn't know that my lighting was low, could i make it better by getting different tubes?

i meant co2 when i put do i need to use fertiliser, and do you know of a fertiliser that would be better suited to my tank?

it hasn't got many plants in at the minute, but i would like to get a lot more plants. i have crypts, butterfly fern, lugwigia and anubias coffeefolia, and i was thinking of getting java fern, java moss, vallisneria spiralis, bacopa caroliniana, amazon sword, eleocharis acicularis, tiger lotus and didiplis diandra. i was also thinking of getting heteranthera zosterfolia but i read it needs co2.

 

[aaronnorth]

low lightig isnt bad, you just need to choose the correct plant species, such as anubias and moss which will growth perfectly well, just at a slower rate.

You are along the right lines with plant species, i would just leave out the ludwigia, bacopa, tiger lotus, didiplis & heteranthera.

Using hygrophyllia polysperma, egeria densa, moss balls, and other echinodorous species in place.


I would buy tropica plant nutrition (not the + version) as fish waste will probably be enough to provide the Nitrate & phosphate,

 

[baron von bubba]

low lightig isnt bad, you just need to choose the correct plant species, such as anubias and moss which will growth perfectly well, just at a slower rate.

You are along the right lines with plant species, i would just leave out the ludwigia, bacopa, tiger lotus, didiplis & heteranthera.

Using hygrophyllia polysperma, egeria densa, moss balls, and other echinodorous species in place.


I would buy tropica plant nutrition (not the + version) as fish waste will probably be enough to provide the Nitrate & phosphate,

aaron,
why not the lotus??
asking as i've managed to persuade my other half to let me set up next tank (low tech) in the bedroom, only on the condition i include a betta and a lotus!! :0/

 

[Ben M]

aaron, i've looked at the plants, but it says that the hygrophyllia polysperma and egeria densa need bright lighting and co2, is this right? i'll get the tpn instead of tpn+ though. i'm glad i didn't already buy the tpn+. is it possible to change the lighting to be brighter though, i don't want to but just out of interest?

and where could i buy moss balls?

 

[aaronnorth]

low lightig isnt bad, you just need to choose the correct plant species, such as anubias and moss which will growth perfectly well, just at a slower rate.

You are along the right lines with plant species, i would just leave out the ludwigia, bacopa, tiger lotus, didiplis & heteranthera.

Using hygrophyllia polysperma, egeria densa, moss balls, and other echinodorous species in place.


I would buy tropica plant nutrition (not the + version) as fish waste will probably be enough to provide the Nitrate & phosphate,

aaron,
why not the lotus??
asking as i've managed to persuade my other half to let me set up next tank (low tech) in the bedroom, only on the condition i include a betta and a lotus!! :0/

well, i should of said red lotus, they can survive, just a bit difficult, and considering the OP is having trouble already, i thought it would be best to leave it out. Green lotus would be a better option.

aaron, i've looked at the plants, but it says that the hygrophyllia polysperma and egeria densa need bright lighting and co2, is this right? i'll get the tpn instead of tpn+ though. i'm glad i didn't already buy the tpn+. is it possible to change the lighting to be brighter though, i don't want to but just out of interest?

and where could i buy moss balls?

there is absolutley no way those 2 plants need high light, especially the egeria, it has to be one of the easiest plants available, also called pond weed. Hygrophillia is also classed as a weed and banned in the states i believe.

You can buy T6 tubes which fit into a T8 ballast but output 40% more light, or you can fix other tubes into the hood with some clips that usually come supplied, or there is hanging lights or luminaires.

EDIT: try ebay, most LFS stock them though and they sell on here regularly.

 

[SuperColey1]

As per Aaron, hygrophyllia polysperma and egeria densa will grow under a firefly buzzing around in the hood <----- exaggerating again.

Of course I do mean that under low light they will still be a handful

Any Nymphea red or green should be fine in low light (or low CO2.) Rubra may be a peachy leaved colour rather than vibrant red and Zenkeri (Lotus) will have less obvious flecks than under higher light (or higher CO2 )

However if you are getting Nymphea then it will obviously lower the light below even more. So not the best plant in the world for a low light tank. However it is said that regular trimming keeps it low (although it never worked for me )

AC