Help With Co2 Please

[beechey]

i tried that dennerle co2 professional, but didnt really have any effect on my tank, well i didnt think so any way.

I REALLY WANT LIVE PLANTS ,,,,,,,

ive got a 85 gallon tank pretty sure my lighting is perfect i have 3 arcadia marine white 30" tubes and 3 little 8" tubes in the curved bit

what do you recommed ?

 

[nicklfire]

Well..why didnt it work you gotta ask youself.

Did you have a co2 drop checker to monitor your co2 levels...? If you didnt have a item like that then you might be way underdosing.. and how do you know that it wasnt working at all...??

There's alot more then just co2 such as substrate, EI fertz... proper lighting... Your using marine lights on a freshwater aquarium... lighting has such a flux in K Ratings.. your wanting lighting around 6700K you'r running what.. 14000K with those marine lights?

What's your WPG (watts per gallon) on your tank, you should be shooting for about 2.7 or so to start..

2.7 X 80(gallon) = 216 watts...

Alot more variables in aquariums then just co2.. but dont get me wrong it's a big part.

 

[beechey]

why thanks for the reply, i think for starters i will change the lights , the guy at the LPS said they would be fine as there brighter that normal lights ....

the reason why i think there its not working a picture of the plants ... the co2 is coming out at 1 bubble per second....

 

[Underwurlde]

nicklfire is spot on there (all be it a little OTT on the wattage IMO, but each to his own ). People can use as low as 1WPG, it is a very loose, general rule.

Decent light combo would be something like an Arcadia Fresh Water with an Arcadia Original.

What diffusor are you using for the CO2?
What substrate have you got?
What ferts do you dose?

If you have plants, you'll want a hell of a lot more in there than you have now!

God those discus look stunning BTW..... wish I had $$$

Andy

 

[beechey]

my substrate is pea gravel thats it., dont dose it with any thing , and the co2 kit i was using was the free one from the pfk magazine

ive got loats more plants now mainly the vellis i think there called that.... long grass looking ones, with ive had a few runners off them, but they grow about a inch then look gruby and turn white...

i really want a nice planted landscape...

 

[nry]

I believe the PFK CO2 giveaway is small for your tank. Plus, add loads of light and CO2 but miss nutrients (NP and K will be essential at higher light levels) and you will not be able to grow plants any better than without CO2. Light drives CO2 needs, then drives nutrient needs - miss nutrients out and your plants will quickly develop deficiencies and grow badly, potentially deteriorating aswell.

How many watts of lighting do you have over the tank? This will determine the need for CO2 and also dictate the type of fertilisation you need to consider to make the best of things.

 

[beechey]

i think my next step is to replace all the lights...
they havent been changed for about 1.5 years anyhow...

 

[George Farmer]

More plants...

Get some easy weeds to start with. Hygrophila polysperma, Limnophila sessiflora etc. Try covering at least half the substrate.

You'll need a pressurized CO2 system for your size tank. The Dennerle kits are great. You can fit a 2Kg fire extinguisher to replace the 500g cylinder, as that won't last long enough.