Is Co2 easy?

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PheonixKingZ

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Hello TFF people! :)

I have been wanting my plants to look more full, and I have been wanting to get carpeting plants, how do I use Co2? I hear that Yeast Co2 is the easy way to go, but I could be wrong. Please remember I am on a tight budget, and don’t have a lot of funds right ya the moment. Thank you for your time! :) :thanks:
 
If it is easy, then I would want to put it in this tank, so I could get some carpeting plants for the shrimp. :)

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Tagged person: @Deanause , the shrimp love the cave! ;)
 
I really wouldn’t worry about that until you get a lot more plants. The few you have really don’t need Co2 Also remember not to use any ferts with copper in them with shrimp and snails.
 
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Yes, thank you! So you think Liquid ferts, would be a better idea than Co2? :)
 
Ok, honestly I’m not ready for that kind of complex equipment! :lol:
 
You only use CO2 if you have lots of true aquatic plants and only a few fish. Then you buy a bottle of CO2, a regulator, valves and a diffuser. That all gets connected up to the tank and you add a very small amount of CO2 during the day when the plants have light, and turn it off at night.

DIY yeast based CO2 systems are unstable and can often release too much CO2 into the tank and cause the pH to drop or kill everything in the tank. They also need to be replaced every few weeks because they eventually run out of food.

If you use CO2, you need to make sure there is plenty of carbonate hardness (KH) in the water so the pH does not drop.

Fish and bacteria in the tank and filter produce a constant supply of CO2, and there is huge amounts of CO2 in the air that gets into the water.

Your tank does not have anywhere near enough plants to warrant CO2.

Just use a liquid iron based plant fertiliser and monitor the iron levels. You want the iron levels at 1ppm (1 mg/Ltr).
 
I agree with post #7 and 8, but another aspect hasn't been mentioned, and that is that you have primarily slow-growing plants (the Anubias) and slow growing plants need less intense light and less nutrients (of which CO2 is just one of 17). So this also makes CO2 diffusion unnecessary as it will only feed and encourage algae.
 
So over all, Co2 is not worth it, and I will have better luck with Liquid Ferts? :)
 
So over all, Co2 is not worth it, and I will have better luck with Liquid Ferts? :)

Some explanation is clearly needed. First, the most important factor in aquarium plants is the light. Light drives photosynthesis, which is how plants grow, and every species has a minimum requirement for light intensity. There is also spectrum, because photosynthesis requires both red and blue light only, but adding green to this mix improves plant growth. Without adequate light in both intensity and spectrum, the plants will struggle or fail.

Once the light is sorted out, plants need 17 nutrients to photosynthesize. Some of these are macro, others are micro. Nutrients occur in most aquaria from the fish being fed, and water changes. This may be sufficient for some plants, if it balances the light and both are suited to the plant species.

Within this balance of light/nutrients is what we term Liebig's Law of Minimum. This is a principle developed in agricultural science by Carl Sprengel (1828) and later popularized by Justus von Liebig. It states that plant growth is dictated not by total resources available, but by the scarcest resource (limiting factor). So in the aquarium, if say calcium was insufficient for the needs of the specific plant species, and everything else was available including adequate light, the minimal calcium would slow photosynthesis in the plants.

So getting the balance is important, not only to provide everything the plants need, but to prevent nuisance algae. Algae, unlike higher plants, can take advantage of any imbalance. This is why too much light (intensity, or duration, either individually or both), wrong spectrum, too much fertilizer or not enough fertilizer, can all affect the balance and cause algae problems.

The GH of the source water is the major source of calcium and magnesium, so this needs to be known. Fish food provides pretty much everything else, depending upon the fish load, feeding, and plant species [remember, some need more, some less]. In most cases a comprehensive fertilizer will provide sufficient supplementation. But it has to be a complete balanced fertilizer, because too much of one nutrient can cause plants to slow assimilation of other nutrients. Floating plants and those not rooted in the substrate benefit from a comprehensive liquid. Some substrate plants can benefit more from substrate tabs, depending upon the plant species.
 
I will do some more research, before I make a decision. Thanks again! :)
 
While on the subject of ferts and lighting...Quick question... is seachem comprehensive and seachem trace elements safe to use if there is a nerite snail in the tank?
 
I was thinking the same thing, because it does have copper, correct? :)
 

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