Is there any point in a co2 canister ? (Trigger Warning)

[Deleted member 155206]

As a simple man I like my tanks planted and equipment minimal but do we really need co2 canisters is there a huge benefit to them to me it’s just a huge Money Pitt for fish keepers with big pockets just want to have the next big thing hey I could be wrong

 

[Uberhoust]

I thought about CO2 myself but with CO2 you now have another critical item to monitor and maintain. Without CO2 I have been able to grow a large number of plants finally settling on two types of Vallisneria, java ferns, and a few others that seem to be growing well. Without CO2 I still have to trim the plants back on a monthly basis, and I don't have to worry about too much CO2 affecting the fish. I find it is simpler without.

 

[Deleted member 155206]

I thought about CO2 myself but with CO2 you now have another critical item to monitor and maintain. Without CO2 I have been able to grow a large number of plants finally settling on two types of Vallisneria, java ferns, and a few others that seem to be growing well. Without CO2 I still have to trim the plants back on a monthly basis, and I don't have to worry about too much CO2 affecting the fish. I find it is simpler without.

My thoughts exactly simple biology your fish breath oxygen when breathe out the create the CO2

 

[MattW]

High tech Co2 is too OTT for me. I run heavily planted tanks that can run without Co2, but I do find some plants and algae thrive without it while others don't. A simple yeast/sugar/gelatine solution works perfectly fine for what I need. Of course there are pros and cons to everything as It cant be regulated, but running an airstone during the night removes the issue of the Co2 impacting the pH and the potential of fish suffocating. I use this DIY kit from Dennerle Plants, and I can't fault it for £20

 

[raylove]

I made my own out two soda bottles over 10 years ago and it's still running fine on sugar and yeast. Although you can't regulate it, it's also really difficult to overdose with a primitive system. With decent circulation I've never need to run anything extra at night.
I could grow nothing previously, after decades of trying. The CO2 was a game changer for me and since then I've been able to grow everything I've tried (albeit I've only tried 'easy' plants).
I've tried reducing the CO2 to see if the plants would grow without it once established, but they suffered and I had to increase it again.

 

[Rusty_Shackleford]

All plants use CO² they are just limited in the amount they recieve without injection. There are some more difficult plants out there and.some will say those plants require injected CO². The only major difference you'll see is in growth rate.
Plants that have access to injected CO² can use higher light levels which means they use more nutrients which means faster growth.
I think of CO ² injection as an option but not necessary.

 

[Zer0Fame]

Hey,

it really depends on the setup. Heavily planted tanks are definitely possible without CO2. However, some setups, especially high-intensity lighting, need CO2.
As soon as CO2 becomes the limiting factor, you're in trouble.

This one would have been downright impossible without CO2:



But with the right plants and a fitting light, no CO2:

 

[anewbie]

I've ran a high-tech aquarium (2 actually) for a few years and yea co2 does work wonders and it isn't too bad if you use a quality regulator but it has some negatives - a lot depends on what kind of plants you want to grow and your expectations.

You can get a really nice plant dense aquarium without co2 but a bit depends on the type of plants AND the type of water you have. There is a reason why plants are more plentiful in soft water than rock hard water. Some plants will look different with strong light and co2 injection but will grow without the co2 and less light - and some wont' grow well at all.

There simply is no correct answer to this question but i will say i've seen fantastic plant heavy tanks with and without co2; though i will admit the ones with co2 have a lot more red plants.

Did i regret using co2 no - will i use it again - almost certainly no. Heck i even spent a month making a very large reactor for a 600 gallon tank (which worked really well and then didn't use it because i didn't want to deal with the negatives).

 

[GaryE]

I don't use CO2, and that severely limits the number of plant species I can keep. That's fine by me, because I'm a fish first aquarist with many planted, healthy tanks. A CO2 equipped tank would take as much maintenance time as several of my low tech tanks do.

There is a point, if you are an avid gardener who suffers through a long winter, or if you really get into artistic aquascaping and want some of the more difficult to maintain plants to create the look you want.

I'm happy with a lot of green growing in my tanks. CO2 would give me more access to red, and would help with carpet plants, etc. But for me personally, aquascapes hold very little interest.

For you, there would be a decision to make on the direction you choose. It's a choice that gives you options, and the hobby tech lets you make those choices depending on your goals.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Added CO2 will help almost all plants. That does not mean all plants need this to do OK. I have had as many as 13 planted tanks going at one time but only one with added CO@. The rest of my planted tanks have all been dosed with Flourish Excel after a weekly water change for the past 23 years. I still am using it today.

When I was learning about plants in tanks I was on a forum, (now gone) with some true experts. They helped me a lot. When I said I figured I would start with DIY CO2, I got one of the best pieces of advice about this from my mentors: "If you can afford pressurized. start with that." So I did and never regretted that decision.

But It cost me about $250 which included CO2 resistant tubing and a bubble counter. I bought my own 5 pound cylinder, dual gauge regulator and Clippard needle valve. I got the bottle and regulator from a beer company. I did not use a pH controller. The tank was filtered with an Eheim Pro II 2026. I chose Eheim as it doubled as my diffuser. The output on the CO2 was out into the prefilter on the canoster intake. I felt other brands of canister could not withstand having bullble in it all the time. I still have that filter after 22 years funning on a different tank.

When I ran that high tech planted tank with pressurized CO2 it allowed me to do a lot of very neat plants. I also ran high level power compact lights, fertilized twice a week and water changed weekly.

There was no plant that would not thrive in the tank. And that was the problem. I ended up spending more time every week on that tank than any 3 others of similar size or larger.

 

[Boundava]

As a simple man I like my tanks planted and equipment minimal but do we really need co2 canisters is there a huge benefit to them to me it’s just a huge Money Pitt for fish keepers with big pockets just want to have the next big thing hey I could be wrong

So years ago when CO2 was the thing, I decided to give it a try on my 75 gallon. Yes my plants exploded in growth BUT I was dry fertilizing daily. I also had an issue with my regular so I dosed CO2 overnight 3 times and killed a few to half dozen fish from asphyxiation as plants also respirate by in reverse, meaning the extra CO2 at night was not being absorbed by the plants.

When I broke the tank down to move I decided not to set the CO2 back up.
Also finding places to refill a 10 pound tank was getting hard as commercial places either didn't have the converter for the smaller tank or just didn't want to bother.

 

[Archerfish]

When I broke the tank down to move I decided not to set the CO2 back up.
Also finding places to refill a 10 pound tank was getting hard as commercial places either didn't have the converter for the smaller tank or just didn't want to bother.

I too went the CO2 route years ago. It was fun, exciting and awful all at the same time. I became a victim of success. Daily maintenance (trimming etc.) was a chore and the pleasure became drudgery. However, my goal of a Dutch Aquarium with its majestic avenues was spectacular. @Boundava I too had that problem with refills. At the time I was teaching scuba and someone showed me how to convert a scuba "Pony Tank" for CO2. Helped much and the required 5 year hydrostat was no longer a problem. All in all, I don't regret having a bunch of CO2 planted tanks. It was interesting and I was able to share lessons learned with other aquarists.

 

[Zer0Fame]

Hey,

there's also a middle-ground.
Yeast-based CO2 with a Paffrath-bowl setup.

Calculated to about 5ppm CO2.

Beautiful and bushy plants, relaxed growth.

Or restricting the growth by nutrients, phosphates for example. Even in my high-light tanks with 30ppm CO2 I cut plants every ...6 to 8 weeks?