Plants

[Alien Anna]

don't ask me what plants i got just don't no they are growing but not that well
my light is on for about 11 hours a dayand my water is all good it was just my lfs said that i need a co2 unit if a was to grow plants well he also said to get rid of my air stone if i do get a co2 couse he said it dose more harm then good

It's the quality of light as well as the quantity. What kind of bulbs have you got?

Be aware that fluorescent lights age and fade but don't die like ordinary bulbs. My hubby says it's because glass is slightly porous and the atmospheric air gets into the tube and the fluorescent gases get out. You should replace bulbs at least once a year, even if they look bright to the naked eye.

If you want to double the light you've got, cheaply, and you haven't already got them built into your lighting unit, consider light-doubling reflectors. If you have already got them, give them a clean with some white vinegar to get rid of limescale which will take the shine of them.

I was told to put an air-stone in if I had CO2 - apparently it's one of those controversial things. I compromised by putting the air-stone at the opposite end of the tank to the CO2 diffuser. As long as you haven't got waves crashing on the side of your tank, I don't think you need to worry too much. Particularly if you get a CO2 system with a diffuser that helps dissolve the gas in the water (the Nutrifin one looks like a bubble marbel-run to me. It's clear plastic and sticks on the side wall of the tank).

 

[AquaNut]

*wondering why this isn't in the plant section*


Kev - the advice you've been given is good, although sometimes I float new clippings until they've grown a few roots. It depends on what kind of plant it is - some are easier to root than others. If it's something like cardamine, which sends down lots of dangling roots as it grows, there's no need to float it. As for removing the existing plants from their pots - how do they look? If they're growing well and look healthy at the base, I'd leave them. However, I always remove any pots/sponge/weights from my plants when I get them (better for the roots IMO).


focus - CO2 is by no means necessary for healthy and abundant plant growth. It will boost your plants' growth, but at such a speed that you will need to increase your lighting and add chemical fertilizers to your water. There is nothing wrong with that, but it is not the only way to do things. I prefer to allow fish waste and any leftover food fertilize my plants and would much rather spend any extra $$ I have on a new tank than new light fixtures and lights. You can see a few pictures of a couple of my tanks in the members pics section. You'll also find pics of allnatural's tanks there. He doesn't use CO2 or chemical fertilizers, either.

ALSO... if you do decide to use CO2, you can make a sugar water/yeast set up like Anna's talking about for less than a couple of bucks using an empty 2 litre bottle, some airline tubing, some sugar water and some yeast.

 

[Alien Anna]

*wondering why this isn't in the plant section*

ALSO... if you do decide to use CO2, you can make a sugar water/yeast set up like Anna's talking about for less than a couple of bucks using an empty 2 litre bottle, some airline tubing, some sugar water and some yeast.

Tried that - it was really tricky because you simply cannot buy rubber bungs with holes in them and bits of copper piping and goodness knows what else in the UK countryside. I tried everywhere to get the right stuff and it was incredibly difficult. In the end, I spent almost as much in bits and pieces, transport and telephone calls as I spent on a factory made unit!

Then, when I finally did get it set up I hadn't done it right for some reason because one night it exploded. I woke to find my tank fully of sugar yeast solution! It was horrible!

So no, it is not that easy to make.

 

[AquaNut]

Ack. You got some confusing instructions. I helped a friend make one for his tank. You take a 2 litre plastic pop bottle (don't know if you have those in the UK, but you must have something similar). Pop bottles work excellently because they're designed to hold pressurized liquid. Take a drill or, if you don't have one, a hammer and small nail. Make a hole in the lid. Get some airline tubing (available anywhere that sells fish stuff). Stuff it through the hole. Get some aquarium safe silicone. This is available at most lfs's or building supply stores. The only tricky part might be establishing that it's the fish safe stuff if your lfs doesn't carry it. Silicone both sides of the lid where the tubing goes in. Mix up your sugar water/yeast mixture. Put on the lid. Add an airstone to the other end of the line if you want to diffuse your CO2 bubbles a bit. Voila. The only thing we didn't have on hand was the yeast.

 

[Alien Anna]

Did all of that - after giving up on finding the rubber bung and the copper piping. It was just such a device that exploded into my tank! I guess the yeast got too excited.

With the Nutrifin stuff you get a yeast stabiliser with it. On second thoughts, you could probably use the Nutrifin yeast and stabiliser sachets in your own home-made unit? That would solve the problem. I still prefer my Nutrifin unit however - the diffuser works a lot better than the old air-stone technique, the canister has a useful gadget to clip it to the side of the tank and it is a lot stronger than a plastic pop bottle (a major consideration when you have two autistic kids in the house).

 

[AquaNut]

Oh, I have no doubt that the bought kit is more convenient. I'd try the DIY thing if I was going to do CO2 though... mostly because the one and only lfs here doesn't sell CO2 kits, so it would mean an out of town trip just to get one (I lack the self control to allow myself to start internet shopping - Canada Post would be pulling up in front of my house in a cube van every week ). Yours is not the first explosive yeast story I've heard, but I should mention that I've heard of people experiencing something similar with the bought kit. Don't know what happened, just have read posts in another forum of people waking up to a tank full of yeast and sugar water. I think I'll stick with fish poop for my plants for now .

 

[Alien Anna]

I lack the self control to allow myself to start internet shopping - Canada Post would be pulling up in front of my house in a cube van every week

Funny you should mention that. I've spent a fortune online this month - I just can't resist and with credit cards it's just so easy to go click, click and spend about a hundred quid.

I resisted for my last order to Aquarium Supplies Ltd (a week after I put in a huge order for hoods and light-fittings etc), but now I realise there's a pile of stuff I needed and I have to pay £4 postage every time! I forgot to get a new light (just to prove I should take my own advice about replacing tubes every year), and I didn't order a new themometer or a water hardness test (necessary due to getting CO2). That's on top of my Ebay purchases and the big order I'm going to be putting in for fish from Tri-Mar aquarists. OTOH, I have got some specialist food coming that is supposed to enhance the breeding potential of mollies (we shall see).

I am resisting the temptation to buy some new plants from Java Plants Online - they have budget packs of 64 small plants for only 7 quid! (oh, plus 4 quid shipping, of course).

There's so much stuff out there I need.

 

[AquaNut]

Alien Anna, I thank you for that. I shall bookmark a link to that post. Every time I feel extraordinarily tempted to click click and charge it to my Visa online, I shall make myself read what you wrote. It will serve as a powerful reminder as to why I don't allow myself to do it!! Seriously though.. I don't even allow myself to *look* on ebay. I already know what would happen if I did. I complain all the time that there's only one lfs in my town, but it's really a good thing. If I had unlimited access to wonderful aquarium supplies and livestock all in my own town, my finances would be in some serious trouble. When it comes to my fish, I have NO self control.

 

[Lateral Line]

Alien Anna:

Have you looked in Boots? I used to make wine, which basically means fermenting a sugary solution with yeast. The one gallon demi-johns came with a pre-drilled bung that fitted the available tubing and accessories. I've no idea what kind of pressure it would take before blowing the cork out, but from my wine making adventures, there was no shortage of CO2 bubbling out of the trap!

 

[Alien Anna]

Alien Anna:

Have you looked in Boots? I used to make wine, which basically means fermenting a sugary solution with yeast. The one gallon demi-johns came with a pre-drilled bung that fitted the available tubing and accessories. I've no idea what kind of pressure it would take before blowing the cork out, but from my wine making adventures, there was no shortage of CO2 bubbling out of the trap!

Sore point - the nearest Boots is in Bedford. It's pretty rural here, actually, which is why I buy so much online. However, I did look in Boots. No luck.

 

[Lateral Line]

>>> the nearest Boots is in Bedford

Fair enough! The nearest Boots to me is probably in England!