Roma 125, 25% Coverage

[chrisbassist]

The 25% may mean it's not going to be what some may call a planted tank, more a tank with plants...

I'm currently running low light, no co2, not many plants, and not yet dosed ferts.

Browsing in lfs today, I saw a cheap co2 starter kit, along the lines of the diy stuff but saving me the hassle of doing it myself. So now have a couple of questions.

1. Is it worth adding co2 and dosing without upping my lights?

2. By changing bulbs I can only add about 5 watts, which wouldn't be enough to bring me to a high light situation, is there a cheap way of upgrading the lights? Or adding another strip?

I want to know because the short plants I have will do better with a high tech setup, and I want the lower and thicker growth that high tech would provide.

 

[chrisbassist]

Current light is about 1.3 or 1.4 wpg which actually doesn't sound as bad as I thought.

Worth adding a basic co2 setup?

 

[Dave Spencer]

I want to know because the short plants I have will do better with a high tech setup, and I want the lower and thicker growth that high tech would provide.

I would walk away from this train of thought, if I were you. Planted tanks are moving on from this (even me, too). You don`t need high light to make plants carpet. Concentrate on CO2 and an adequate fert regime.

It will be worth adding CO2, but it may also mean having to add ferts (TPN+) due to accelerated growth and, therefore, greater fert demand.

Dave.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

The Dennerle CO2 kits, like the one I bought yesterday, do come with a fertilizer kit as a "`Brucey bonus."

Edit: Bad spelling strikes again!

 

[shelaghfishface]

i would be tempted to add a cheap nutrafin co2 setup and see how it goes, i used one ( had no idea about lighting etc- still dont

) and was astonished by the results within a week..seriously!
they are often for sale here or on ebay for a few quid, the complete kit should include:
cannister
ladder
tubing with a plastic thingy at the end
hanging bracket- never met anyone thats used this yet, but it should be in there

the diy mix is a piece of cake water,sugar,yeast ... and my son reckons that if you really are sinking to new lows, you can actually get drunk off the contents.. or even the smell after a week

i cant vouch for that tho!!

 

[BackToTheFishes]

I'm using a sera tablet system and am STUNNED by the growth in my new tank already! after only 4 days since I planted I've already had to trim cabomba and new leaves are sprouting on crypts,which I was expecting to die off then regrow first!

 

[chrisbassist]

Wow, thanks for the responses...

So basically my light level doesn't matter too much then?

The co2 kit I saw in my lfs was £10 had enough mix for 4 months (so it said) and just looked tidied than using coke bottles and stuff, to be honest if I'd had my card with my i probably would have got it on the spot.

And the only other thing to worry about is the increased need for ferts?

 

[BackToTheFishes]

As far as I know,and only what I have read so if I'm wrong sorry,you only need ferts in a new tank and only occasionally after that?The fish waste should take care of it most of the time?

 

[chrisbassist]

Yeah I get that, but if I add co2, the faster growth will require more nutrients...

It's worth spend £30 on a cheap co2 kit, some ferts and some more plants to see how things go I think.

Oh and the getting drunk thing seems pretty sensible. The reaction between sugar and yeast which gives off our co2, is exactly the same as you use to brew alcohol. Sugar and yeast makes alcohol.

But without adding hops etc, it's not going to taste very good.

 

[BackToTheFishes]

The sera kit I got came with ferts too,17 quid on ebay
http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/SERA-Plant-Care-CO2-Carbon-Dioxide-Fertilising-System-/220598018296?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Fish&hash=item335caaa0f8

 

[Truck]

You could go totally low tech, no ferts, no CO2, I'm currently running a 60 litre tank with 1.5WPG and the plants are doing just fine.

The little CO2 fermentation kits you can get aren't worth spending money on, because on a tank this size it will have such a little effect you would need about 4 of them to make even a small difference.

Just stick to a small photoperiod, hardy plants such as Crypts, Anubias, Microsorum, Vallis I even had Pogostemon helferi going well.

Start with a 6 hour photoperiod and see how things go, plant growth should be good and if you do get a little algae you can shorten the photoperiod slightly, but never go lower than 4 hours.

 

[chrisbassist]

lights are on for 8 hours at the moment (on timer), because I like to be able to see the fish.....
the p. helferi is one of the plants I have.

the nutrafin fermentation kit says one kit will do 20G, and if your tank is bigger you will need more kits...

but if i were to get one kit, surely since i'm not going fully planted, it's got to at least help?


it's always bloody ebay isn't it... grrrrr.

paypal won't accept my card, obviously thinks it's fake or something, but that rules out paypal, and so pretty much all of the things on ebay...

 

[chrisbassist]

Wow,

just ordered some more plants... Not got any online before. So much cheaper than my lfs.

25 vallis on the way...
At this rate I may end up with 50% coverage.