Thinking Off Putting Co2 In The Tank

[begainnerfish]

hi guy,

all off you's probably seen my tank for sale, i ve been thinking really hard what to do for the past couple of days..... and i ve come up with a new idea am keep my 130 litre fish tank and what am going to do is upgrade all the rubbish in my tank like lights, heater add nite lights etc etc, and yeh i have read alot about tropical fish but i havent really got in to this co2 stuff i think its really good but i dont no if it ll cost a bomb i was just looking around and i seen this ,

http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/Flora-Grow-Co2-Set-F...%3A1%7C294%3A50


can some 1 plz explain what it is how do i set it up and how does it work and will it work

 

[afishdude]

Check the DIY section for a way to make your own co2 factory.

What type of plants are you planning on putting in there? Some need co2 and some don't

 

[begainnerfish]

Check the DIY section for a way to make your own co2 factory.

What type of plants are you planning on putting in there? Some need co2 and some don't

this is my tank dno what the plants are http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=294293&hl=


but what is that on ebay

 

[afishdude]

Looks to be swords, cabomba, and some grass plants. None of which require co2.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi begainnerfish

I'm going to move your thread to the Planted Tank section. The folks who post in there will be able to get you off to a great start.

 

[three-fingers]

All plants will benefit from adding more CO2, and in some cases (such as when you use high lighting) you may need it.

But it's not jut simply CO2, there are other nutrients to consider too, and plants need more of them when they are under high lighting. Most off the shelf fertilisers simply don't provide these nutrients.

The CO2 kit you have linked to is IMO rubbish, and certainly not worth your while for a 130L tank.

Unless you go pressurised, you may as well just go the DIY route, which works better for lower light tanks where extra CO2 is often beneficial but not totally critical.

My advise for your new tank would be to start off with lighting of under 2 watts per gallon if using T8 tubes and...lets quickly guesstimate around 1.4WPG if using T5 lights.

You can then use DIY CO2 if you wish. Stick to easy low-medium light plants, and the fertilisation of other nutrients should come from the fish with you feed normally and have a medium-highly stocked tank.

For a good boost of plant growth, use aquatic plant substrate, you can get types that go under the sand, or types that are a complete substrate on their own.

Otherwise, if you go for plain gravel or sand, you may want to put root tabs (basically aquatic fertiliser pellets) under the roots of the sword plants - since they may be lacking in certain nutirents in brand new clean substrate when you aren't adding a decent fertiliser (like making your own from powders or Tropica Plant Nutrition +) to the water coulomb.

 

[begainnerfish]

All plants will benefit from adding more CO2, and in some cases (such as when you use high lighting) you may need it.

But it's not jut simply CO2, there are other nutrients to consider too, and plants need more of them when they are under high lighting. Most off the shelf fertilisers simply don't provide these nutrients.

The CO2 kit you have linked to is IMO rubbish, and certainly not worth your while for a 130L tank.

Unless you go pressurised, you may as well just go the DIY route, which works better for lower light tanks where extra CO2 is often beneficial but not totally critical.

My advise for your new tank would be to start off with lighting of under 2 watts per gallon if using T8 tubes and...lets quickly guesstimate around 1.4WPG if using T5 lights.

You can then use DIY CO2 if you wish. Stick to easy low-medium light plants, and the fertilisation of other nutrients should come from the fish with you feed normally and have a medium-highly stocked tank.

For a good boost of plant growth, use aquatic plant substrate, you can get types that go under the sand, or types that are a complete substrate on their own.

Otherwise, if you go for plain gravel or sand, you may want to put root tabs (basically aquatic fertiliser pellets) under the roots of the sword plants - since they may be lacking in certain nutirents in brand new clean substrate when you aren't adding a decent fertiliser (like making your own from powders or Tropica Plant Nutrition +) to the water coulomb.

thanks very much thats very useful

 

[lljdma06]

My advise for your new tank would be to start off with lighting of under 2 watts per gallon if using T8 tubes and...lets quickly guesstimate around 1.4WPG if using T5 lights.

Neat that you came up with that exact number for t5 lighting, Three-fingers. I wonder who has that lighting. Hmmmm, give me a moment to think...

Great that you can keep your tank! I look forward to seeing the planted results.

llj