My current thinking is this.....As I have a CO2 kit (disposable pressurised variety) I might as well, in a month or two, start introducing as an absolute max 1 bubble per second with a few more low light plants in there, just to see whether it have any positive effect with growth. It must be of some benefit to the plants regardless of the amount of light.
This is true. Very few and very low light are the planted tanks that will not benefit from CO2 injection. If your tank is low light, then measuring CO2 levels (look up drop checkers and 4dKH) will not be too important. Be aware though, that dabbling in CO2 can bring more trouble than it is worth with algae issues. Have a read up and make sure you are aware of the importance of non limiting, stable CO2 and how to achieve this. It is not as difficult as it may first appear.
I have a test kit I can monitor CO2 with so I can figure out whether it is all being absorbed by the plants or not and alter the rate accordingly.
How are you measuring CO2? We do not measure CO2 levels as a means of plant uptake of carbon. We measure it to a nominal figure, up to a max of 30ppm in the highest carbon uptake tanks, and less for slower growth tanks, to ensure that it is not limiting plant growth. With a little time, it is possible to dispense with measuring CO2 altogether, and use plant health and any appearance of algae as a far more reliable means of ensuring there is sufficient CO2 available around the tank. Levels may be fine in some areas, but low in other areas of restricted flow. This is where power heads become useful to ensure tank wide nutrient distribution.#
I think this way I get an appreciation, 1st hand, of CO2 and planted aquariums without going all out
I am going to play Devil`s advocate here and say that it is possible to become too cautious when approaching planted tanks. With a solid understanding of light requirements, CO2, ferts, and ensuring these are available all around the tank, healthy planted tanks are a doddle. They really are. Why not get straight in there with pressurised CO2 and a comprehensive fert regime, and give yourself the option to grow anything you want from day one? I, plus many others, have done this successfully. We succeeded because, ultimately, it is easy, even for the abject beginners that we were. All you need is an understanding of the basics of plant care.
Much much further down the line when I may get involved in 2+ watts/gallon lighting and more difficult plants I can get full on with it…..
You will never need > 2WPG. Lighting may be called a skill set, but here is what you need to know: with two T8 lamps the length of your tank, there will be enough light to grow anything you like.
There has been a fair amount of measuring of light in aquariums relatively recently, and it turns out that plants are not anything like as dependent on light as most of us thought. Give them sufficient light and any plant will grow. Add CO2 in the correct manner and growth can be increased by up to a factor of ten. Just make sure all the other ferts are up to scratch too, which is easy with an all in one such as Tropica TPN+.
As for “difficult” plants, I am not sure which ones these are. Many struggle with HC, and there are one or two soft water loving plants such as Tonina sp, but the vast majority of plants are easy (a lot of them are considered weeds). Vallisneria sp, gets touted as a hard water plant only, but give it time and it will adapt to soft water.
When it comes to plants think light, CO2 and ferts. Forget pH, GH, KH, spectrum, kelvin etc, etc. Actually, don`t forget GH entirely. I have very soft tap water, so I did go through a period of adding GH booster to make more Ca and Mg available to my plants. I have since stopped adding it to see what would result, but there was nothing observable to note, so I no longer add it.
Getting an understanding of the fundamental principles of planted tanks takes a little reading, but once the penny drops on the light, carbon, ferts relationship it becomes easy.
Dave.
