I have a 10 gallon tank that I would like to plant. I have read the pinned articles, but have not come across an answer to this question. At what point can I plant the tank and not need to add CO2. I would like to stay away from adding the CO2.
Basically if you don't want to use CO2 then you have to keep the lighting low.
To understand why you need to understand the principles behind using high light:
Light is the driver. The more light you have the more the plants want to grow.
The more the plants want to grow the more 'food' (nutrients) they need to provide this growth.
C is a nutrient.
Therefore in a highlight tank we would run a system like EI or similar where we add C,N,P,K & Traces to excess of what the plants like (a little like a large spread of food on a table) then the plants take what they want from this.
If the tank runs out of any nutrient then the plants will stop using the rest of the nutrients and start to decline (defficiency.) This is when you get algae!!!
Things are a little different in a non CO2 tank. Growth is 10-20% slower. Plants still use CO2 and nutrients but to a much lower degree.
Therefore make sure to keep the lights under 1WPG for T5 and between 1 and 1.5WPG for T8. You still need reflectors.
The CO2 is supplied via natural gaseous exchange at the surface and because of this it is important to keep the levels as stable as possible. This means no disturbing the surface so you don't lose any and also not doing water changes (6 monthly!!!) because tap water is CO2 saturated and therefore alters the levels in one big bang!!!
Fish can supply most of the nutrients needed but you can supplement them a little with some TPN+ or similar.
As with all planted tanks it is better to have heavily planted or non at all if you don't want algae.
Any more questions please ask
AC
