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I had a couple of co2 system questions. I recently decided to try live plants again. I was debating wether or not to get a co2 system. Any opinions on which system is the best (looking at jungle and hagen)? I don't totally trust my diy skills, but if there was a super easy method that works and isn't too hard to maintain I might be willing to try it. Any info would be helpful!

Hi
First off, you do not need to run CO2 systems in any tank.
As long as you stay with a moderately populated tank, feed
them appropriately, and maintain about 2 watts/gallon of
light in the 6700-8800K range everything will be fine.
The only thing you may need to do is add fertilizers on a
regular basis.

Think of light as the engine that drives plant growth, and
think of Carbon as the fuel.

Normally plants can get their carbon from breaking
down the organic compounds within the tank.
These come from the detritus within the gravel, as
well as any excess fish foods, fish waste, and dying plant
matter. Its only when you add extra light (increase its
power or brightness) that the plants use carbon and other
nutrients faster than they can wrest them from the
compounds and they need it at a faster rate
(cause they are being driven by the higher power lights).
At that point you have to provide Carbon in an easier
form of molecule to tear apart.
Carbon Dioxide is the answer, OR, feeding a liquid such as
SeaChem's Flourish Excel.

So, even with higher light, you can skip the gaseous form
of Carbon, by using a liquid such as Excel.

Tanks in the 40-50 gallon range are generally considered
too large in capacity for a "normal" DIY CO2 system. At
these increased capacities, they require 2 or more CO2
generators, connected in series, to provide enough CO2 to
bring the CO2 saturation up high enough to make a difference.

When you reach these larger capacities, you need to shift
to bottled gas and its associated components, including a
regulator, bubble counter, check valve, and a reactor or
a diffuser. There are "simple" systems that use a tablet
that dissolves in water that provide CO2, but the replacement
tablets are expensive over time. Over time you could have
purchased a bottled system.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

I have never run Co2 in fact it is impossible for me to do so, reason I just have too much water movement in both tanks. Saying that both tanks are extremly heavly planted and they are looking very good.

Also it can cost a lot of money to set up and run also it can cause problems if it is not working correctly.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
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Yay, thanks! I would much rather use liquid fertilizer. Maybe this attempt will actually last!