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i have a 29 gallon tank, i want to get it so it is heavily planted and i am deciding whether i want to buy the following setup... help...

the yeast setup from lfs, i dont wanna do the soda bottle anymore, it was hard to find a cap that wont leak, and i also dont like to go to grocery store constantly buying yeast bc they expire so fast.

the tank setup, how big will the tanks be? how much to get them filled? i just have enough space to put those 2 liter soda bottles, the co2 tanks will be too big for me?? and how long does it last for a 29 gallon?

the carbon blocks. i saw the excel for pretty cheap online, but the carbon blocks costs 35 dollars for about 6 months for my tank, not sure if that will be worth it?



thanks for your attention n replies

Hi,
From your comments, you have tried the DIY system, had
some good results, and decided that you want to include
CO2 injection permanently in the tank.

I'm not familiar with the specific yeast system you mention.
However, any of the ones I know of produce a surge of CO2
when the mixture is fresh, and then taper off as the mix
turns to alcohol. So, your pH drops and then rises and then
you add fresh mix, and the pH cycles again. Not good for
the fish. And, yes you can buffer the shifts with a high
KH but still the pH cycles. You will be "doomed" to mixing
and cleaning, and remixing.

With the blocks lasting for 6 months at $35, that is alot
of money.

Frankly, the tank method is the most expensive to purchase,
and the least expensive over time.
The greatest expense is what is required to purchase the
regulator, and the other components of the system. But,
they don't wear out. I have two 10 pound tanks. I keep one
filled as a spare and one active. At a rate slightly over
1 bubble/second, a 10 pound tank lasts me about 8 months
and costs me $9 + tax to refil. Beats the heck out of $35!
A 10 pound bottle (tank) is 5 inches in diameter and stands
about 18 inches tall, including the shutoff valve. I keep
mine in the aquarium stand, upright, and out of sight.

Frank


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

It's mostly preference and what works for your tank. Some like the yeast setup but for me it just never seemed to work and I hate yeast smell. CO2 tanks are just as good as carbon blocks, cheaper, and once you find a place to fill them it shouldn't take any longer than replacing a carbon block. I also have nowhere to put a co2 tank so I went with the carbon blocks and bought a bunch of them when I found them on sale for $20.

hey thanks frank for such great feedback...

yes i loved my tank when co2 was being injected in with soda bottle n yeast.

so anything less then 10 pound tanks? what about like 5 pounds? my tank is probably not as big as yours, mines 29, will i also need about 1 pubble per second? so the 10 pound one is only bout 5 inches in diameter, and about 15" tall huh... i think i have a spot for that, its ok to put the tank near where all the wires and plugs are? i might go get the setup then, and find out where i can fill my tank.. are ebay co2 kits reliable? what parts will i need? (regulator, hoses, reactor??? i am just making things up)

Hi,
Yes, they also market a 5 pound bottle, its about half
the size of the 10 (natch!) however, when I was getting into
Bottled Gas, I was unsure how long a bottle would last, and
since I was doing it on my own (did not know about this
site, or anyone to ask) I figured I'd go with what fit
and that I felt would last.

When you are initially setting up the system, 1 bubble/sec
is an easy rate to start at and from there you can go up
or down depending upon your target saturation and pH.

For a bottled system, you will need a regulator that
contains both the valve to adjust down the tank pressure,
AND a needle valve to adjust the rate of flow into the
aquarium. I call it a two stage regulator and has a gage
for each stage. On gage shows the tank pressure, and the
other shows the pressure to the needle valve and aquarium.
I set the main valve on the regulator to reduce the tank
pressure from slightly over 50 pounds ( a full tank) to
2 pounds and then adjust the needle valve to furnish
slightly more than 1 bubble/sec (for my aquarium).
You will need a one way check valve (keeps
water out of the lines and tank should it go empty),
CO2 hose (don't use hose for an aquarium air line, it
grows brittle and cracks with CO2), a bubble counter,
a reactor, or diffuser, and a means of monitoring your pH.

I purchased a "Pinpoint" brand pH monitor. It has a
probe that I leave in the tank and runs off a 9V battery.
It runs 24/7. And a roll of plumbers teflon tape
(wrap it around the tank threads, protects the threads,
and prevents leaks)

Look at the various sites, such as Arizona Gardens - they
sell components, and complete systems.

My aquarium is a 30G tank.

Frank


Last edited by FRANK at 29-Apr-2005 09:04

Last edited by FRANK at 29-Apr-2005 09:06

Last edited by FRANK at 29-Apr-2005 09:07

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

once again thank you...

i think i am done deciding, and tank it is, ill get all the stuff u mentioned, maybe except the ph monitor though, because last time when i used home made yeast bottles, the ph didnt drop that much at all, i will still check on my tank, but just manually... once the tank is set, do i still need to monitor the Ph?

Hi,
Being a kind of "Techi" one can never have enough
instrumentation.
But setting the pH and KH levels can be tricky.
They interact on each other, and things can
change rather rapidly.
Personally, I would never run a bottled system without a
pH monitor.



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

well said... looks like another 100 dollas outta mah pocket