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hi guys

just askin if u use co2 for your plants or not in your tank?

(if so please feel free to post pics of your tank/s that use co2 in them)

40G Long
226W = 5.65WPG
EI Dosing



55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

I have pressurized CO2 and do a little dosing of my own schedule. not strictly EI or PMDD or anything like that. I don't have recent pics of my tank, it's undergoing a metamorphosis and is very shy. Should be ready for the first shot in a couple weeks. If you want the old pics you can dig up my threads...just search for my name in the forums.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

ok thanks for the help

If i was to buy a CO2 system that would not take a lot of effort and i had about £40-£50 to spend wat would u recommend?

(P.S. is setting up a CO2 system hard)

Hi,
A bottled CO2 system is not hard to set up, nor is it hard
to maintain.

Here is a site that shows a rather advanced system and
what we would pay for it here in the States:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/NavResults.cfm?N=2004+113779

The basic system consists of the CO2 tank, between 5 and 10
pounds, regulator, a reactor, a bubble counter, a check
valve and a roll of Teflon plumbers tape.

The bottles can be rented or purchased from a
"tap store." These stores furnish CO2 and pressure
related items (hoses, valves, regulators) to bars,
and to restaurants for their carbonated beverages.

You wind two turns of Teflon tape around the brass threads
of the pressure tank in a direction so that as you tighten
the regulator on the threads, it "tightens" the tape and
seals the two against leaks. Each time you take the
regulator off the bottle, you remove the old tape, and put
two turns on the new bottle or back on the bottle when
reattaching the regulator. Be sure to remove the tap from
the grooves (spaces between the threads) on the bottle and
the inside of the regulator collar.

You will need a two stage regulator such as the one shown
in the picture. The first stage lowers the pressure from
the bottle down to your working pressure of one or 2 pounds
and the second is a needle valve that you adjust for just
the right amount of CO2.

The bubble counter is how you determine how much CO2 is
being injected into the tank. When you start off, you
adjust the needle valve so that you get about 1 bubble
per second. Wait 24 hours, and check your pH, and plot it
against your KH and the intersection of the two points
tells you what the CO2 saturation is. You want around
30mg/l.

http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_co2chart.htm

After the initial 24 hours, and your test, you
will know if you need to cut back, or increase the number
of bubbles per second. Make the second adjustment and then
check the next day. Keep adjusting till you get it where
you want it.

The reactor is the place where the tank water and CO2 mix.
The longer the gas stays in contact with the water the more
CO2 is absorbed. The reactor is were it takes place.
An alternative to the reactor is a Diffuser. This device,
(the best are made of sintered glass) breaks the gas up
into very tiny bubbles that are so small that they swirl
about the tank within the currents of the tank and rarely
reach the surface to break and be lost. Usually the bubbles
are absorbed before they reach the surface.

The check valve is a one way valve that is placed between
the regulator output, and the reactor. It prevents water
from siphoning back into the regulator and ruining it
should the tank run out of gas before you notice it.
It's very important. Regulators are expensive and must be
repaired by a certified tech.

The other stuff in the picture are "nice to haves" but
not really necessary.

Hope this helps...
I have a 10 pound bottle on my 30G tank, and to refill the
empty tank costs me $9 and some change. I have to refill
the bottle about every 6 months.

Frank


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

thanks loads for that FRANK um i think that might be a bit out of my price range wat do u think to this

http://uk.tetra.de/tetra/go/39A3EEC77E96C076AE439F4518F2911E/?produkt_show_only=295&produkt_list=1&lang_id=20

this is a picture what the kit looks like

http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/images/medium/Tetra%20CO2%20Canister_MED.jpg

wat do CO2 people think to this or does it look a bit dodgy

i would love to here wat u think thanks

Hi,
How big is your tank? If you are 30G or under, then maybe,
it would be an idea. Personally, by the time you purchase
this, and keep purchasing the replacement chemicals, and
new difuser units (as noted in the ad, when necessary) I
think you will have spent the money necessary for a good
bottled unit.

It might be smarter in the long run to set the tank up
with about two watts per gallon of 6700K light, and then
purchase low and medium light plants. CO2 is NOT a
necessity. You would be amazed at the jungles you can
grow with low (1.5wpg) to medium (2 - 2.5 wpg) light and
no CO2.

Using CO2 is really a must when you hit the 3+wpg light
ratings, and good to have in the 2-3wpg area, and shows
very little effect in the 1-2wpg area. Low light plants
have evolved to be very good at growing in low light
and extracting their carbon from organic wastes.

You might be better off to put a good, plant friendly,
substrate such as Sea Chems' flourite, or echo complete,
etc., in the tank and go with the low to mid range plants.

OR, you can follow the low/medium light while you save your
$$ for the bottled system and then add the high demand
plants and the CO2 and the new lighting systems later.
If you do that, you will have to change the lighting and
add the CO2 at the same time.

Frank


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

ok thanks loads again FRANK funny you would say that about the light i have just changed my light in my tank from 1.25 WPG to 2.5 WPG (the tank is 40 uk gallons) since the change in light (which i changed last tursday) i am all ready starting to see a improvement in the plants. I thought that CO2 was a must no matter on the light? (well that was the impresson that i got) i am prob wrong

A tank with lots of light is easier to keep balanced(plants growing and algae not) with co2. The more light the harder it is to keep everything in line. Co2 becomes the limiting factor keeping the plants from growing while algae has no problems growing when it's somewhat short a nutrient or 2. That's why co2 is recommended for tanks over 2wpg but it's by no means necessary.

I have 5wpg and only sometimes run a diy co2 system. My solution was to fill the top of my tank with duckweed. It outgrows the algae irregardless of the conditions in the tank. If there's an excess of any nutrient the duckweed uses it to grow faster so the algae doesn't. If I add co2 I get 2-4cups of duckweed a day. If I neglect the tank the duckweed gets to the point it blocks light to the lower levels of the tank basically performing it's own blackout. The plants survive it fine since none of the rest are extremely fast growers and only the red lilly is really high light demanding but the algae all dies. The tank stays balanced whether I run co2 or not and no matter the amount of food or fertilizers I put in it(within reason of course) so long as someone tops it off and scoops the duckweed out a few times a week.

ok thanks ham i think i will leave the CO2 and see if the light improves matters and if it does not then i will use CO2. Thanks every one for your imput