co2 help

[c_a_hale]

hm...so i was just reading some sites about how much of a difference co2
makes to plants. my new tank (*not yet setup) tank is 36" x 18" x 12", and will have 2 goldfish in it, moved from my smalled tank.. my
filter is fluval plus2 and a tetratec ni600 (bought it off someone. can anyone tell me about it?), and current water conditions in my smaller tank are ph 7.2, kh 71.6ppm, gh 125.3, lighting will be 24" 20w plantgro 30" 25w aquaglo 24" 20w 2month old aquaglo, and maybe 18" 18w arcadia freshwater, and i supplement weekly with tetra plant florapride. i will have a
quite heavily planted aquarium (already have a few crypts, ludwigia, hygros, valls, onion
plant (o my god, how big is that thing!!), echs', egeria, cabomba, java
fern....and ive ordered about 65 plants from java.co.uk!)(ok, i admit it....im obsessed by
plants!!).

now when reading, there was some stuff i just couldnt find. i seen this in
a website (
http://www.newleafaquarium.com/denne...ilization.html )-
BIO-CO30 CO2 STARTER SET i thnk its made by dennerle. its reasonably
priced, and so are the refills but diy co2 is also appealing to me (cos i
like sciency stuff....why else?). so one of my questions are: are there
any plus points to bought co2 systems (apart from regualr flow)? for diy,
are there any cheap (i.e free) alternatives to bubble counters? what would
co2 do to my current setup? (hardness wise. i know about ph fluctuations).

all i basically want is some extra growth in addition to the growth already
being displayed (which is quite good, for it being a goldfish tank. the
plants get nibbled, but not enough for it to affect growth. some the fish
dont even touch).

can anyone answer the above questions? any reply is appreciated, and id also
like to hear about other 'small' tanks with co2 injection.
thanks
christine

[benetay]

Firstly i will like to say is plants need CO2 and sufficient light to photosynthesis which will acclerates or in other words mean normal growth of the plants.

With Co2 injection into the water colume using a diffuser will diffuse the Co2 into small tiny bubbles which are release into yr tank.

for DIY Co2 maybe u will want to consider the smell as a negative point, it smells like beer some smell it like yeast, Diy Co2 have to be made over and over again and it will be quite troublesome. Getting a Co2 cylinder will definetely ease yr burdens. A 5L Co2 cylinder can last up to 8mths or less depending on the amt u use.

Bubble counters are cheap so i don't have anything to say here.
For plants like vals and cambomba it will be a shocking thing to see when u have actually Co2 injected into yr water colume as it will grow very quickly. had val covering all the background in a matter of weeks and thorwing away bags and bags of them.

just my 2cts worth.

[hwchoy]

Hi, the Bio CO2 set up is EXACTLY the same as DIY, along with the smell, irregular flow, etc. Only difference is that DIY cost peanuts.

However, given your self-professed craziness about plants, suggest you invest in the CO2 cylinder. It is the single biggest different you can make to your planted tank (other than lights! which you have quite enough).

[c_a_hale]

wish i could, but i cant afford a cylinder just now. I will probably go with diy, and have 2 bottles running. anyone know where i can get a bubble counter online and thats available to the uk?

[benetay]

UK hmm maybe we can ask Mez our fellowforumer who aslo is in Uk too =)

[hwchoy]

DIY don't need bubble counter, you can't control the flow! Actually most of the time you don't have enough flow, unless you shake the bottles.

[c_a_hale]

i didnt know that! all the sites ive been to say its useful.

[spilopterus]

eh, why don't we just get a bubble counter here for hale? Then we air mail it to her in UK lor. Shouldn't be more than S$10. bubble counter right? those cheap plastic ones that count bubbles. not CO2 diffuser.... but nowadays CO2 diffuser comes with bubble counter too.

but one thing is that bubble counter helps you know how much is going in, but still doesn't help much since you cannot control the flow. So pretty much pointless.

[hwchoy]

----------------
On 4/28/2002 11:26:46 PM

i didnt know that! all the sites ive been to say its useful.
----------------

yah, only with cylinder where you can regulate (here's where the regulator comes in) the rate and also control the timing (when to turn on and off, and here's where you need the solenoid).

For DIY, don't need all of those. Just connect the bottles to a one-way valve (this is to prevent the tank water going back into the bottle, or worst onto your floor), and then onto an airstone. Put the airstone at the bottom of the tank. Voila!

And also you cannot turn it off at night (when there is no light). However the flow is usually so low it doesn't affect your fish. Once the yeast is added to the sugar, DO NOT stopper your bottle, it will explode! [:0]

[c_a_hale]

you make it sound so easy!!! im still at the getting the airtubeing into the bottles part. i have gt everything i need though, apart from silicone, which i will be getting pretty soon hopefully.

[hwchoy]

----------------
On 4/28/2002 11:35:01 PM

you make it sound so easy!!! im still at the getting the airtubeing into the bottles part. i have gt everything i need though, apart from silicone, which i will be getting pretty soon hopefully.
----------------

Hey, welcome to the world of aquatic plants. It is easy to start off, it may not be so easy to do well.

One more practical consideration, make sure your bottles are standing upright or are supported. If you connect the outlet to a diffuser instead of an airstone, the pressure (to get the gas through the diffuser ceramic) is enough to distend the bottles. The flat bottom may expand outwards so that the bottles will topple over, which means your fishes get a tipple

[hwchoy]

oh and forgot to answer your q about on-line shops.

You can visit www.aquagoods.com, which is the store for Aqua Design Amano, the man who popularised planted aquariums. Just drool over the merchandise for the prices are as heavenly as the goods. []

[c_a_hale]

looked at that site. i see they do shipping to england and ireland, but not wales or scotland!!LOL!! hows that for a kick in the teeth?!?[]

[hwchoy]

too many nessies, the postman wouldn't deliver []

[c_a_hale]

lol!!

[peterkoh]

hi there ... welcome to thje club !

i'm a newbie too and started just over 6 mths ago.

light and co2 are the 2 most impt factors for plants. for light, my suggestion is around 2 watt per gallon if you want to grow most plants. lesser if you want to stick to moss or ferns, most off-the-shelf tank does not have enuf light so you need to add ot modify them. i modified mine.

as for co2, i'm using co2 in my 2 ft and doing pretty ok. use a UP brand reactor to keep your precious DIY co2 in. forget about buying bubble counter. get a small mineral water bubble, fill it with water to the halfway pt, run your co2 output into it and have another hole in the cap as the output and you have a co2 counter. it is also a safety device to prevent the mixture from going into your tank !

my biggest challenge is the water temp which i still fail to resolve even with fans. chiller is too ex and is out of my options.

hope this helps.

[CK Yeo]

Fan works by the princuple of evaporative cooling. How much it can cool depends on the ambient humidity.

A couple of things you can try.

1) Keep the area above your tank, or whereever you put the fan well ventilated.

2) Put more fans blowing directly at the water surface.

[hwchoy]

I don't think temperature should be too much of a problem in Scotland. Might even need a heater.

[joestoys]

I remember there's a site that do auto calculation on the total watts on lighting as well as the number of fish you can have in your tank[:0]

anyone have the site.... thanks

[NinjaFly]

Problem with fan blowing at the water surface is that it will result in lots of water loss. So topping up of the water has to be regular.