Please help, need advice..

[Rael]

hi im a newbie to this site and in planted set ups.. intending to set up a very beginners planted, using hardy plants only.hope bros/sis here can help me out.

1) which brand for canister is lasting? atman or tetra ex?

2) how to calculate from litres to gallons?

3) how many watts light do my (2x1x1)ft tank need?

4) how long can a ballast last? how long can a PL light last?

5) wat filter medias best use for plants?

6) i got a Nutrafin CO2 set but intending to do my own concoction of yeast and sugar to put in the container:

-but wats the ratio of yeast to sugar(using table spoon)?

-how long can it last?

-can i join a normal valve to control the Co2 coming out?

7)wats the diff between a Co2reactor and a Co2diffuser? wat thier purpose?

thanks

[|squee|]

Welcome to AQ

1) Tetra will be more reliable imho, but Atman is much cheaper. I use an Atman filter, and it's alright so far.

2) 1 litres = 0.264172051 US gallon. We use US gallons in this hobby.

3) Depends very much on your choice of plants. Generally I'll go for at least 36W. 72W is needed if you intend to grow high-light plants like Glossostigma elatinoides.

4) A ballast lasts till it breaks down, but it should be hardy enough to last you like a typical light set. Light tubes last for years, but we change them every 6 months at least because PL tubes lose much of their intensity after 6 months or so.

5) Use your normal filtration media as you would use for a fish-only setup. No coral chips/crushed corals.

6) Someone with DIY CO2 knowledge will help you here

7) A reactor mixes CO2 with water by water current. A diffusor makes CO2 bubbles go through a ceramic "membrane" so that they emerge into the water as fine tiny bubbles that dissolve in the water, much like a fine airstone. Both have their pros and cons. Both their purposes are to dissolve CO2 into the water.

[Rael]

great bro...appreciate it alot, means a lot to me.

by the way why cannot use coral chips?

is it better to use both reactor and diffuser?

[|squee|]

No prob, we're all here to help out.

Coral chips mess around with water values, which you will need un-messed-with to measure your CO2 concentration in the water later.

People usually use either one. Imho, I'll use a reactor for tanks better than 2ft, and a diffusor for tanks 2ft and below. Both require good understanding of how the equipment works, because if you inject CO2, it's very very important that you do the job well. Fluctuating/improper/insufficient CO2 injected will give you endless algae problems, which is the main source of headaches for all planted tank people.

[Rael]

No prob, we're all here to help out.

Coral chips mess around with water values, which you will need un-messed-with to measure your CO2 concentration in the water later.

bro, wat do u mean by mess with water values? for wat i know, is that CC just lock the pH to max 8..

by the way how u measure CO2 concentration in the water?

[alanyeo99]

Hello Rael,

Coral chips have high concentration of calcium which tends to leach when placed in freshwater. This leads to high PH. You should avoid not just coral chips, but coral sands as well.

Measuring CO2 level... there is an article on this forum, maybe you can search for it. The amount of CO2 can be estimated at specific KH and PH levels.

[Rael]

Hello Rael,

Coral chips have high concentration of calcium which tends to leach when placed in freshwater. This leads to high PH. You should avoid not just coral chips, but coral sands as well.

Measuring CO2 level... there is an article on this forum, maybe you can search for it. The amount of CO2 can be estimated at specific KH and PH levels.

ooo...now i understand..
but how am i gonna maintain a safe ph for my fishes?

[|squee|]

In Singapore pH usually isn't a problem. We don't need softeners or anything like that to reduce the pH for the tropical fish we keep.

The importance of not having any factors that can affect your pH/kH is because when you start injecting CO2, you need to know the concentration of CO2 in your water and how far or near it is to the recommended value of 30ppm (ppm is the unit of measure used here; stands for parts per million).

If there are for example coral chips in your filter, they mess with the kH and pH, thus giving false readings when you measure those values and giving you a false result for CO2 concentration.

If you do not have any factors affecting your pH and kH, then you can measure accurately since injection of CO2 will reduce your pH only. You'll then be able to discern whether enough CO2 is in your water or not.

Additional reading.