Reply With Quoteyour plants don't really need co2 at all to grow well. Those are pretty low requirement plants. Maybe you will need the co2 when you upgrade to more high requirement plants
CO2 Cylinder for 60L Tank
Hi All, I am new to planted tank and these few days, I have been wondering whether I should get a CO2 cylinder for my 60L planted tank. When should I get it or should I just continue to try out DIY CO2 using yeast?
I know that CO2 cylinder will get a more consistent supply of CO2 to the tank but do i really need it and is it worth it.
Any reliable brand to recommend that is reasonably priced and where is the best place to get it? Is there any difference in using Aluminum cylinder? Or the solenoid or valve brand is the one that matters? Any advice are appreciated. Thanks.
My aquarium currently have the following plants. All plants are attached to driftwood with totally no substrate.
1. 4 x Java Fern (1 of it totally trimmed off due insufficient nutrient when in my previous tank)
2. 1 x Big Nana and 2 x Small Nana
3. 6 x Marimo Moss ball and 10+ Nano Moss ball
4. Christmas Moss and Flame Moss
Lights is 24W 6500 K PL LAMP.
Latest photo of my aquarium now.
your plants don't really need co2 at all to grow well. Those are pretty low requirement plants. Maybe you will need the co2 when you upgrade to more high requirement plants
What are the common high requirement plants?
HC, Glosso, which are carpet plants.. there's lots more but i am no plant expert. if you decide to go for high requirement plants, then your 24w lights confirm not enough.
Hi Jeff,Originally Posted by jeffteo
You can try out DIY CO2 first to see if you like the increase in plant growth speed.
As far as I know there're not much brands for CO2 except for premium ones like (I think) Dennerle, ADA, etc. If you go to any of the commonly mentioned LFSes in AQ, their CO2 systems should be fine as you do a one-to-one exchange when the CO2 runs out.
Aluminium tanks are lighter and more lasting I suppose. I can't say much for this as I use a steel one.
Solenoid brand matters as you will want to be able to properly fine tune the bubbles-per-second released; crappy systems will have varying outputs over time and won't remain constant. The most common brand will be JBJ I think.
My tank actually have a total of 35W with an additional 11W lamp toward the rear. Turned it off due to algae growth at the rear of the tank. In total I should have about 2.2 WpG which is mid light level. Abit too much for low light plants. CO2 should help the plants absorb the nutrient faster and starve the algae right? My tank is the taller 2 ft type and I want the ferns to grow higher. Or I should go for the swords plant?
Thanks squee. I am using DIY already but it seems to have problem pumping pass the check valve on the bubble counter. Got to give the bottle a squeeze to help the glass difusser kick start and after a very short while it will dies down. Maybe the gas build up is not enough yet. Anyway i bought Seachem flourish excel today to help out till i decided if I want to get it or not. Some people tells me to invest in one for a more constant result while others say no need. Really confused now.
You might have a leak somewhere (test with soapy water and look for bubbles) for example at the seal where the airtube meets the DIY Co2 container... I used to use silicon or massive amounts of Blutack to seal it.
There is, ultimately no need for CO2 injection as plants grow perfectly fine without CO2 injection, but at a much much slower rate. That's why we use CO2. But with CO2 comes more problems as algae issues crop up faster, more equipment to fiddle with, etc. But CO2 allows you to grow plants much faster so you enjoy the hobby more. Having said that, I'd take the plunge to CO2 if I were you. CO2 equipment fetch a good second hand price so not much worries for financial loss.
I think it's a good move to have also considered the Seachem Excel as a gauge to determine if your plants' improvement (& algae control) with supplemented carbon is compatible with your goal.
It's in my opinion easier to dose excel as a carbon source and more consistent than DIY CO2 - you can adjust the excel dosage according to your requirement and the cost is manageable for a 60L (should be ~2ml daily).
My only caution is the effect Excel has on your Marimo Moss ball as it's classified as a type of algae and may have unexpected effects (e.g. poor growth/dying) so you may wish to increase the dosage gradually when starting out.
Is it because algae can't use the organic carbon that Excel provides? After the big dose from each WC, I should be dosing 1.5 ml but should I dose daily or every other day? For Flourish, I intend to dose only once a week.
I turned of the DIY CO2 valve last night and this morning the pressure managed to built up and push out into the diffuser. So confirm no leak at the joint on the bottle.
I am still procrastinating on getting the cylinder...
Hi if you do get a CO2 system then you might want to replant your tank with plants needing higher requirement like HC and glosso etc. That way, you will feel that your CO2 has paid off when the whole tank is pearling or streaming with oxygen bubbles
Cheers!
griffinkid
Keeping | Nannostomus Eques, Pseudomugil furcatus, Sphaerichthys osphromenoides, Pseudepiplatys annulatus and Corydoras hastatus |
What is HC and glosso? How does it looks like?Hi if you do get a CO2 system then you might want to replant your tank with plants needing higher requirement like HC and glosso etc. That way, you will feel that your CO2 has paid off when the whole tank is pearling or streaming with oxygen bubbles
Excel is biocidal and sometimes used in 2-3x the recommended doses to eradicate algae. If heavily overdosed, it can also affect other types of plants and fauna. People have reported incompatibility of excel with certain plant species and since marimo balls is classified as a type of algae, it may be more vulnerable.
Why not try dosing every alternate day first to see if you can see a difference.
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