Lighting and CO2 for 2ft Planted tank

[bentan]

Hi guys,

How should i light my 2 x 1 x 1 ft tank so that it can support a lush underwater greenery?

I really dont wanna add CO2 into this first planted tank of mine...
isit possible? r there some tips n tricks to achieve a balance with additional CO2?

[CK Yeo]

Yes can do. Dun go high light with a CO2-less tank. Courting algae bloom. Keep low light plants. There will be very slow growth. Keep low bioload. Dun throw 200 cardinals and shrimp in there and expect the plants to suck in all the waste.
Add DIY CO2 lah. A bit "leh chey", but worth it.

[Simon]

best to provide at least a DIY Co2 injection but u can do without one if u plan to use nana, ferns..etc

for light wise, a general 1+watts per gal for low light plants & 3+watts per gal for high light plants (varies btw diff species)

[bentan]

the gallon mentioned is US or imp gallon?

[Simon]

US gallon

[bentan]

Thanks.

By the way, wat's DIY CO2?

[CK Yeo]

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On 2/22/2002 12:10:40 PM
By the way, wat's DIY CO2?
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Do-It-Yourself CO2.
Coke bottle + water + yeast + sugar = CO2
more information on the krib.

it is cheap (short term) but I find it very "leh chey" after awhile. Can last about 4 weeks, but the production is not constant.

[tawauboy]

yes! it's 'ley chey' but very good for trying out co2 injection.
give it a go and you can decide later if you want to for pressurised co2.

it's a couple of bucks versus 160 bucks.

[oqs]

yah. you can just use DIY CO2 first like what me and many here do. but in the end, it was really 'ley chey' like wat tawauboy say. so got the CO2 cylinder as a result.

[tawauboy]

ben,

since this is your first planted tank, just do without co2 injection first.
keep a low bioload, helps in reducing algae growth.
just observe for a couple of weeks on how your plants are doing.
next try to co2 injection and observe how your plants are doing.
based on you observation, you can then decide if you want to inject co2.

i believe everyone here swears by co2 injection, including me.
try it out and see.

[bentan]

Wow...sounds cool...maybe i'll try it...

Btw...yeast? wat kind n where to obtain?


If I'm keeping quite alot of low light plants in my tank plus some hi light tanks...isit ok to put abt 36W of light? (2ft by 1ft tank)

Thanks folks.

[CK Yeo]

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On 2/22/2002 5:54:52 PM
Wow...sounds cool...maybe i'll try it...
Btw...yeast? wat kind n where to obtain?
If I'm keeping quite alot of low light plants in my tank plus some hi light tanks...isit ok to put abt 36W of light? (2ft by 1ft tank)
Thanks folks.
----------------

yeast can get from supermarket. The bake bread thingy. cheap.

I dun get your second question.

[Simon]

think its 'King' brand or something like that...

36watts for a 2ft is enuff for low light plants

[bentan]

sorry Yeo...typo...i meant - when keeping mostly low light plants, isit okie to use 36W of light.

thanks simon.

[sherchoo]

Ben,
36W should be quite ok. Duration maybe adjusted using trial and error method. The norm would be around 10 hours. If you were to encounter algae then reduce the timing.

I would strongly suggest to try out the DIY Co2. If you don't feel confident about brewing the sugar-yeast conogtion then try buying those DIY Co2 bottles available in most LFS. Cost around $12. May last up to a month. Once finish you can reuse the bottle and add in your own sugar-yeast solution to produce co2.

[budak]

a 36W PL is fine in itself, but you MUST either put in some fast-growing plants (like Hygros or Hornworts) or use floating plants or algae will almost certainly become a problem.

[bentan]

Is 1 tube of 36W better or 2 tubes combined to make 36W?

Bearing in mind the tank is only 2ft x 1ft and i'm using a hang-on-tank (liberty 150) filter. I'm afriad if i use 2 tubes...there won't be space for my H.O.T filter.

[CK Yeo]

Deh! Then dun filter loh. Use internal filter also better. you have to minimise the CO2 lost! water surface turbulence = CO2 loss.
Regarding the DIY CO2 generator, how difficult can it be to make one? take the coke cap, get a screwdriver, punch one small small hole. get a short piece of stiff tubing, jam it in the hole, superglue (work better than silicon) the edges. Voila! Like primary school science project.

[tawauboy]

ben,
if you couldn't get a stiff tubing, you can use the plastic connector attached to those plastic airstone.
jam into the hole in cap and glue.
i used uhu glue and it works for me.
one way to check if the joint leaks is to use drip some soapy water at the joint to see if bubbles appear.

there you go.

[bentan]

Wah...setup my tank today...

Planted tank IS hard man...

Using DIY co2...

Water still very murky...waiting for it to settle

will keep u guys updated