Newbie to plants and CO2

2402 Views 6 Replies 5 Participants Last post by stslimited84, Apr 25, 2008

stslimited84

Discussion Starter · Apr 24, 2008

Hey everybody,

I'm starting to venture into plants. I've been reading up on some of the requirements different plants have, and I was thinking about doing a DIY CO2 system on my new 150.

After some reading it seems as tho a CO2 system on the 150 is not feasible b/c the CO2 will escape from the sump. (The tank is going to be filtered by a wet/dry filter in a 100 gal sump).

Any suggestions/thoughts on what to do?

I'd like to make it a tank capable of having some nice plants, but nothing overboard.

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naegling23

· #2 · Apr 24, 2008

You might not need CO2. CO2 is only necessary if your putting over 2wpg (and its debatable up the 3). At 2wpg, your still going to be able to grow swords, val, java fern, anubias, and the "easier" plants.

If you still want to go the co2 route, you can always just put a diffuser into the tank, I use a wooden air stone that gives me smaller micro-bubbles that have a better chance at dissolving, but there are better options than this.

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hollyfish2000

· #3 · Apr 24, 2008

I have 3 WPG and felt like I needed CO2 to escape from BBA ****. I started with store-bought DIY and found it unsatisfactory. I went to pressurized CO2 on a timer with the lights and couldn't be happier. It's surprisingly easy. I think I have the Milwaukee regulator with a diffuser left over from the store-bought DIY gizmo.

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stslimited84

Discussion Starter · #4 · Apr 24, 2008

I'd like to avoid adding co2 to the aquarium...just more stuff to have to deal with. I didnt think swords would do well with just 2 WPG. I was under the impression they needed more light? If not then thats great, b/c I really like how the amazon sword looks.

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kornphlake

· #5 · Apr 24, 2008

You could use Flourish Excell, it's going to get pretty expensive for a tank that size but it's really the best source of carbon if you're insistant on using a sump.

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macclellan

· #6 · Apr 24, 2008

DIY CO2 is impractical on a tank that large, even if you didn't have a sump. With a sump, forgetaboutit.

If you want to go full-on planted tank (with thick foreground etc), CO2 is close to necessary. If you want to go that route, forego the sump and use the $ to buy 2 large canister filters, a co2 canister and regulator. I'd recommend a DIY co2 reactor for diffusion. If you're set on the 100g sump, forget about CO2, yeast or pressurized. Just keep the lighting low (~1wpg) and add vals, swords etc.

The WPG rule doesn't work for bigger tanks (if it works at all). 300w is a lot of light. I'd shoot for <200w if I wasn't adding co2.

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stslimited84

Discussion Starter · #7 · Apr 25, 2008

macclellan said:
DIY CO2 is impractical on a tank that large, even if you didn't have a sump. With a sump, forgetaboutit.

If you want to go full-on planted tank (with thick foreground etc), CO2 is close to necessary. If you want to go that route, forego the sump and use the $ to buy 2 large canister filters, a co2 canister and regulator. I'd recommend a DIY co2 reactor for diffusion. If you're set on the 100g sump, forget about CO2, yeast or pressurized. Just keep the lighting low (~1wpg) and add vals, swords etc.

The WPG rule doesn't work for bigger tanks (if it works at all). 300w is a lot of light. I'd shoot for <200w if I wasn't adding co2.

I dont want to go with a full on planted tank...too much additional work. Ideally what I want is to have a nice tank with plants adding to the decor, rather than a tank with no plants. The low light species are fine for me, I just wasn't sure about the CO2 etc.

What low light species need to be attached to rocks? and which need to be rooted in the sand?

Thanks for all of the help/responses!

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