New to CO2 and plants

[Alin10123]

Hey guys,
New to the whole plants and CO2 thing. I had previously tried to do plants in my 29 gallon but i pretty much failed every time. Later on i gave up. But recently i've acquired a 55 gallon in which i plan to do plants properly this time to give it another shot.

I bought a 130 watt PC light from coralife 6700K from big als online. Man.. this thing's bright. I plan to purchase a plant package from a reputable place online. I found this place and i want to get this package.

http://www.freshwateraquariumplants....P/2GSCHATSD300

I talked with the owner that seemed to be really knowledgeable but he used a lot ot technical terms. So i was kind of lost. The package will come with fertilizers, and i've also got a thing of seachem flourish that he recommended as well.

I'm going to assume the only thing i'm short is CO2. Do i need CO2 for those plants? I dont need them to grow really fast, i just dont want them to die or at least grow a little bit really slow. Do i still need the CO2?

I have found an affordable CO2 thing from petsmart here:
http://www.petsmart.com/global/produ...N=2030065&Ne=2

Will that suit my needs for CO2 in my 55 gallon? I dont think i'm getting any particularly difficult to keep plants.

thanks

[Ownager2004]

Thats probably the biggest diffuser ive ever seen but im sure it works. Thats basically a DIY co2 setup they are selling. If you like to do stuff yourself you should look into making your own CO2 system.

[Damon]

The ladder will not be verry effective for a 55 gallon tank. I would use a limewood diffuser or ceramic one. DIY can be cheap (Its a 2 liter bottle, sugar and yeast). I would save your money and instead of buying that, purchase 2-4 limewood diffusers. Will work better.

Also while that pkg isn't bad, I'd go with this one as all those swords will eventually fill up your tank. Amazon swords can fill 3/4 of a 55 gallon when fully grown.

http://www.aquabotanic.com/abstore/c.../en-us/d2.html
Either the hard to kill pkg or the starter kit will work. More plants with the starter kit but easier ones in the first pkg.

[Alin10123]

Originally Posted by Simpte

The ladder will not be verry effective for a 55 gallon tank. I would use a limewood diffuser or ceramic one. DIY can be cheap (Its a 2 liter bottle, sugar and yeast). I would save your money and instead of buying that, purchase 2-4 limewood diffusers. Will work better.

Also while that pkg isn't bad, I'd go with this one as all those swords will eventually fill up your tank. Amazon swords can fill 3/4 of a 55 gallon when fully grown.

http://www.aquabotanic.com/abstore/c.../en-us/d2.html
Either the hard to kill pkg or the starter kit will work. More plants with the starter kit but easier ones in the first pkg.

Is the limewood diffuser basically working like an airstone? How come 2-4? Do i need to connect all of them at one time to the CO2 from the soda bottle? How do i make sure the CO2 flow is consistant and there's not a huge PH drop or increase every week or so when i need to redo the mixture? Can i purchase an airline valve and adjust it as needed? Or is this not recommended?

Also... i've read that CO2 will lower your PH. My Alkalinity is kind of low when i test my water. It'll usually read in the 0-40 range or somewhere in between there when i do a water test. My water is also very soft and the PH is usually 6.2-6.8 when it comes out of the tap normally. WIll i be ok with the CO2 with that low alkalinity?

I think my fish like the water PH at around 6.8 dont they? So if i add CO2... wont the PH drop?

thanks

[Alin10123]

One more thing, with regards to the starter plant package. It says that the water requirements are moderately hard to hard. If i have soft water, will this do? I plan on adding seachem flourish to the water every week for fertilizer.

Also... one last thing... i found a DIY site for the CO2 producer.
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/H...7/DIY_CO2.html

There is a thing in there about also adding 1tsp baking soda to the mixture if your water is soft? What does that do? Does that prevent the PH from fluctuating?

thanks

[Alin10123]

oops......

[Damon]

You purchase 2-4 because they will clog and you can put a spare one on while your cleaning the clogged one (once every 3-6 months). They normally come 2 per pkg. DIY Co2 will not affect you PH much in a tank that size (maybe .2 -.4 swing). The plants themselves will do just fine in soft water. I've grown them all in soft water. What type of fish are in the tank?

[goodie]

There is a thing in there about also adding 1tsp baking soda to the mixture if your water is soft? What does that do? Does that prevent the PH from fluctuating?

When the yeast/sugar mixture is firmenting it creates alcohol and the co2 will make the mixture(in 2 liter bottle) more acidic which can kill the yeast and slow co2 production.

If thats how I remember it. I maybe off a bit, but generally speaking thats pretty much the reason for it.

[Damon]

Pretty close goodie. The yeast feeds off the sugar creating OH. Co2 is just a by-product. The problem arrises when too much OH is produced which is toxic to yeast (different yeast have different levels of toxicity). Better quality yeast last longer (beer or wine yeast). Using Baking soda will slow down the fermentation process creating less per unit of time but lasting longer.

[Alin10123]

Originally Posted by Simpte

What type of fish are in the tank?

The type of fish in the tank are in my signature for the 55 gallon.
I plan to add a few pearl gouramis and a bristle nose pleco.

[Alin10123]

Originally Posted by Simpte

Pretty close goodie. The yeast feeds off the sugar creating OH. Co2 is just a by-product. The problem arrises when too much OH is produced which is toxic to yeast (different yeast have different levels of toxicity). Better quality yeast last longer (beer or wine yeast). Using Baking soda will slow down the fermentation process creating less per unit of time but lasting longer.

I see... so it's safe to say that i should add 1 tsp of baking soda in my mixture since i have soft water?

Also... Is beer or wine yeast more expensive? Can i find it just in the grocery store?

Originally Posted by Simpte

You purchase 2-4 because they will clog and you can put a spare one on while your cleaning the clogged one (once every 3-6 months). They normally come 2 per pkg. DIY Co2 will not affect you PH much in a tank that size (maybe .2 -.4 swing). The plants themselves will do just fine in soft water. I've grown them all in soft water. What type of fish are in the tank?

I see... hmm.. can i just run the line near the intake of my magnum canister filter and let that suck it up? That should work right?

On a more random note... i keep reading about CO2 proof lines? Are silicone lines ok? Or do i need more specialty lines? Can i order those online?

Also... After reading a few horror stories about lines being clogged and water getting into the reactor, i'd like to put in 2 types of valves, one being a backflow valve near the top and a T valve with a pressure relief valve in case the end becomes clogged.

Do you guys think that those are neccessary? I plan on using a thicker juice type bottle than a regular soda bottle.

thanks

[Damon]

I'll try to answer these in the order you asked them.............
1. Adding it won't hurt but cannot be sure if it will help or not. Depends on your mixture.

2. Yes beer and wine yeast are slightly more expensive. You cannot usually find these in a grocery store.

3. That is a great way to diffuse Co2. The smaller the bubbles going into the filter's impeller, the less noise and more efficient.

4. Silicone will work and is better than standard airline tubing (doesn't waste as much Co2, but it will harden over time and will have to be replaced. Co2 proof tubing is expensive but saves over the long run. Norprine or tygon tubing are 2 brands of CO2 proof tubing. Regular airline tubing can waste as much as 40% of the co2 going through it. Silicone is somewhere like 10-20%

[goodie]

Originally Posted by Simpte

Pretty close goodie. The yeast feeds off the sugar creating OH. Co2 is just a by-product. The problem arrises when too much OH is produced which is toxic to yeast (different yeast have different levels of toxicity). Better quality yeast last longer (beer or wine yeast). Using Baking soda will slow down the fermentation process creating less per unit of time but lasting longer.

You da man!!

[Damon]

Glad we could help

[Alin10123]

Originally Posted by Simpte

I'll try to answer these in the order you asked them.............
1. Adding it won't hurt but cannot be sure if it will help or not. Depends on your mixture.

2. Yes beer and wine yeast are slightly more expensive. You cannot usually find these in a grocery store.

3. That is a great way to diffuse Co2. The smaller the bubbles going into the filter's impeller, the less noise and more efficient.

4. Silicone will work and is better than standard airline tubing (doesn't waste as much Co2, but it will harden over time and will have to be replaced. Co2 proof tubing is expensive but saves over the long run. Norprine or tygon tubing are 2 brands of CO2 proof tubing. Regular airline tubing can waste as much as 40% of the co2 going through it. Silicone is somewhere like 10-20%

thanks,
Anyplace where i can purchase the one way valve (to prevent water in the bottle), the T splitter, and the pressure relief valve (to prevent bottle explosions) that's compatible with CO2 online?

[Damon]

There are places you can order CO2 specific equipment but I use regular check valves (they're cheap enough), pennplax makes a little case of spare parts (all you need but the check valve). They are available at any local fish store.

[Alin10123]

K, thanks for your help guys. I went ahead and ordered the starter package and it should be here by tomorrow. Although... one last quick thing though, i've got all parts of my DIY CO2 system ready for when the plants get here tomorrow. But i'm having trouble finding a place that sells the transparent CO2 tubing. The only place i've found it online wants $11 for shipping a tube that weight maybe 2 ounces. I've tried the LFS as well. None of the ones around me in Atlanta have the CO2 tubing.

Any place online with reasonable shipping rates?

thanks

[Damon]

Just use Silicone tubing until you make another order to save on shipping. No sense buying just the tubing for the prices they want for shipping.

[Alin10123]

Originally Posted by Simpte

Just use Silicone tubing until you make another order to save on shipping. No sense buying just the tubing for the prices they want for shipping.

hehe, thanks for the advice.
Actually, i figured that i might need a bigger net and some stuff to prune the plants with. So i went ahead and got those supplies and i found a place with $6.99 shipping.

By the way... how do you prune the plants? I know the fine leaf ones you just cut them on the stem. But what about hte broad leaf ones? The ones with a stem and then a huge leaf at the top? Where do you cut those?

[Damon]

I cut as close to the base as possible.