CO2 Regulator / Solenoid / Needle Valve

I think this is the next step I want to look into! I need to find a decent substrate that will last longer than 12 months, provide a well balanced nutrition, and not cost a fortune!! PFP + Chemicult works. I cannot deny this... but it is SO MESSY!! I do not believe flourite to be an all round/balanced substrate, however it does have it's place... just not the correct price. ADA and Controsoil, as far as I'm aware, is not available in the country (yet). And if it ever does become available, I'd be scared to look at the price!

@Henk Hugo How does Microbelift compare here?

 

i dont believe this is true.. we can still get very good results using inert gravel and dosing by the water column.. it just takes more effort.

i do agree that we need proper and affordable substrate to come into the country now though!

ferts dont need to be expensive either.. the apsa calc has a list of common chems that we can buy at the chemist. works for me!

 

And with AMAZING results.

 

No, I disagree. There are a lot of plants that need acidic substrates for their roots. Proper planted substrates provide IDEAL rooting PH. It's not a question that real plant substrates work better than inert gravel. Ask anyone who has tried to grow HC properly, and Tonina species. Yes, HC will grow, but providing it with a proper substrate will get much better results. Tonina will not grow in just plain gravel. I've seen it.

But this is all off topic...

 

you can grow hc in inert gravel VERY well.. ive done that b4..i agree with tonias though.. mine died..

 

Hmmm.... my experience is provin otherwise. (Inert black substrate, PFP below) Obviously the HC is not rooting into the PFP to I assume the inert gravel is prooving useless for the HC.

 

My experience has also proven otherwise with HC. I tried it in inert gravel as well as Flourite. I had better results with Flourite, but they weren't that great either.

 

i dono if u guys rem my tank?


it was purely inert gravel.. lots of lights and co2 though..column dosing too

 

That's hectic!! How long did it take to carpet the tank like that? Do you have a just planted pic?

 

heres the nannos thread..

www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/showthread.php?4891-my-1st-real-planted-Iwagumi-nano

my 63l first glosso attempt was also and still is inert gravel..even my 4ft is inert..i swopped out the glosso and tryin to grow hc now.. Bit chalenging because the gravel size is quite big.. But its defn growing though..Thats why imo, even though proper fert gravel is nb,most plants will still grow well in inert with column dosing..

I think even tonias may grow in inert as long as the water is soft using RO water..

Heres my 60l journal if u interested..

www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/showthread.php?4903-My-63L-quot-clean-quot-setup

 

Probably OT ...

I have to concede CO2 pressurised is the way to go - even for a low bubble count you will be rewarded with improved growth on a low tech tank. (proved this to myself with running a nice JBL CO2 kit in my 4ft with inert substrate and random water column fertz).

I also came to the same conclusion - larger scale tanks need better substrate, agreed PFP is messy. So I kept swallowing the JBL pill for planted tanks (first the Co2 kit, then a canister next substrate) . My next rescape will have an additive to the inert substrate. I am sure that this will require an increase in CO2 and lighting.

Waiting for warmer weather.



I do like the build your own CO2 kit idea - I see many iLFS have a home brand of everything so they would do exactly what Zoom did - source components but sell it as a set. Something our LFSs should look at doing vs just being a dumping ground for whatever container landed.

Later Ferdie

 

@f-fish

How much was that JBL Proflora start... and how long will it last?

 

And where did you get it?

 

why do you say that?

 

slagter, JBL - have only found online. I was lucky - got them at zero shipping cost so it was only R180 but normally R100 per kg so if I get more now it would be more like R700 + what SARS wants. So under normal purchase this would not be an option for me - Zoom I have no clue how long this will last - what I do find interesting if you continue to swallow the JBL pill you get little "recharge" fert balls that you add to your substrate when it gets a bit tiered - don't have those yet but sounds like a plan. WBS I expect to see way better growth with the additive, but more growth will mean better fert control to avoid shortages. More fetz means again more light that in my mind leads to more CO2 until I can find the balance.

 

you have it the wrong way around. light is the accelerator pedal not the ferts or the co2...

 

@wearsbunnyslippers

Whilst I agree with you... I also disagree to an extent. No matter how hard you push the accelerator, if you haven't got oil in the engine, you will blow something soon. (If water is the fuel..., fertz is the oil, CO2 is the oxygen for the engine.)

My reading and research is showing that CO2 is actually more important than using more light. Obviously you have to have light... but I think we focus too much on the light.

 

Hi guys

This is a CO2 DIY thread...I think we are going a little off topic. Having said that, I want to clarify the above. Light is the accelerator pedal. If you add more light, you will require more CO2 and more ferts. However, if your light is on the low side, and you add more ferts and CO2, you don't "require" more light, but you "can" add more if you wish. The ferts is not really so critical, but the light/CO2 relationship is difficult to balance and is very critical. You can have low light and lots of CO2 and still have amazing growth. You'd be surprised how little light most plants actually need, as long as the CO2 is good. Some people become impatient or whatever, and feel they want the tank grown out NEXT WEEK, so they add plenty of light to speed up the growth, and often then end up having to deal with all sorts of algae issues or some plant deficiency. But low light, high CO2 and decent balanced amount of ferts will provide slower, yet extremely rewarding results, with much less algae issues. Remember, the more light you have, the faster the plant AND algae growth. Gives you less time to react to a problem...much like driving a car too fast.

But this is a thread about building your own high quality CO2 solution. Let's stick to that please?

 

I have tried for weeks to say what you just said in 2 sentences!!!

Sorry... I'm partly to blame... derailing my own thread.

 

yeah ashley get back on topic

you can disagree all you like, doesnt make it not true... i didnt say you dont need need the ferts and co2 for healthy growth, just that neither of these two are the accelerator pedal... increasing ferts, does not mean you need to increase light or co2, increasing co2 does not mean you have to increase lights or ferts, but increasing light normally means you need to increase the others...

you wanna start a thread in the planted section so we can hash it out there?

back on topic -----

get a regulator and pressurized co2, you will not look back, all your plants will grow better regardless of your setup...