Going Planting

I'm contemplating buying one of these smallish 38-100l all-in-one (Filter, Lights etc) Boyu, Jebo, AquaH20 tanks off Gumtree and starting to play with this planting business.

I figure it will be cheaper to pick up a complete tank second hand, than fit my old baby hospital tank with all the fancy lights and pumps and things.

So the moment I find a bargain I like, I'll make a plan.


Now my bigger question is...this CO2 injection business.

Is there any way to NOT do it? And failing that how can one go about doing it cheaply?

 

Google DIY CO2 threads.
It will be fine for a small tank.

 

I bought a small 600l/h pump from AK that has a small nub on the outlet for the "venturi" principle, connected airtube to it, nonreturn valve

i took a 2lt plastic bottle, added about a cup or two brown sugar (cuz thats what we use) and a teaspoon and a bit of brewers yeast

the cap has one of those straight connection bits you'd use to add airhose if its too short, epoxy'd to the cap on outside, and on the inside bit sticking through, it has about 2-3cm of airtube attached to it, ending in a point (so if the solution is swished around it-ll drip down the inner tube bit)

then i just connect the outside bit with airhose to the nub on the pump, when gas pushes towards the tank, the pump sprays it into the water in very teeny tiny bubble that dissolve

lasts about 2-3 weeks

 

ek stem saam/i agree

 

its at least easy to make, and it does add co2, even if its not pressurized, with lots of bells whistles and do-hickies that measure everything

if you do go diy, something like what i did is a quick fix, there are many other measures of success and methods of implementing diy, but there isn't much need to over complicate the process on such a small tank

if you want to go a bit more professional (read expensive) you can go for tetra's optimat or whatchamakallit. i've also seen some shops have effervescent co2 tablets, though it looks dodgy...

and then you can always try prof's happy carbo stuff, co2 liquid stuff

 

Hmmm...food for thought.

I know Jebo's especially ship with a powerhead setup that normally has the air inlet tube, so that is one option to remember when looking for tanks.

Ultimately I guess I can't just dump a bottle of carbonated water into the tank every other day?

My plants seem to have remained alive at least, longer than I can ever remember with Prof's fertilizer, but I'm guessing if I want them to grow I'll have to go CO2.

 

Ha ha seems everyone missed your question, there is a very effective way NOT to do it.

There are plenty of liquid carbon based products like seachem exel or happylife carbo
that work much better than diy Co2, and dont have the same danger of ph swings and unrelyability.. Not to mention much cheaper than a proper system.

That being said Co2 isn't the answer to growing plants, it is merly one component, there is also lighting, substrate and micro and macro ferts, miss one and your plants wont grow to their potential..

Regards,
Phil..

 

Thanks Philfarm, you are exactly the man I needed to hear that from considering what your plants look like.

Currently I only really have the lighting and ferts in place. Well Liquid ferts from Prof.

That being said my first attempt of actually really keeping plants is inside and Oscar tank, which is a silly idea to begin with, and doesn't really allow for substrate fertilizer.

So thus my plan to rather get a whole separate tank, just to "play" with, and the option of maybe trying some Betta breeding in it down the line.


Zafgak says go with sand?

As for these CO2 in a bottle products, what type of costs am I looking at on a month to month basis? I would prefer not having another device to plug in, or hang off the back of the tank.

 

Hey Sauron...

The Co2 in a bottle products are expensive, but on a small tank, they will last alot longer than in a bigger tank. I can use a 500ml bottle of Excel in a month in my 400l tank. That's R150 per month. In a smaller tank like a 40l, it will last alot longer. The only snag with the Excel is that it is often unavailable.

I use Co2 injection AND excel in my tank...

 

Animal kingdom had 10 small bottles of Excel last week
Tell the manager that you are from the forum.
She has them behind the counter.

 

Since none of the veterans warned you - please allow me to advice:
"BEWARE THIS IS ADDICTIVE"...

 

I was in Northern Aquatics this morning looking for smallish all-in-one setups and then noticed they have a "Natural CO2" system for R275 which required a once a month replacement of something or other (me n00b).

Now a couple of silly questions.

1. I couldn't actually find the once a month replacement stuff in their shop, so what am I looking at for costs?

2. The product is made for aquariums up to 180l, now what happens if you attach that to an aquarium which is only 40-50l?

3. What happens if you put the system in an aquarium almost double 180l? Does it become completely redundant, or just less effective?