xmamx Posted June 9, 2007 Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 I am debating weather or not to give CO2 a try as it looks like it could be interesting to see what results it could produce. I am currently running: A 100 litre tank Shark internal filter that is rated up to 150 litres running on full bubble wall Double light hood 2 foot with 2 x 18 Watt bulbs Quite a few plants - Java moss, Java Fern, Cabomba, Standard large sword, Red melon sword and another broad leafed plant. Gravel substrate with no other type of media. 1 - 2 ml of Flourish every week as well as a 30 - 40 % water change every 1 - 2 weeks. Lots of fish: 2 x Goldfish (i know ppl say not to mix trops with goldfish, but i have had this setup running fine for over a year with no issues .) 1 x Danio 4 x Tetras 4 x Guppys (temporarily in this tank) 2 x Corys 2 x Kuhli loaches 2 x Wcmm's 3 x Clown loaches (sized between 8 - 12 cm) 2 x Drift wood also Ok to start some will obviously say i am overstocked, but like i say it has been running smoothly with the slightly oversized filter. Also since adding the plants my waste has gone down to nearly nothing in the gravel which is saving my gravel siphoning. I have read up about CO2 dropping the PH in a tank also, i have tested my PH and it seems to be sitting at 6 and has been at this level for a while. Therefore would i need to raise my PH before i think of adding CO2? I also would be going for a DIY Yeast setup to start with and as my lighting is only .3 Watts per litre i would not be trying to utilize all the CO2 produced and have a simpler CO2 dispersion maybe just running it into my filter air intake on the top or making a simple spiral hose\ladder diffusor under my Shark filter water intake. My lighting can be raised to .5 watts per litre if i add my other light hood to my main tank. I am not trying to get my plants growing super fast but i wouldnt mind them growing a bit faster just to balance out the fact that one of my clown loaches likes to eat my plants and therefore if the plants grow a bit better\faster his damage would not be so noticeable and also i like seeing the plants grow also. Also if i put a timer on the bubble wall so it came on only at night to disperse the CO2 in the water faster as the plants would not be using the CO2. Would this cause any noticable PH shift and would it actually work?. Thank you for reading my large question and i would like to hear your thoughts. Cheers, Xmamx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shell Posted June 10, 2007 Report Share Posted June 10, 2007 Maybe try running a cheap yeast DIY system (couple of empty 2L coke bottles, sugar, water and yeast) for a few weeks and see if you think the results are worthwhile. I found a DIY system good in my heavily planted tank. Pearling is exciting. But running a yeast based system seems to be easier in smaller tanks. As a warning, CO2 like 'tank acquisition syndrome' can be addictive. You'll soon be wanting a pressurised system! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted June 10, 2007 Report Share Posted June 10, 2007 You will be getting a load of free CO2 from the fish you have in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljtan55 Posted June 10, 2007 Report Share Posted June 10, 2007 I didn't bother refilling my yeast bottle for about 4 months, just did it the other day and all the plants started growing, so i guess it does make a diff. Good luck decidin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xmamx Posted June 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2007 thanks guys, i have turned off my bubble wall to see if the plants grow a bit better as the bubbles may have been dispersing the co2 faster. Will see how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rozski Posted June 18, 2007 Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 :oops: I outbid you on that cheap DIY CO2 unit this morning. Planning to upgrade to a bigger tank and thought "hey, that looks cheap, plus I love the planted tanks and CO2 seems to do such wonders..." Hence me now cruising the technical forums for CO2 hints and advice lol Sorry, I hope you can find another one (or do the coke bottle thing) :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockerpeller Posted June 18, 2007 Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 pm blueandkim. he knows quite abit about co2 set-ups and he also sells some co2 gear. worth checkin that option out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagonman Posted June 21, 2007 Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 have just setup my diy yeast mix (will start my own thread with progress pics etc) and have a question, is it worth putting a co2 diffuser on the end of it or just and airstone, how long before bubbles start coming out (lol im very impatient) thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xmamx Posted June 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2007 Hey thanks Roski i was hoping no one would notice it, oh well hope it works well for you. I ended up setting up a DIY yeast setup with a 2 litre coke bottle with a check valve on it so i can place it under my tank (has been ok up to now - Touch wood). I have run the output into the top of my shark internal filter and it seems to do a good job of breaking up the bubbles. I usually get more bubbles when i come home as i turn the heater on to warm up the lounge room and therefore heats up the yeast also. I also put some dead coral in the tank to stabalize the PH to a higher value as well as it was sitting quite low. It now sits around 6.0 - 6.2 or so. Strangly though when i lowered my filter more towards the bottom of the tank to get more dispersion of the CO2 my fish started to breath from the surface which means there was to much CO2 apparently. Most ppl seem to think you cant get enough from DIY yeast to do this. I only did a 3/4 fill bottle with cup of sugar and 1/3 teaspoon of yeast and bit of baking soda as i wanted the mix to last longer as opposed to more CO2. Also running a bubble wall from 9pm to 7am to disperse the gas at night. Also my black hair algae is getting a bit worse on my java fern so i may not have enough light (might get an SAE to clear it up - cheaper than flourish excel). I am running both light hoods, ones a double 2 footer at a total of 36watts and one single with a grow lamp at 15watts, so in total 51watts for a 100 litre tank (problem is my tank is quite deep at 53cm high with water up to 40cm's. Also dosing about 1ml of flourish once a week. Anybody else got black hair algae when using CO2? and does anybody else have issues having a high tank and getting enough light to plants. The problem is that my tank is only 60cm wide so cant go higher wattage lights for the length. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xmamx Posted June 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2007 Forgot to say about plant growth. Java ferns growing quite a few more leaves (not loads but more than usuall) Red melon is growing faster (full leaf about every 4 - 5 day estimate) Cabomba (growing well but a more spindly, quite different from when i bought it as it had really fine leaves that were denser when i first got it). Sword growing ok but not fast enough to stop my clown loach destroying it (want it to grow faster than he eats it hehhehe). Other plants are growing better but not a drastic change in growth as such Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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