Undergravel heating. vs. CO2

[waterlogged]

Hey guys i've been reading through alot of the posts about undergravel heating and how it helps the plants roots to gain nutrients and all that.

Something i have had a problem finding is if i were to use under gravil heating proper substrates and ferts or what ever, Will this be work any were as well as is i had CO2 instead? and compared to inistial and ongoing costs which would be more cost effective/productive.

I've had well established planted tanks before but have gradually grown them with out any extra help and am now thinking of trying my hand at aquascaping.

[waterlogged]

also on a second thought has anyone tried to DYI. be interested in results as money doesn't grown on any of my trees =(

[FuglyDragon]

For 'lush' plant growth CO2 is a must, but be prepared to spend a fair bit of time trimming and pruning, 'lush' growth is not allways desirable depends how much time you have bto devote to gardeneing, but no doubt in my mind CO2 injection = more growth. DIY CO2 works fine, but you eventually get sick of mixing it up and the variances and go with pressurised.

Undergravel heater cables create a moving current which stops the substrate stagnateing and the dreaded black root problem after 2 to 3 years, i have 2 tanks running with cables and no black root problems after 4 years.

I also reccomend a JBL product called aquabasis as a undersubstrate boost for new planted tanks, its cheap and works great.

[waterlogged]

is that under substrate stuff like a fert? If i use CO2 to establish a healthy lust tank then slowly ween off it will the plants be ok? i know they won't grow the same after but was thinking once i get it the way i want it if i did that it would slow the prossess down and i wouldn't need to proon so often. al so I have herd of instances were the amount of CO2 has some how increased accidently killing the fish. I want to establish a planted aquarium but ultimatily add fish and such to inhance the scene

[FuglyDragon]

if you cut back back on CO2 in an established tank you will likely get an algae explosion.

Basically everything needs to be in balance, too much or too little of any one thing and you will get algae.

Your Macro Ferts are...

Nitrates... produced by your filter as it breaks down fish poop and decaying material

Phosphates... usually enough in the tap water and fish food

Pottasium... usually enough in tap water if you do regular water changes.

all the of these can be added as powdered fert if you think any is lacking

Micro Ferts

Mainly Iron (FE) and other minerals in minute traces, this is usually in your tap water (unless its really soft like here in Christchurch) so again regular (weekly 10-20%) water changes. But Iron is easy to dose (thats what most commercial aquatic plant foods are)

Light

Usually 2 to 3 flouro tubes are fine unless you are trying for real explosive growth then go with halides or the like. Arouind 10 hours per day will work, and no sun light hitting the tank if possible.

[FuglyDragon]

and lastly CO2 which is about the only thing that dosnt come in tap water in sufficient quantities, your fish will produce some but its usually the limiting factor in plant growth.

The problem is if any of these 'ferts' run out then the plants stop growing as quickly, and the various algae which are able to grow perfectly well without all the ferts start taking over.

If you have enough of everything else but not enough CO2 then you will get black beard algae (the usual problem)

Not enough nitrates often leads to BGA or green slime

etc etc

Its usually the lack of a nutrient that causes algae not an over supply of it. Because lack of the nutrient is slowing plant growth and allowing the algae to feed on the excess other ferts avaialble.

[waterlogged]

so is thet just if one statrts off with all the gear eg co2 and then cuts off? or just normally ? the alge growing i mean.

Sorry been thinking of doing this for a while so my head is full of all matter of questions

[FuglyDragon]

Problem will be if you start with CO2 then your system will stabilse (in a month or two) for the ferts and CO2 you have, if you make a sudden large change (cutting back CO2) the most likely result is an algae explosion. You would need to adjust your fish load and maybe your water changes at the same time as you cut back CO2 to try to maintain the balance, which is easier to say than to do.

Here is a short video of one of my tanks with undergravel cables, CO2 injection, regular fert dosing, and weekly water changes...

If you are worried about gassing your fish with CO2 go buy a cheap timer from bunnings and have an airstone turn on each night when the lights go out, or use a solenoid to turn the CO2 off at night (I use both in the tank above, CO2 turns off 1 hour before lights out, and an airstone kicks in at same time)

[waterlogged]

Looks awesome.

Thanks heaps for all the info