C02 in small aquarium

[waterlogged]

Hey guys just wondering how much sugar/yeast to put in a diy co2 for a 30-40L tank? i've got a bottol im my large aquarium but thought if i use the same amount in my small one it will be too much. It's pretti much just a tank to grow plants and java moss in but i have a few sick neon tetras i'm currently treating in one half. Any advice?

[oscnz]

The co2 will just drop the ph if you run a air pump it should help keep the co2 levels in check so fish can live in there, the amount you mix doesnt really have a effect it just alters how long it all lasts

[ryanjury]

I always thought there was no point in adding CO2 and then adding an airstone?

[oscnz]

you just dont want the level of co2 to build up to high to kill the fish. I have co2 and air in my tank the fish are happy and so are the plants

[Jennifer]

I agree about using airstones with CO2 in small tanks but truthfully I have found that DIY in small tanks is just too unstable and not worth the effort or risk. Liquid carbon supplements are very affordable for small tanks of that size and they do just as good a job as CO2.

[waterlogged]

well the fish wont be in there for long and then it will just be plants. won't need an air stone then ea?

[Jennifer]

No, you shouldn't need an airstone if it is just plants and no fish. But do keep in mind that some plants do well acidic conditions and others are suited to different conditions. Depends on the plant and its origins.

[Adrienne]

I run the airline at night when my CO2 is off. If I don't all my fish are up gasping in the morning.

[waterlogged]

any easy way to tell which conditions which plants perfer? Ie colours, shapes, type, Way of reproduction?

Atm i just have java moss some small java fern babies and duck weed.

[spoon]

you shouldnt even need co2 to grow those they all grow like weeds seriously

[waterlogged]

i know the duck weed does but i find the moss and fern do more rapidly with co2 and propper lighting. had them in my large tank and just growing extra for a planted in the future. well the moss is for that any way.

[Kipper]

Hi there,

I've got a 43L tank (that's excluding gravel etc) with under-gravel filter, DIY CO2 (see Supasi recipe on his blog site) with ceramic diffuser, and 2x 18W CFL lamps. Only air movement from UGF uprisers.

Plants are going nuts (adding Excel and liquid ferts based on EI method www.barrreport.com/showthread.php/3209- ... -EI-dosing) and the pH (which tended to be about 5 or so as water very soft) has stabilised at 6 to 6.5 as the plants became more rampant. CO2 slows during night as it gets cooler then takes off again as kitchen heats up during day, no issues with gasping fish yet. An issue is BBA algae that came on with the addition of lights and is stubborn to get rid of :evil: . I'm just playing around with lights to find the level that works best with the amount of CO2 coming in so light is the limiting factor rather than CO2 and nutrients, hopefully that will settle down algal issues.

Adding CO2 certainly revved up the plants but I'm still trying to sort out the ideal balance in a small tank.

[waterlogged]

sweet thant helps heaps for when i start going hundy on my plants