bucket_chemist Posted March 23, 2015 Report Share Posted March 23, 2015 Hi. I've been throwing around the idea of adding a DIY-style CO2 system to my 215 L community tank. I'd like to see my plants growing better, but it's also a neat project for my daughter and I to do together. The plants I've got at the moment are pretty basic - blue hygro, babies tears, twisted val, and dwarf sag. The fish are harlequin rasboras, guppies, leopard danios, dwarf chain loaches, kuhli loaches, and a goldspot pleco. The tank is a stock standard AR980, so not a super powerful light set up, but it seems to be working ok for the moment. So my question is, when you add a CO2 injection system, how much of a drop in pH have people noticed? My water is already a bit on the acidic side (~6.4), so I don't want to push that any lower. Thanks for any advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godly3vil Posted March 23, 2015 Report Share Posted March 23, 2015 Ideal co2 levels for a planted tank are 30ppm, which corresponds with a full 1.0 drop in pH. You won't be able to reach the ideal saturation of co2 with a sugar/yeast setup anyway though and it's pretty accepted that pH changes caused by co2 injection is not harmful to most fish. Do you dose any other forms of fertilizer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bucket_chemist Posted March 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2015 Thanks, Godly...I thought that might be the case. I had been using Flourish Excel for a while, but it melted the twisted Val, so I've been just letting it do its thing for the last few months. There are some root tabs in the substrate around the tank as well. Since CO2 is now out, I'll look into other fertilizers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 23, 2015 Report Share Posted March 23, 2015 Thanks, Godly...I thought that might be the case. I had been using Flourish Excel for a while, but it melted the twisted Val, so I've been just letting it do its thing for the last few months. There are some root tabs in the substrate around the tank as well. Since CO2 is now out, I'll look into other fertilizers. You say you have the stock AR980 lights? In that case fertilizers aren't likely to be the limiting factor in your plants growth, so more fertilizers will just grow more algae. You may be better off with more light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted March 23, 2015 Report Share Posted March 23, 2015 Those style tanks are ideal for growing the likes of java fern- standard, needle leaf & fine needle leaf, windelov and mosses. Combined with nice driftwood you get an easy to care for, good looking tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bucket_chemist Posted March 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2015 Thanks for the advice, everybody. I realize the lighting is likely part of what is holding me back, but I'm not in a position to make drastic changes at the moment. As for the plants, this is my first ever planted tank, so I did a bit of research and tried to pick plants which were relatively easy to grow that I liked the look of. I'll try to post a photo of what the tank looks like today. It's not a masterpiece, but I like it well enough, and the fish don't seem to mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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