CO2..pros and cons

[Tener ds]

any one..........
i was thinkin about usein co2 in my tank but need some advise
before getin some.
after the plant probs ive had i was thinkin about usein co2 to help the plants grow,but have no idea how i works and if its safe for the fish if it goes **** up.
or is Seachem Flourish Excel,a better way to go?

 

[Lornek8]

Using CO2 can help with plant growth, but only if high levels of light are provided (in excess of 2w/gallon). Otherwise you're simply wasting your money as the plants will not be able to effectively utilize the additional CO2. CO2 can be dangerous to fish as it does have an effect on the pH value of the tank & can displace too much oxygen from the aquarium, especially at night when the plants are consuming oxygen & producing CO2.

Seachem Flourish Excel is pretty simple to use & does away with the potential problems of CO2 use. I have never compared its effetiveness versus CO2 though.

 

[SmithRC]

"if it goes **** up" it kills fish...
but thats if a pressurised systme goes totally wrong....

Give DIY co2 a go for a while and see how you get on
Unless you set up multiple DIY units - you wont be able to cause problems with it.

Whats your water hardness like?

 

[Tener ds]

"if it goes **** up" it kills fish...
but thats if a pressurised systme goes totally wrong....

Give DIY co2 a go for a while and see how you get on
Unless you set up multiple DIY units - you wont be able to cause problems with it.

Whats your water hardness like?

don,t know my water hardness..:dk:
ive seen these co2 starter kits in my LSH,or i
might try one off these:
http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/tmc-aquagro-co2-starter-kit-p-3416.html?zenid=ep1okgk3cdnol9ub8kmbhjnq27

 

[macvsog23]

If your going to do Co2 then dont try any budget system
They are in my opinion clap

 

[Doodles]

don,t know my water hardness..:dk:
ive seen these co2 starter kits in my LSH,or i
might try one off these:
http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/tmc-aquagro-co2-starter-kit-p-3416.html?zenid=ep1okgk3cdnol9ub8kmbhjnq27

If you really want to try one of those in the link ill send you my old one that i used for about 2 weeks to try out plus have an extra cannister thingy too(free, as long as i find all the bits). I didn't like it, no proper control over the co2. I upgraded to a proflora 401 and am now using refillable bottles.

You do need to know the PH and KH before starting on co2

 

[Tener ds]

If you really want to try one of those in the link ill send you my old one that i used for about 2 weeks to try out plus have an extra cannister thingy too(free, as long as i find all the bits). I didn't like it, no proper control over the co2. I upgraded to a proflora 401 and am now using refillable bottles.

You do need to know the PH and KH before starting on co2

cheers for the offer doodles but ill so no ta.ive read up about these and most peeps say don,t use em,mainly cos of the control and the way its used.
i think ill get some Seachem Flourish Excel instead.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
"Flourish Excel" is 2.5% solution of glutaraldehyde (an "aqueous solution of polycycloglutaracetal" & "is a source of bioavailable organic carbon"), it is an intermediate in photosynthesis and it does work, but nobody knows exactly how. It is also quite toxic to fish and plants, (this is why it kills algae), if you use it at too high a level.

All my tanks are planted, but I would never use a liquid carbon supplement, CO2 or an EI type nutrient regime, yes they make you plants grow faster, and allow you to grow some basically terrestrial plants under-water, but there are drawbacks to all these approaches.

I want stability in my tanks above everything else, I want any changes that occur to occur slowly so that I can keep an eye on them and rectify them if necessary. If you are talking about systems with low nutrients, there isn't a vast amount that can go wrong, there just isn't the potential.

I use the car driving analogy, if you drive at 20 miles an hour you will always get to your destination, but usually a long time after somebody who has driven there at 80 mph. However every now and then the speeding driver will have a "crash" (like a CO2 dump killing all your fish), which could be very nasty indeed. Have a look here for details of the CO2/O2 interaction <http://plecoplanet.com/?page_id=829>.

If you supply water, light and at least the minimum level of the nutrients required for plant growth, plants will grow. I'd suggest trying a few plants from the "low light list", most of these aren't really low light plants, it is just they can grow at low light levels and nutrient levels, and don't show much response to higher light or nutrients. Here is my Apistogramma tank, reasonable light, no CO2 and a very lean fertiliser regime. Planting is mosses, ferns, Cryptocoryne, Echinodorus and a some floaters (Limnobium and Salvinia normally)

I think of this approach to planted tanks as the difference between growing Tomatoes and Orchids/Ferns/Alpines/Cacti etc., something like a Phalaenopsis orchid will grow with very low nutrients, and die if exposed to very bright light or high nutrient levels. In comparison a Tomato plant will die if kept at low light and/or nutrient levels, but as long as it has enough water the more light and nutrients it gets, the more it will grow and the bigger crop of Tomatoes you will get.

In my tanks I want to grow Orchids, not Tomatoes.

cheers Darrel