werner

Besides the CO2 cylinder, you will need a regulator with a needle valve to control the bubble rate, and a bubble counter to count the bubble rate. You also need a way to dissolve the CO2 into the water- either by running it into a filter/powerhead intake (chops up the bubbles into smaller bubbles) or by using a ceramic diffuser (makes a fine mist of bubbles) or by using a reactor (prolongs the contact between water flowing through the chamber and the CO2 so that it dissolves.) You can add a solenoid to turn the CO2 off at night (some people run it 24/7) or if you're using a pH controller. A pH controller can be used to automatically turn the CO2 on and off to keep the water at a preset pH. You don't really need a bubble counter if you're using one of these. I seem to be on the opposite side of the spectrum to Jason (got the pH controller, etc., etc.) There are different ways of doing this- mostly depends on how much of a technophile you are, your time and budget.

You may want to run 2 of the regular bulbs for 8-10 hours and then do a burst with the halides in the middle of the day for 4-6 hours. Go easy at first, until you get in the swing of things with fertilization, etc. It's easy to end up with algae all over the place when you're just starting out. Replace the actinics (and your MH bulbs if necessary.) Anything between 5,000 to 10,000 Kelvin will have a better output spectrum for the plants to utilize. Go with a canister for filtration. Anything with lots of surface agitation, pouring, trickling, etc. will allow CO2 to escape to the air more quickly. Keep in mind that biofiltration isn't a big consideration since the plants do that for you. You mainly need to provide some water movement and mechanical filtration. And like Jason said, you will need pressurized CO2 for a tank that big with that much light. Try this forum for all the plant stuff you need to know: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com

Everything you ever wanted to know about DIY CO2: http://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/diyco2.html

Hi all. I've been keeping FW aquaria most of my life, but my focus is now on high tech planted tanks. Thanks to a referral from another Calgary member, I have now found this site and hope to be able to unload many plant clippings on all of you.