boomerbob Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 just converted 72 gal to planted tank , i have right lighting , substrate ,ferts but still having problems keeping plants happy . is co2 a worth while investment and whats a good system to get . it would be nice if it was as dummy proof as possible lol . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleshgear Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 (edited) just converted 72 gal to planted tank , i have right lighting , substrate ,ferts but still having problems keeping plants happy . is co2 a worth while investment and whats a good system to get . it would be nice if it was as dummy proof as possible lol . what kind of plants are you trying to keep? you could try a diy c02 just to try it. if you are planning on having lots of plants and high light you will need c02 i have always had live plants but until last year i just got high light and c02, and it is definitely worth it. i only have diy c02 i am running it on 3 tanks but would like to put it on more of them. i would also like to try a pressurized c02 system, but they are a little on the pricey side. Edited March 20, 2009 by fleshgear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmike Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 All depends on the cash.. I seem to have more money than time so the DIY are out for me.. I demand automation! Mine is hooked to the pH controller and light timers so there is never too much or too little getting dissolved.. Last DIY ended up somehow with the solution being sucked into my tank.. good thing rainbows are terminator fish (hard to kill!) I bet all said and done I have 600 bones into my Press Sys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happeboy Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 yes CO2 is best. If your going to furtilise and have high light you really do need it, excel can only do so much. Buy an real canister and good regulator $250. Milwaukee Co2 MA957 Regulator Set - owned ok AQUARIUMPLANTS.com's Co2 Regulator (The 2nd BEST) - owned good AquariumPlants.com's Electronic Co2 Regulator (the BEST in the World) - new looks awesome or just to good to be true dont know I never killed off my tank with CO2. I shut CO2 off at night, but a lot of people do not. Its really not that hard once you have read up and done it. In overall long term cost benefit you will spend way more in ferts and other stuff then in CO2, equipment included. But a bit of advice is to buy the best once there are a lot of crappy regulators/solenoid out there if something will die and cause havoc its that. If you cheap out at the start you will just pay more later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmike Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 yes CO2 is best. If your going to furtilise and have high light you really do need it, excel can only do so much.Buy an real canister and good regulator $250. Milwaukee Co2 MA957 Regulator Set - owned ok AQUARIUMPLANTS.com's Co2 Regulator (The 2nd BEST) - owned good AquariumPlants.com's Electronic Co2 Regulator (the BEST in the World) - new looks awesome or just to good to be true dont know I never killed off my tank with CO2. I shut CO2 off at night, but a lot of people do not. Its really not that hard once you have read up and done it. In overall long term cost benefit you will spend way more in ferts and other stuff then in CO2, equipment included. But a bit of advice is to buy the best once there are a lot of crappy regulators/solenoid out there if something will die and cause havoc its that. If you cheap out at the start you will just pay more later. Agreed! Love my "AquariumPlants.com's Electronic Co2 Regulator (the BEST in the World) ".. awesome buy.. i just keep an eye on it and it does the rest! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 I bought my first pressurised CO2 system about 7 years ago, and I will never do DIY again. On small tanks (under 25gal) I would use Seachem Excel, otherwise it's a pressurised CO2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 Buying a Co2 canister was the best decision i've made. Definitely worth the money. It makes growing plants so much easier and you dont' have the hassle of filling DIY co2 bottles every few weeks. I have my regulator plugged into my light timer, so the co2 shuts off and turns on with my lights. I dont' think its necessary but my regulator came with a solenoid so I use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byte Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 Adding C02 really depends on how much light you have and how fast you want to grow. If you are over 3wpg (watts per gallon) you will need a carbon source and CO2 from a bottle is the most consistent way to keep C02 levels up. If you keep fish in the same tank, I recommend a pH controller to shut off of c02 to keep your pH from dropping too low (happens sometimes when bottles run out) and killing fish. With a pH controller, you don't need the AquariumPlants.com's Electronic Co2 Regulator, just use an normal regulator. The Electronic Co2 Regulator is just an fancy, but easy to set bubble counter. With the pH controller, the bubble rate doesn't matter much. I took pictures of the setup of my CO2 system when building my last tank... 60 gallon planted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werner Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 DIY CO2 isn't really efficient for tanks over 30 gallons, so you will want a pressurized setup. A pH controller is a nice thing to have, but not really necessary. Here's a Full Sized Pressurized CO2 Primer in case you need to figure out what all the bits and pieces do. I have been using an Aqua Medic regulator & solenoid and a Pinpoint pH controller for 8+ years. All are top quality products, IMO. I have heard of people having issues getting a steady bubble rate with the Milwaukee regulator. Cheap is not always the best way to go... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomerbob Posted March 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 thank you all for your input . I only have a few plants ( sorry cant remember the names ) purchased them at pices pets , they told me these were good begginer plants to try , i think some are swords and the other are long grass like plants ( blades about 3/8 inch wide ) , swords are doing only so so but the others are growing like crazy ( have to trim about once a week ) . using seachem flourish and it really made a big differance with in about a week . have about 2 watts per gal light , still learning ( thats why i want as close to dummy proof as i can get ) . there are fish in this tank tetras , clown lotches,and 6 differant types of plecos . it used to be my cichlid tank ( they got to big and to messy , had to do water changes way to often, damn africans LOL ) . any more help you can offer will be very nice . thanks again . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werner Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 Most swords for sale are grown emergent (above the water) so it can take a bit of time for the plant to convert itself to submerged growth. The long grass-like plants are probably Vallisneria. Unfortunately plecos and plants can be a bad mix. Some of the wood munching pleco species can do serious damage to swords and other stiff leaved plants by rasping big holes in them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomerbob Posted March 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2009 Most swords for sale are grown emergent (above the water) so it can take a bit of time for the plant to convert itself to submerged growth. The long grass-like plants are probably Vallisneria.Unfortunately plecos and plants can be a bad mix. Some of the wood munching pleco species can do serious damage to swords and other stiff leaved plants by rasping big holes in them. Thanks I think your right as most of the swords have holes in the leaves , damn , my wife just loves all the differant plecos that we have . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishclubgirl Posted March 23, 2009 Report Share Posted March 23, 2009 My first comment would be "dump the wife, keep the fish". However, I love my plecos big and small so I agree with your wife. I have some big plecos who are good for not eating plants but we won't talk about them uprooting plants. It might help to add some driftwood as well as give them some algae pellets. After all we know who's the boss in this relationship, don't we? It's the fish, of course!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleshgear Posted March 23, 2009 Report Share Posted March 23, 2009 the holes in the leaves could also be from the loaches. i read that somewhere i dont remember where. i am new to loaches, the tanks that the loaches are in the swords all have holes in them. when ever i buy new sword plants almost always the original leaves die off. then the new ones grow back. the other plant could also be a hygrophilia plant that they have as well. i think they have two different types of hygro with the long leaves Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomerbob Posted March 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2009 Thanks again for the help ( can't get rid of the wife , need her to feed me LOL just like the fish ) The tank has lots of wood in it and I noticed some new growth on the swords so I'm hoping that they make a come back . but just the same I will keep an eye on my pets to see if I can catch the culprit in the act . If there's a good side to this maybe I can talk her into buying another tank (sneak,sneak ) to put her plecos and lotchs in HEHE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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