cdot Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Hi everybody (first time caller, long time listener :0 In the last month or so I've gotten a big itch to turn my 25 gallon into a richly planted, heavily pearling, green utopia I've already got 2 of the coralife t5 regular output strips (72 watts so about 3/gallon). I know nobody likes them. But they were free. i'm going to do 100% black fluorite (gonna get rid of the gravel that's in there now, got the fluorite too) and i'm trying injected co2 for the first time ever - Money was an issue so I went with a milwaukee all in one regulator/solenoid/bubble counter etc with a ceramic diffuser and drop checker. I'm in calgary, am I right thinking I can rent a co2 bottle from recharge place near chinook? Or do I have to buy the bottle. Suggestions? I want 5lbs so it fits in my stand. Hmmm what else. right now the aquarium has a jack dempsey in it (he's gotta go obviously), some driftwood with java fern. I'm picturing a rich carpet of chain swords along the entire ground, a nice piece of driftwood, and some taller/more colorful stuff in one back corner to hide my filter etc. Any start up suggestions? How exactly should I start it all up? empty the tank, get the co2 to 30ppm then add fish/plants? Maybe 2 SAE, a small group of corydoras, and some nice schooling tetras? Hopefully in the next month or two I'll get it going. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gBOYsc2 Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Hi cdot. I see you have been bitten by the planted tank bug! It looks like you have already done most of your research which is great! I'm not too sure about renting the CO2 canister so I can't answer that question. So far you have the right idea. I would empty the tank. Get the hardscape setup the way you would like and then add plants. The only risk of this is that you might lose your biological filtration and will have to cycle the tank again. If you can get rid of the JD and redo the tank in the matter of a day you should be fine as long as you keep your filter media. If you do decide to go with a smaller carpeting plant I would hold off on the cory's until it is carpeted as they can dig up little plants like HC and UG. Otherwise it sounds like you have a great setup in mind and you are on the right track. Have you thought about what you are going to use for ferts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Once you have the tank hardscaped plant the HECK out of it. Once all the plants are in, they'll take care of the cycle for you - no wait time to add your fish. I don't think corys will be a big deal with newly planted Pygmy Chain Sword - it has great roots; however, gBoy has a good point about other smaller carpet plants. A Red Tiger Lotus would look good in the back, perhaps some Crypt wedtii (there are a few different color varieties available), Tiger Val... there literally are countless choices for other plants! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewels Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 I've already got 2 of the coralife t5 regular output strips (72 watts so about 3/gallon). I know nobody likes them. But they were free. Free - just happens to be my favourite name brand :smokey: Am I right thinking I can rent a co2 bottle from recharge place near chinook? Or do I have to buy the bottle. Suggestions? I want 5lbs so it fits in my stand. Insert a little math here. You may use around three refills a year on that set up. Check around. Find out the price of customer owned vs. rented refills and take it from there. Hmmm what else. right now the aquarium has a jack dempsey in it (he's gotta go obviously), . Why come? I know nothing about Jd's ( OK, I know the abbreviation :tongue: ) Are they diggers? aggressively Vegan? Any start up suggestions? How exactly should I start it all up? empty the tank, get the co2 to 30ppm then add fish/plants? Maybe 2 SAE, a small group of corydoras, and some nice schooling tetras? Hopefully in the next month or two I'll get it going. I see no need to empty the tank. Utilizing the miracle of syphon; with a stolen hose off of your vaccuum cleaner, you can remove the existing substrate in about thirty seconds. Add new substrate, plant, top off. Done Place your diffuser below a pump output, ya really need to blow the gas around. :flex: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werner Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 When removing the old substrate, you can just leave all that bottom sludge in the tank. Let it settle and add the Fluorite over top... instant plant nutrients. And yes, no need to cycle if there are enough healthy, growing plants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishclubgirl Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 And if you're low on bottom sludge, you're more than welcome to some of mine!! :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdot Posted January 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2011 thanks for all the advice! yeah - I was wondering about the fert too. I was planning on doing flourish weekly (plus the flourite, plus some flourish tabs for bigger stuff). I have read about the EI but I'm looking for this to not take up too much of my time, unfortunately I don't have enough! In fact this might even be an aquarium I have to leave with nobody watching for a week or two at a time... (yeah I know that could get hilarious) where do you guys get plants? i've looked at a nursery out of bc (something aquatics?) but they seem sold out of everything. Pygmy chain swords especially, because I know that's what I want for sure. Big Al's in calgary has some ok looking plants, sometimes. Any other affordable mail order places? I think they have to be in canada given importing plants laws and such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishkabod Posted January 5, 2011 Report Share Posted January 5, 2011 You might want to try an add in the buy sell section. You never know what someone might have for you Good luck L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bananashirt Posted February 15, 2011 Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 probably better off putting the diffuser by the intake not the out put. if you put it by the intake the co2 gets sucked up into the filter and diffuses in the filter and you have co2 rich water. it's a waste to put it by the output its no different than letting it just rise to the surface of the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gBOYsc2 Posted February 15, 2011 Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 probably better off putting the diffuser by the intake not the out put. if you put it by the intake the co2 gets sucked up into the filter and diffuses in the filter and you have co2 rich water. it's a waste to put it by the output its no different than letting it just rise to the surface of the water. The only problem with this is that the CO2 gas could build up inside the filter and cause it to crap out. Letting it rise to the surface seems to be just fine. That is all I do in my tank and it causes me no problem. I keep the drop checker on the opposite side of the aquarium and it reads optimal always. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubr0ke Posted February 15, 2011 Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 if the diffuser is doing its job then the micro bubbles coming off the disc should be very small and be blown with current around the tank. If diffuser is not working well bigger bubbles will be coming off disc and rising to surface and gassing off. In that case a powerhead is a much better option to place above diffuser to catch bubbles and chop up even more. Many have used a canister filter intake to run co2 into but I like to let my filters be filters and nothing more.. Plus there not cheap so even if the possibility of damaging is there, I would stay away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bananashirt Posted February 17, 2011 Report Share Posted February 17, 2011 How can CO2 cause your filter to crap out? Does that mean the CO2 that your bacteria produces is gonna kill your filter as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gBOYsc2 Posted February 17, 2011 Report Share Posted February 17, 2011 If the CO2 builds up inside the filter causing too much "air" it will cause the filter to dysfunction. Most filters aren't made to run dry at all. I'm not saying it will happen for sure but it can and has happened to people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubr0ke Posted February 17, 2011 Report Share Posted February 17, 2011 bananashirt....Some have talked about the negative effects of co2 and good bacteria in your filter but whether its co2 bubbles or co2 enriched water I don't think it has any effect on bio filtration. Gboy is right with his explanation...theoretically larger co2 bubbles can become trapped below pump causing the pump to run dry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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