Planted tank questions...?

Question

I have a 10 gallon tank with java moss, java fern, an A. nana, some crypts, dwarf saggitaria, and some elodea. Right now the watts/gallon is about 2.8. I have eight danios and some amano shrimp. The substrate is Fluorite Red. So here are my questions. Do I need to add CO2? Can I do that with Seachem Excel or should I inject CO2? Do I need to be dosing any other nutrients such as Iron? Will the substrate provide enough iron for my plants? I also have soft water, will a CO2 injection system (its going to be a DIY) cause drastic pH fluctuations? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Answer 1

My very first thought is "if it ain't broke don't fix it". If the plants are healthy and growing, why change things. Keeping plants is a bit of a balancing act. You want just enough of each element, CO2, nitrate, phosphate, lighting, iron etc, etc... all those things plants need to be healthy. If you have that balance I would suggest you try to keep it.

Assuming the plants aren't doing well though.... buy a good aquatic plant book and try to determine which element(s) needs correction. Should you increase lighting? CO2? nitrates? Iron? i's a bit complicated and a book and a few days reading and observing your plants is really the only way to know for sure what you should do.

Adding CO2 will cause some pH fluctuation, but not very much as long as the plants are consuming it. You might consider removing the injector when the lights are off though, but I would just check pH several times a day and keep a chart for a few days to determine the exact impact it's having and where it levels off assuming it does before the level gets too low for the health of the plants and fish.

MM

Answer 2

I agree with MM on the basics here. CO2 can make your plants more lush, but isn't "necessary". If you want to try it to see how your plants respond, I'd urge to to try your unit in a spare tank/bucket first to perfect the dosing. A friend of mine made a DIY unit that overdosed his tank with CO2, killing his fish - learn from his mistake!

CO2 will alter the pH in your tank. When CO2 and water mix, it forms carbonic acid, which is a mild acid compared to some, but will lower the pH to somewhere (usually) in the mid 5 - mid 6 pH range, depending on the amount of CO2 and the natural buffering capacity of your water. Even though it lowers the pH, it will act as a buffer to any further changes by both acids and bases.

What I see as more of a potential problem for the tank is iron availability (although this might be a component of the fluorite giving it the red color, check the bag). Most aquatic systems are iron deficient. Another potential problem is the low lighting wattage - this should be at least 3 watts per gallon for a planted tank.

Also, are you trying to "root" your elodea or allowing it to float? It should be allowed to float (any parts below the substrate will rot if you try to plant it), but this cuts down even more on the lighting available to plants below it.

If your plants are yellowing, either lighting or iron could be the cause.

Answer 3

Co2 can't cause a pH change but it can harm your fish if you don't have enough oxygen. Try plant Gro by Hagen it has chelated iron and other important nutrients. personally I have no clue what Florite red is, you can use a chelated iron test kit to see(chelated iron is the kind that water plants absorb.)

Answer 4

I only add an all in one liquid fertalizer to my ten gallon and the plants are fine

Answer 5

YES. inject.. No. Yes. I dont know