Co2 in fish tank?

Question

Hi. I am wondering about all the different kinds of CO2's and plant foods on the market today. I have a 55gal tank, and very low light, but I have plants on their way. What would be best (and cheapest!) to keep them alive? How does the co2 diffusers work? What's up with the tablets? How often do you have to give the tank co2 for the plants? Is there a way to hook up a 10lb co2 tank (For a short time at a time) to give the tank the co2 it needs?
Would plant food be a better choice rather than messing with co2? What kind works best, and is cheapest for such a large tank?

I have corkscrew vals and 4-leaf clovers comming to me, if that matters. My tank has fairly hard water, and a ph of almost 8. Last checked, everything else seemed normal.

Oh yea, and will someone explain what Substrate is, and how it differs from gravel?

Thank you for your answers. My fish would thank you too, but I have yet to teach them to type... That lesson comes after I teach them to sit and stay... lmao!

Answer 1

The first thing that jumps out at me is you say you have low lighting on the tank. Keeping plants is kind of a balancing act. You want to balance lighting, CO2 and different fertilizers so that the plants get what they need but there isn't too much of something that could cause other problems. Like too much nirtate causing algae trouble. So unless you plan to upgrade your lighting and also use fertilizers like iron and phosphates you probably don't need to add CO2. As I recall, your tank has less than 2 watts of lighting per gallon and at that low level you wouldn't need CO2 at all and would only need a very little fertilizer of any type on rare occasion.

Any CO2 going into the tank is the same stuff, it's all just CO2 or carbon dioxide. I wouldn't bother with the tablets though, they are very inconsistant. Yes, you can hook up a tank of CO2 to get it into the tank, but you will need a good regulator to keep the flow very low. When I did this I found a medical oxygen regulator worked well, but costs big bucks. For a tank that size a do it yourself CO2 system would probably be your best bet. Here's alink that talks a bet about CO2 in a planted tankand also gives an example of a do it yourself CO2 injector;

http://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/diyco2.html

Substrate: The word just refers to what the plants are rooted in; the stuff on the bottom of the tank. So gravel is one type of substrate. There are many different substrate additives available, many of them do a fine job of helping the plants grow. They all to some extent or the other add needed minerals for the plants to take up with their roots. Again though, you are looking for a balance in the tank and with low lighting a very rich substrate could be a problem. Plain gravel with a small piece of laterite clay near each plant or in the middle of a group of plants would probably be all you would need. Laterite clay is an additive that provides iron to the plants, one of the things they don't normally get from fish waste and often don't get enough of from water changes. Here's a link that talks about substrates and all the other basic stuff as well, lighting, nutrients, CO2... a basic summary on all of that.

http://www.plantedtank.net/articles/Basics-to-starting-a-Planted-Tank/4/

I would suggest you carefully consider improving the lighting on your tank as soon as possible. Having enough light is one of the major keys to success with planted tanks.
Hope this helps some.

MM

Answer 2

something so ordinary as a paintball gun CO2 canister with the purest CO2 you will locate (examine welding shops) could artwork properly. The regulator attaches directly to the canister, so which you in simple terms ought to locate some tubing (pennies per foot at hardware shops) that suits and hook it as much as a diffuser (so the CO2 is absorbed into the water, no longer released into the air). EDIT: Oh boy... Please overlook approximately each and every thing Craig stated or you need to have a superb form of lifeless fish and a waste of CO2 (the total tank could in fact develop into carbonic acid by fact the tension will develop). as quickly as the tension is released, it will bubble over like a soda.

Answer 3

You need light light and more light. Plants need a different kind of lighting than fish. The light bulbs for plants are a special pink and white.