Would I need CO2?

[Ketso]

Hello all,

I am new to this forum and to the aquarium world. I am still doing research and learning a great deal from this site and others like it.

My first tank is going to be a 55gal with quite a few live plants, DIY hood/lighting (including LED moon light), DIY stand, and DIY filtration (inline PVC canister type) with DIY skimmer and possibly a DIY rain/spray bar.

For the lighting, I am thinking of going with a Medium-Low lighting setup. Around 2 wpg.

Do I NEED Co2 injection for this type of setup? Or would I be alright without it and just have slower growing plants?

I'll take any advice on the rest of my "plans" as well. Better to change them now instead of after i have fish in it.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Ketso

 

[SparKy697]

I too am new to the planted aquarium world. The general rule seems to dictate that almost any level of planted aquarium benefits from added carbon. 2 wpg seems to be the dividing line between co2 and no co2. I tried to start out slow with less lighting and using excel for a carbon source. That just didn't cut it.

Based on my limited experience Co2 and to be more specific, pressurized Co2 makes life so much easier and better for your plants. You are spending so much time and money to create a unique personalized tank I predict that if you don't start with Co2, you will soon be adding it. It just makes things better. Granted, it can create other issues in that you will most likely need to get into the fertilizer routine, but that is a minor thing.

HTH

 

[tropicfishman]

my first question is, why a skimmer???? thats for saltwater tanks. you will need CO2 for this setup, anything at or over 2wpg requires CO2. you'll also want to run an airstone at night when the lights go out for when the plants let off Co2. Now how exactly all of its setup I'm not sure, you should really look for a man on here under the screen name Lonewolfblue he's the man to talk to when it comes to CO2 injection adn live plants, tell him I sent ya lol

 

[Ketso]

my first question is, why a skimmer???? thats for saltwater tanks.

I was showed a diagram for a filter setup that had one on it. I saw how easy it would be to build and asked my self if it was needed. I thought about it for a few minutes then went to the kitchen and found the largest pan I could find and filled it with tap water. I let that set for over an hour. When I went back to it, I found that there was a whitish looking, although very thin and nearly transparent, film on top of the water.

However, since the time of my original post above, I have reworked my plan a bit, with help of course. This design no longer has a skimmer as it was designed to go through a prefilter. It was feared that restricting the flow to the pump, from a small skimmer tube and a filter, that it would cause the pump to struggle.

The film, I hope, will be handled by reg water changes. We'll see.

As for the airstone, I intend to use some sort of air stone. And I read yesterday that it is best to only use it at night.

I am going to start researching DIY Co2. I cant afford a pressurized system at this point. Maybe in a few months or more, but finances just dont allow it this time of year.

A few weeks ago, I had no idea that there was this much thought needed to plan an aquarium. I don't mind though. In fact, it's kind of fun even though I would love to see something in my tank. I still have probably 2-3 months before I start adding fish. I have a stand and hood to build which I havent started yet due to being sick. Not to mention still needing to make some other decisions on lighting, etc. And then the cycling process.

Wish me luck!

 

[rich311k]

With two watts a gallon, CO2 is not needed. An airstone will keep your CO2 at ambient levels and should remove any surface scum. Low light plants will do very well and you should be able to have a nice well planted tank. Check out the gallery of Jchillin, he has an incredible low light tank.

I would avoid DIY on that size tank the CO2 will probably cause more problems than it helps. You can run the airstone 24/7 it is only a problem if you are injecting CO2. If you do decide to inject CO2 you will want to limit surface turbulence while the lights are on.

 

[Ketso]

Going to nix the whole idea and reduce the light level. I will entertain going to higher light levels after I get some experience taking care of a low light. (and fish, for that matter)

Thanks folks

 

[SeanMurphy]

Just as an demonstration that no rule is absolute, I'm running almost 3WPG in my 30G, with no CO2 injection, just a bubble curtain that runs 24/7. No carbon source, other than ambient from the curtain, and my plants grow quick and strong. No algae outbreaks to speak of, and its been several months. I dose irregularly with a generic aquarium fertilizer and have a low to medium bioload. I tend to overfeed a little, probably, but I figure that the nitrates probably help the plants out a bit, and they never tend to get out of hand.

I'm moderately heavily planted at this point, as well, though I've got an empty space where my banana plant was. It just got too big and ungainly and was blocking light to all the other plants, so in the compost it went. I've also got a bit of room at the top of the plants as they all grew to the surface and I just clipped them back yesterday. I'd say, run with the high lights and some nice plants and if you find a problem later, its easy enough to reduce your wattage then.