20 gallon long do I need c02

[toaduck]

I have a 20 gallon long aquarium planted with wisteria, java fern, anubias, and crypt wendtii green. Will I need to inject c02 for good growth.

Which plants need root tabs. Do I need to dose liquid ferts and liquid c02.

I like experimenting and wouldn't mind doing a diy c02 system but all the talk of having too much and poisoning fish and etc etc has me scared.

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[Sk3lly]

No you dont need co2. The addition of a liquid co2 like excel will do no harm though.

Liquid ferts will be enough to keep those plants healthy. A seachem comprehensive and maybe a seachem potassium and seachem phosphorus should suffice.

The crypts defo need root tabs. They rely on the roots for ferts. Again for your needs a solid tab like seachems will be fine


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[Rivercats]

Your lighting determines if CO2 is needed. Low light doesn't need it. Medium light benefits from it but can IMO be run with liquid carbon. High light tanks really need CO2. So what lighting and bulbs are you using?

 

[Brookster123]

Go for the diy! If you're worries about gassing the fish than hook up an air stone on a timer to gas off at night..

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[Sk3lly]

Rivercats is right.

I just assumed you were low lighting with the plant choices you had made


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[Brookster123]

Thought it was sat+??

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[Rivercats]

Also remember that a 20L is quite shallow so it's not hard to achieve medium or even high light depending on the fixture used.

 

[toaduck]

Thought it was sat+??

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Yea it is a sat plus. Sorry I didn't specify. It's about 36 par of light so it's kinda in the low medium area of lighting from what I understand.

So many different articles say this or that......so many different opinions......I want to know what the experienced folks say.

The crypts and wisteria is what I'm concerned about cause I know the ferns and anubias we'll be fine.

I bought some of the osmicote capsules off eBay. Put those under the wisteria? I know to put then under the crypt.

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[jetajockey]

Yes you can put them under the wisteria too, it can develop a pretty extensive root system.

 

[Brookster123]

Yea it is a sat plus. Sorry I didn't specify. It's about 36 par of light so it's kinda in the low medium area of lighting from what I understand.

So many different articles say this or that......so many different opinions......I want to know what the experienced folks say.

The crypts and wisteria is what I'm concerned about cause I know the ferns and anubias we'll be fine.

I bought some of the osmicote capsules off eBay. Put those under the wisteria? I know to put then under the crypt.

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That light will do very well on a 12" tank, I can assure you of this.. you can start out dimming it and build up gradually.. or go full blast with the diy and glut/excel won't hurt either.

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[toaduck]

That light will do very well on a 12" tank, I can assure you of this.. you can start out dimming it and build up gradually.. or go full blast with the diy and glut/excel won't hurt either.

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On the homemade cO2, the only thing I don't understand is cutting it off at night. Co2 builds up at night I've read. You can't cut it off cause the bottle will explode.

Also I worry about ph fluctuations. I'll admit my water is 7.6/7.8 and could use some more acidity to get it neutral but I worry about stressful swings.

I promise I've read and watched YouTube video after video, but it's all so overwhelming. I really wanna try it.

The diffuser is another confusing thing to me. What to use that's the easiest and cheapest. I even saw a guy using a cigarette filter. Some use syringes, and bottle tops (don't wanna do the bottle. A little obtrusive). Then I saw the chop sick. Lol

Then I saw one of those drip detectors that monitors something....maybe the ph or co2 levels....I don't know.

One 2 litre bottle and a gas separator are enough for a 20 I'm assuming.

I saw one guy using a ball valve to adjust his flow. Where do I find one of those. Sorry for all the questions.

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[Rivercats]

Be sure not to run the light more than 6 hours to start and gradually build up time a little if you don't have algae issue. The general rule is the higher the lighting the shorter the photoperiod. Most of my med to high light tanks run 6 hours.

 

[toaduck]

Be sure not to run the light more than 6 hours to start and gradually build up time a little if you don't have algae issue. The general rule is the higher the lighting the shorter the photoperiod. Most of my med to high light tanks run 6 hours.

I've been running it all day. My java fern may be melted on the inside. Lol. Cool I want even turn it on till I get home at 4 and run it till I go-to bed.

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[Fresh2o]

Just let the CO2 run 24/7. If you are concerned about CO2 buildup overnight, you could put a small pump, power head, or air pump on a timer set to run at night. This should dissipate CO2.


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[toaduck]

Just let the CO2 run 24/7. If you are concerned about CO2 buildup overnight, you could put a small pump, power head, or air pump on a timer set to run at night. This should dissipate CO2.


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I'm not dosing ferts right now. If I start injecting co2 will I have to start doing that. Will algae build up

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[Brookster123]

With co2 you'll need ferts yes, check out green leaf aquatics, the pps pro starter pack is the best bang for your buck out there

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