CO2, algae, tank problems

[kagentx]

Hi guys, i was wondering which CO2 tank is the best... i've heard of something called a millwakee set... (i can't spell) i have a 50 gallon tank... how much would one cost?

Also is it ok to leave the light exposed to the water about 4 inches above? i've seen many fish store do it and some tape it since glass reflects some important rays emitted by the bulbs.

I keep getting these green algae on my plants and it seems to be killing them... its annoying, should i just add the polyfilter pad to filter out the excess nutrients or is it bad for the plants because it might suck out important nutrients too? thanks alot

 

[medge00]

imo, its bad for plants to put those pads in... cut down the amount of ferts you put in before you do that.

i've heard the milwakee regulator recommended many times. i think betowess may have it. its not the actual tank, just the piece you need to regulate it.

 

[trenac]

What are your water readings PH, KH, P04, N03?

In the meantime here is a link to help ID your algae...

http://www.plantgeek.net/article_viewer.php?id=9

 

[kagentx]

thanks guys, lets see my water parameter is:
pH: 6.8
kH 4 degrees
P04 > 1
NO3 is like around 5.
maybe is the lighting... i have a power compact on the front side of the tank, then i have a triple tube with two tubes on in the back. who knows...

 

[Guest]

You'll want to keep your Nitra/Phos ratio at 10:1. How long are you leaving your lights on? Keep in mind, some algaes thrive in long periods of intense light. You might try running a timer and turn your lights off for 2-3 hours in the middle of the cycle. I run mine on 3, off 3, on 5 to help keep algae at bay.

Have you identified the algae? hair ? cyano? Whats your fert regimin?

CO2 will help with your algae prob as well. The plants will compete for the nutrients with proper CO2 leaves, helping to keep algae down.

 

[kagentx]

hmm... i tried lowering the light hours too, to about 10 hours a day, maybe i should consider ur on and off method. I have Tropica Master Growth fertilizing at 2mL each day on a 50 gallon tank. Right now my lighting is only 96 watts. The algae in my tank are the green spot algae on plants and brush algae although they look like spots and not grown to brushy due to my algae eaters.

Also there's sometimes holes in my plants. I was recently told that clown loaches are bad for a planted tank, but i had them to rid my snails now i don't know what to do cuz they bother other fish too!

Since i have a 18" wide tank, do i need two light fixtures to cover the width of the tank? I have a triple tube fixture not in use because i'm afraid of algae.

Btw thanks trenac for the link

 

[betowess]

You don't have any actinic lights which are part of "smart lights" from Coralife do ya? Cause they can help cause algae. The CO2 will control the brush algae if you can keep it around 30ppm... Those pads will just capture debri and shouldn't affect nutrients. You might be over feeding the plants and fish, though your nitrate levels don't look too bad. Consider backing off the ferts to half (every other day) and see what happens... Do you dose any potassium and micro nutrients? Check out Aquabotanic http://www.aquabotanic.com/abstore/index.html or Aquatic-store.com http://www.aquatic-store.com/ for pricing on a milwaukee all in one regulator. You will just need to add a 10 lb. tank and some sort of reactor to the regulator/solenoid/bubblecounter milwaukee rig, be it aDIY or a store bought reactor. HTH bob

 

[kagentx]

i need a 10 lb tank? i thought i'd only need a 5 lb CO2 tank... also, how do i set to the right amount of CO2 in a pressurized CO2 system?

would a reactor like this be good for a pressurized CO2 like the milwaukee?

http://www.plantedtank.net/co2reactor.html

for the lighting, no i dun have the smart lights, even though it came with it (big mistake) i read that it was good for the REEF aquariums not planted. Know where i can sell these actinic bulbs? i have like 2 of them.

also the milwaukee is sold cheap here at:

http://www.aquatic-store.com/

 

[Avi]

I would say that you don't need a 5 lb. tank for you size aquarium....the 5 lb. tank would last you well over a year. I recently did my planted tank up with pressurized CO2 and it made a huge difference. Here's a pic of the setup that I put on it....

I got mine through www.aquatic-store.com which is very reliable....it's a JBJ solenoid and regulator and a Reactor 1000. By the way, that's a 5 lb. tank and it's on my 75-gallon planted tank. I got my whole CO2 setup at www.aquatic-store.com, which is the one that kagentx directed you to. I'm also told that the store at www.aquabotanic.com is also very good to deal with.

Listen, you won't believe how simple this thing is to set up once you've really gotten into it...though, it probably does seem a bit complicated now.

 

[kagentx]

how much did that whole thing cost avi? it seems like a long algaebraic equation to me, all questions marks. I was planning mines to be around $150 hopefully. Do you use a pH controller? It tells the pH of the tank, but can it be used to adjust the water to its desired pH? Its another extra $50.

 

[Avi]

I don't recall exactly what I spent but it was just about $275 with all the tubing and ball valves, water pump, etc. I just took a quick look at the Aquatic-Store.com website, and I saw that he has a JBJ combo (which includes a solenoid and a bubble counter) plus the Reactor 1000 on sale for about $200. The 5-lb. tank is about $60. You might be able to save some money by getting a smaller reactor though for a 50 gallon aquarium. By the way, if you do order that setup, confirm that there is a checkvalve built into the bubble counter. I bought a checkvalve for almost $20 which I don't believe I needed because the bubble counter box said that it has a built-in check valve (which is to keep water from ever backing up into your CO2 system for any reason.)

You will also need a water pump to drive the system if you want the kind of setup that I have.

I think you can save a good deal of money if you need to, by running the CO2 from the bubble counter into a canister filter (if you have one on your fishtank.) But I don't know exactly how that's done, though if you search the forums (like this one and aquabotanic.com and theplantedtank.com) I'm sure you can get a good explanation and schematic on how to do that. If you do that, you wouldn't need as much tubing or a reactor or water pump so the expense and labor is less.

I don't use a pH controller. My water's reasonably hard so there aren't big pH swings. I have the CO2 on a timer to shut off at night when the lights go off, and an airstone on another timer then starts working. Then the CO2 goes on in the morning with the lights and the airstone goes off.

 

[kagentx]

http://sammyxp.tripod.com/html/id23.html

this link show how to put together a pressurized CO2 together in cheap price!

one question tho, why do they hook it up to the filter? and how?

I'm planning to buy the Milwaukee Regulator and Solenoid for $76.99 then the tank for about $50 and a diffuser for $20. That's all i need rah?

I'm going to research about that bubble counter into canister since i have a cascade 1000 in my tank

 

[TankGirl]

I have run CO2 through my canister filter and it really did a fabulous job of diffusing the bubbles. However, (big however) I have heard that this is very hard on the filter itself, as the CO2 will harm the filter over time. I abandoned this and got a power diffuser but you can plumb your CO2 into you filter outflow, and I think Rex has posted about doing this.

 

[betowess]

Yeah, most of us either buy or build a DIY CO2 reactor and plumb it into a can filter's outflow. Besure to put it in the outflow. The milwaukee all in one has everything you need save a reactor and a CO2 tank. And I would buy a 10 lb. tank as the cost is minimal for twice as much CO2. Mr. Burns can send you some DIY plans if you p.m him... HTH

 

[kagentx]

thanks... ok i'll reconsider about the canister injection, would u just consider a DIY reactor with a siphon tube, sponge and a powerhead? or should i just buy a reactor to ensure everything is right. What kind of store should i look in for a CO2 tank?

o yea btw betowess, you said the milwaukee has everything, but it's missing a check valve... isn't that inportant to keep the water from flowing backwards? Avi suggested the JBJ regulator instead.

I have another beginner's question: How do you adjust to how much CO2 is injected in a pressurized system?
thanks for all the help!

 

[Guest]

See my FAQ for sources of CO2 tanks.

And you use the needle valve to regulate how much CO2 is injected.

 

[malkore]

You 'adjust' how much CO2 is in the system by using the needle valve that Rex has mentioned.
Basically your regulator controls initial flow of CO2...we'll say 30psi.
Then your needle value dials it down to the neighborhood of 5-10psi.

 

[Guest]

The regulator drops the CO2 from tank pressure to a more reasonable working pressure. It actually has no "control" function at all.'

And my dual stage regulator drops it from the tank pressure to what ever pressure I want, and I normally run mine around 12-15 psi.

The needle valve controls the FLOW of the CO2 to the reactor. And does also cause another pressure drop.

 

[kagentx]

Will a fire extingisher tank do? i have about 3 of them at home...

 

[Guest]

Yes they will. It will need a CGA 320 valve placed on it and it might need a current hydro test but they work fine.