Co2 is it worth it?

[Kirky88]

I am attempting my very first planted tank and while shopping for plants food, for lack of a better term, and it was mentioned to me about a co2 system, I know nothing about them and would appreciate any advice that could be given

 

[Bettafanatic]

You will need a CO2 system to supply carbon dioxide to your plants so they can perform photosynthesis. The three things you need for plants are lighting, substrate, and CO2.

You can buy an already put together CO2 system. There are some ones on www.drfosternandsmith.com but they're pretty expensive. If you decide to put together your own, you'll need a CO2 tank, pressure regulator, needle valve, bubble counter, and CO2 reactor.

This is a good article that explains each part and how to put together your own CO2 system: Pressurized CO2 - The Planted Tank

You can also do a yeast and sugar setup, but I don't know much about those. Additional research will be necessary

 

[bigbanker]

Do you know what you plan on growing?

 

[rkilling1]

You don't 'need' to add CO2 to a tank to grow plants. The atmospheric CO2 is plenty to keep plants happy.

If you plan on adding a lot of light and ferts, you may end up limiting the plants growth due to the lack of CO2. IE If you have a basic setup, you don't need to add more carbon, but if you plan on making the plants grow very fast, you will have to add additional carbon.

 

[fort384]

I wrote an article recently that you might find helpful: Beginner's Guide to CO2 Injection in the Planted Tank - Aquarium Advice

 

[Kirky88]

Thank you all for the advice really appreciate it and found it helpful..... Got some homework todo now