starting a planted tank

[marliah]

I kept wondering why my plants were dying and having read the above stickys I can see I need a CO2 setup to keep them going (I have 2 that are doing fine anything else I add dies off). Where can I get a good CO2 kit for a 50 gallon tank? Something that contains everything I need to get started and doesn't cost a ton Also can I use the crushed coral substrate for growing plants (in a freshwater tank)? Anything else I should know besides the CO2?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Todd2]

I think you could go with DIY CO2 for your 50g. You really only need CO2 if you have 3+ wattage of light on your tank, otherwise you will have a nutrient imbalance and algae. I wouldn't use crushed coral in a planted tank. It might mess with the calcium level and pH. You need some nutrients in your substrate. I would go with Eco-complete if you can afford it or laterite and gravel/sand. Flourite's also an option. Good luck with your tank.

 

[travis simonson]

I've never used it before but I hear DIY CO2 can be a pain with tanks in the 50G+ range just because you need to produce so much to keep levels good. You may want to consider a pressurized system for a tank that size. I know www.aquariumplants.com (one of our sponsors) sells complete pressurized CO2 systems at great prices. They're not cheap (around $150 or more) but they do wonders for planted tanks. How much light are you currently using?

As far as crushed coral goes I agree with Todd2, it probably won't work well for plants. The basic nature of the coral can burn the roots of the plants as well as increase the pH and alkalinity of the water to levels that would be undesirable for many plants.

Hope this helps

 

[PsiPro]

IMO If you do a DIY for 20+ gal you should have atleast two setups. Just to add some consistency to the ammount of CO2 produced.

 

[malkore]

How much light do you have over the tank? Unless you have a fair amount of light, CO2 isn't really needed...but a lack of light will cause most plants to wilt away.

what lighting is over this 50gal? and what are the dimensions of the tank? 55g is a normal size, but 50gal makes me thing 'extra tall' or 'bow front'...which can pose special lighting issues.

 

[greenmaji]

DIY presurized CO2.. LOL here I go..
Clippard Minimatic online parts..
http://www.clippard.com/store/display_details.asp?sku=4CQF-PKG ... 10 pack of adaptors to go from the standard 1/4 inch threads to the needle valve threads 1/8 inch.. you only need one of them they are sold in packs of ten.. $6.70
http://www.clippard.com/store/display_details.asp?sku=MNV-4K2 ....needle valve $10.40

other parts..
CO2 tank.. buy or lease localy.. welding shop.. yellow pages can help here..
CO2 regulator to thread the parts in.. home brewery or whatever is cheapest.. the needle valve modification will make a standard one work.. they are about $40 on e-bay..

Total cost $60 + tank..
doing it yourself... priceless..

 

[marliah]

thanks for all the responses thus far. The tank is actually a 46 bowfront (I just rounded up). The light is just the standard light that came with the tank (its an oceanic setup) it recieves very little natural light (to reduce algae buildup) but I leave the light on at least 12 hours a day (ussually 15 or so). The plants I have in there were healthy when I bought them but are getting brown spots on the leaves and some even yellowing.

 

[Jchillin]

I'm thinking you probably have 17w or 24w NO flourescent bulbs on the tank (you can verify it by looking at the bulb specs on the left end of the tube).

If this is the case, you don't have enough light for any plants. You need at least 1wpg for low light plants.

Problem with this is the highest wattage for commercially available flourescents is 40w. That still leaves you short by 6 watts.

You can upgrade your light to CF. A lot of online retailers have them (BigAlsonline is one). The other point is if you go over 2wpg, you will need CO2 injection.

HTH

 

[malkore]

Yep, at this point, your problem is lack of sufficient light, not low CO2.
And the 40watt NO tubes are 48" long, and I know that 46g bowfront is only about 36" long across the front.

Since its also taller than normal, your best lighting upgrade option would be power compacts.

 

[Todd2]

ahsupply.com and hellolights.com have CF light kits. The 96W kit at ahsupply.com would give you a little over 2w, which would allow for low/medium light plants. Although I don't know if it would fit your tank. If this is your first planted tank. I would recommend starting with low light plants to keep things simple. That way you wouldn't need to add micro-nutrients to the tank and worry about CO2 and such. The fish would create waste which would act as fertilizer for the plants and they would get nutrients from the substrate. That is basically what I did with my first planted tank and things are working out pretty well. Good luck with the tank.