When to start fertilizing and/or running co2?

[PrawnShop]

I'm just curious to see when I'm supposed to start running the fertilizing treatments and/or co2.

I've got a 55 gal that currently has slightly over 1 wpg with two 48" T5's for the silent cycle but will have around 2 wpg once the cycle is complete. I've got around 27 plants total, including hygrophila kompakt, hygrophila angustifolia, amazon swords, java ferns, dwarf hairgrass, as well as a couple each of spiral val and whatever the straight green val are called.

I've got about 40 pounds of flourite with about the same amount of black sand, although I'm fairly certain I'll be adding more black sand eventually. And I was planning on running a diy co2 and flourish. But I didn't know when would be the best time to start running the treatments or even whether or not I even needed the fert.

Thanks in advance.

 

[BigJim]

DIY CO2 will probably be expensive, labor intensive, and ineffective on a 55g. You'd be best off biting the bullet and springing for a pressurized setup. It's expensive to buy in, but refilling the CO2 bottle is pretty cheap.

Dry ferts would also be more cost-effective than Flourish on a larger tank. I'm also not sure that 40lb of Flourite is enough for a planted 55g. Aim for at least 2"-3" of substrate. It's best to get all the substrate in the tank before trying to plant. Some of those plants will be a real pain to move once they've established roots. I have two amazon swords busting out of my 29g and their roots stretch from one end of the tank to the other.

As for whether you need the fertilizers, that depends on a lot of things. Nutrient imbalances can cause algae explosions. I have about 2wpg of CFLs on my 20L with water sprite, java moss, anacharis, and telanthera. I actually stopped my DIY CO2 and reduced my ferts from every PWC to every other PWC (I use Flourish because I got a lot very cheaply.) to keep from needing to trim the tank every three days. The 20L is very heavily stocked with cories and guppies. I do have some BBA issues, but it's not terrible if I keep the tank trimmed.

You could start with a light dose of ferts and work your way up until the plants are healthy and growing the way you want them to grow.

 

[mgamer20o0]

flourish is pretty much just the trace elements. like bigjim said its a lot cheaper to get dry ferts. i also think he is right on with the co2. if you are going to do diy co2 i would start right away since you may not be able to get away with half the light to start with. good plan but juts wait and see how the plants do. in the long run pressurized co2 is cheaper.

 

[PrawnShop]

I'm about five days in and all the ph/nitrate/nitrite/ammonia levels are where I want them, but I was planning on consistently running a 25% change every day for another week or so, and then changing to my "real" bulbs. I was running the normal t5 bulbs the fixture came with as a part of the silent cycle... are you saying that I should go ahead and use the full lighting setup now?