Alternative to co2

[Potluck]

I cannot afford co2, nor have the knowledge of how to do it, I don't have a super high strength light, and not a lot of plants, just curious if what I can do fert wise to help the plants out, didn't note I just use flourish root tabs and flourish comprehensive liquid, recommendations on gets us start im looking for

 

[flchamp89]

Excel
Easy carbo
Metricide
Api leaf zone

Not the same as pressurized. But many create worthy tanks with them. TMaier tank is an example. Not sure if she even uses carbon.

 

[Potluck]

Okay I was thinking excel but I've heard It can be harmful to the fish, what about Seachem trace

 

[Potluck]

Do I dose them all at once? Or are you just recommending like 1 of the 4 listed

 

[abw0004]

Excel is not harmful to the fish. It is just like with anything else in the aquarium hobby, you can't overdo it. The issue will be that over time using Excel to compensate for CO2 will be more expensive than CO2. If you look of my thread "Benefits of CO2," there is a discussion on Excel in there as I was looking for CO2 alternatives before I was ultimately convinced to go the CO2 route.

 

[flchamp89]

Excel (any glut) needs to be used with respect. Certain plants are susceptible to damage. Many report no issues with inverts. Delapool and I were discussing ph vs glut the other day.

Trace is a micro nutrient liquid fertilizer. Id recommend you research excel, comprehensive, trace, iron, potassium. I think with those tools you can build a solid tank.

 

[Potluck]

Yeah I just cannot afford to spend 400+ dollars on a co2 system, I'll go without plants first

 

[Potluck]

I use comprehensive already, 5ml a week, 55 gallon tank, someone was saying to use glut besides Excel, because Excel melts some plants like vals, my plants aren't dying but they aren't as full and pretty as most tanks I've seen

 

[flchamp89]

There no doubt gla are top notch. But you can get pressurized co2 into the tank for about 120.00. I personally dont see myself ever owning a 400 dollar system. Gla is awesome but I don't have that kind of need or dedication. Ive ran aquateks for many years with no issue. Co2 goes in the tank. Is the needle valve top of the line...nope. Can I manage and grow plants...I think as well as many.

 

[flchamp89]

I use comprehensive already, 5ml a week, 55 gallon tank, someone was saying to use glut besides Excel, because Excel melts some plants like vals, my plants aren't dying but they aren't as full and pretty as most tanks I've seen

They haven't been in tank very long if I remember correctly. In low par things aren't going to always happen over night.

 

[Potluck]

My amazons have been in for about 6 months, the anubias longer, the fire leaf, anubias Nana, and sagittaria just a couple weeks

 

[flchamp89]

Try some ferts. The ones listed are what I use on my wimpy stingray driven tank.

 

[Potluck]

Okay so I use Seachem flourish comprehensive, and rot tabs what would be a good choice

 

[flchamp89]

Comp, trace, fe, pottasium, excel

Go to seachem look at some dose schedules. Start low work up. Simple enough

 

[skrapeNKA]

I'm currently growing wisteria, anubias coffeefolia, crypt. retrospirals, ozelot sword, narrow leaf red ludwigia, hygro. corymbosis siamensis, green lloydiella and java moss. The only ferts I'm adding are Flourish and Flourish Iron (every water change) and I add the recommended dosage of Flourish Excel every 2-3 days. Used in this manner, it's not terribly expensive, just don't buy the little bottle.

The LFS I go to has a sign in front of their Excel stock recommending diluting the dose in a cup or two of tank water before adding, and not to add it directly on your livestock (if you have anything like my rasboras that think they're getting fed when you move the lid and come to the top). Despite being safe to use, there's a crap ton of warnings not to get it on your skin or in your eyes, and if you read that the way I do, it vicariously includes your livestock. Just take a moment and be careful when you're handling it because chemicals I also keep a large RCS colony in my tank and would swear under oath it is invert safe when used as directed.

Personal anecdote (I stress this as people can be very zealous on the subect): I was using root tabs in my old tank, but hadn't added any to my newer setup. To be honest, the root tabs seem like they were superfluous at this point, I'm still getting new growth at what looks like the same rate.

 

[Potluck]

Here's my tank and lighting specs I don't know if you rate by par with leds, but if you go by watts I am at 24, if you go by lumens I'm roughly 3000 the brown stuff in the plants is another thing in trying to get rid of so I stayed instead of turning the lunar blues on when its light out time I went completely dark, as I read a lot if posts about lunar blues causing brown algae. Going to get some metracide but I don't really know how to use that where as excel has the directions, don't mind the breathing I have a sinus infection lol

https://youtu.be/DbUbyP3S3VY

 

[flchamp89]

I have a friend who has those lights we could never find any par. If I remember correctly pods of leds can be added. Im comfident your low par however.

Looks to be diatoms. Does it rub off? If so not a huge deal. I wouldn't black out. They will pass

 

[Potluck]

Yes my fixture you can add pods take away pods, I have 24 can hold the maximum of 31 I'm at around 3000 lumens which would be about 35 par at 24", there's an interesting read on lunar blues causing diatoms/brown algae
http://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfis...-related-to-excessive-low-blue-lights.165590/

 

[flchamp89]

Ive heard that as well. Im not totally convinced. But you have low par sand and holey rock. So lots of silicates in your tank Id just cut some time off photoperiod in general and manually remove them. May take weeks may take months.

Id say an excess of blues yes or a low kelvin yes...

Sorry just saw...no true way to calculate lumens to par that I know of.

 

[Potluck]

There's alot of formulas I've found to convert lumens to par, but they are not for the aquarium if you know what I mean lol, it's a very complex thing to do which I don't really understand lol, so here's the thing, from what I'm understanding is it's really not lumens you need to look for it's the rating of Nm, the reds are 630 Nm but should be 660 Nm blues are 445 should be 475 etc etc, I know nothing about light but there are formulas to convert but I haven't found one for led.