C02 beginner, need advice

[S.A.CichlidFan]

I replied to 2 other threads and asked about c02, but I thought I should make a thread.
I have started growing 2 pond lilies(one tropical nymphaea king blue and one hardy, n. fabiola I think.
I pre-ordered the new finnex planted 24/7 and a t8 fixture that I will put on my timer and add a few hours of light a day if I need to.
All this light is going to cause a lot of algae, and I understand the answer to decreasing algae and increasing plant growth is C02. In the past I have only used airstones and I don't want to spend 100$, so I would like advice on a way to add c02 to tank cheaply, effectively and easily.
So far I have 3 ideas:
Hook up my extra air pump with 2 of the C02 diffusers coming out of europe and china for 8-9$ a piece lately. I have no idea if this will work though
My best option so far is a 20$ product that is like a DIY system but is done for you, it comes with a container of the yeast and other products that you hook up to your tube and diffuser and you are set. The container lasts 6 weeks and 4 replacements is only like 12$.
My only other idea is to add c02 tablets, but that would get expensive in a 50 gallon tank.
Here are some other simple questions I have:
I suppose I will need to buy something to test the 02 and c02 levels in the tank, what would be the proper reading for a 50g planted aquarium with 3 tiger barbs, 2 cherry barbs, a rosy barb, a leopard bushfish(3.5") a green severum(3") a very young albino oscar(2" max), a convict about the same size and a firemouth even smaller.
What does a bubble counter do? Do I need one?

Besides the readings on oxygen and c02 in the water and the bubble counter, I simply am looking for advice on a c02 system that will be easy to use, and not empty my wallet. If anyone has used c02 diffuser on an air pump please tell me how it worked.

Thanks in advance.

 

[S.A.CichlidFan]

I forgot to give the specs on my plants.
2 waterlily tubers with a few leaves each, the tropical in a 7" pot with dwarf baby tears and, hardy in a 6 by 6" water garden basket with 2 small green plants that my fish like to eat.
3 pieces of hornwort, 2 floating and one near bottom
Another 6 by 6 water garden basket filled with 20 stems of ludwiga repensa*? (half regular color green with red tips and the other is called "rubin" bc it is completely red but still ludwiga.
Finally, a small 4" planter with an amazon sword and a couple other green plants(fish food)
My substrate is a mixture of planted aquarium substrate from petsmart(the black kind that supposedly turns fish waste to plant food very fast), calcined clay, and red and gray lava rocks varying from 1/8" to 3 inches.
I also put 2 30 day lily tabs in each pot every 4 weeks.

Lighting:
Currently 4 t5 36" 3 6500k(I think they are old) and 1 actinic, only using for about 10 hrs a day to cut back on algae until new lights arrive.
Next week I have 2 brand new 36" t8 fixtures coming, and unless I sell one of them I will use both until May 17th when my finnex 24/7 arrives.

 

[dcutl002]

Metricide - http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f24/seachem-flourish-excel-vs-metricide-14-a-284352.html

 

[NigelK8485]

I replied to 2 other threads and asked about c02, but I thought I should make a thread.

I have started growing 2 pond lilies(one tropical nymphaea king blue and one hardy, n. fabiola I think.

I pre-ordered the new finnex planted 24/7 and a t8 fixture that I will put on my timer and add a few hours of light a day if I need to.

All this light is going to cause a lot of algae, and I understand the answer to decreasing algae and increasing plant growth is C02. In the past I have only used airstones and I don't want to spend 100$, so I would like advice on a way to add c02 to tank cheaply, effectively and easily.

So far I have 3 ideas:

Hook up my extra air pump with 2 of the C02 diffusers coming out of europe and china for 8-9$ a piece lately. I have no idea if this will work though

My best option so far is a 20$ product that is like a DIY system but is done for you, it comes with a container of the yeast and other products that you hook up to your tube and diffuser and you are set. The container lasts 6 weeks and 4 replacements is only like 12$.

My only other idea is to add c02 tablets, but that would get expensive in a 50 gallon tank.

Here are some other simple questions I have:

I suppose I will need to buy something to test the 02 and c02 levels in the tank, what would be the proper reading for a 50g planted aquarium with 3 tiger barbs, 2 cherry barbs, a rosy barb, a leopard bushfish(3.5") a green severum(3") a very young albino oscar(2" max), a convict about the same size and a firemouth even smaller.

What does a bubble counter do? Do I need one?



Besides the readings on oxygen and c02 in the water and the bubble counter, I simply am looking for advice on a c02 system that will be easy to use, and not empty my wallet. If anyone has used c02 diffuser on an air pump please tell me how it worked.



Thanks in advance.

A couple of things, I think a DIY would be more difficult for a 50 gallon tank. Everything I've read says they aren't a good option for anything over 40 gallons. I also think you'll be hard pressed to pull off a co2 system for under $50. You could go with a paintball gun co2 cylinder which would be a lot cheaper than a 5lbs+ tank.

A bubble counter shows you how many bubbles you have going a second, it's going to be the cheapest way for you to measure at what rate co2 is going into your tank.

You will also want a drop checker which measures the pH in your tank and shows when you're at the recommended 30 ppm of co2 in your tank.

I'm not sure about using the air pump, not quite sure how you would do that.

And one final thing, do you have more tanks? That is a very stocked and poorly stocked tank, the oscar alone is too much for the tank. Despite it being 2" it'll grow very quickly. If you have other tanks I'd highly recommend splitting up your stock, if not I'd look into rehoming sooner rather than later and doing more research.


Sent from my iPad using Aquarium Advice

 

[coralbandit]

^This^
on all points including/especially the stocking.