CO2 mandatory?

[Bully405Customz]

I have a 55g tank with an assortment of plants in it that seem to be growing okay but I'm not sure if they need co2 or not.

 

[HalfMoon B]

Depends on your light fixture/intensity. What have you got for that?

 

[bruinsbro1997]

It depends on the plants. If they're special needy plants like some ludwiga or amazon swords yes they'll need co2. if they're low-tech like java fern then no.

 

[Bully405Customz]

It's some java fern, hornwort, and something else I'm not sure about. Oh and a bamboo shoot. The lighting is just 2 15 w normal bulbs. Nothing special

 

[HalfMoon B]

The bamboo will rot if leaves are not above the water line.

 

[Bully405Customz]

Oh, okay. I'll see what I can do to make that happen

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Bamboo is not even truly aquatic.....

 

[jcolon]

I have a 55g tank with an assortment of plants in it that seem to be growing okay but I'm not sure if they need co2 or not.

The CO2 question depends on the type of plant and light you have. Most of the plants in aquariums that are sold at LFS (at least by me) tend to be middle to low light plants that could benefit from CO2 but is not necessary .. just good 6500K daylight bulbs.

Seems to me higher light plants will probably need CO2 to maintain photosynthesis.

BTW .. I got 2 submerged bamboo that I bought before becoming an AA member and they are still going strong. Not growing much if at all .. but none of the leaves have rotted away. Maybe I got lucky??

 

[Grant420]

I have a 110 gallon piranha tank that is filled with live plant. I put co2 in it just for the quick burst of growth but after the grew to their potential I took it out and they look beautiful under a t5light

 

[fort384]

To answer your original post, yes, all photosynthetic organisms (plants included) require CO2. CO2 occurs naturally in your tank since the water will remain at equilibrium with the CO2 concentration in the surrounding air. I am going to assume you are talking about CO2 injection though

There are very few aquatic plants that we commonly put in aquariums that require CO2 injection to be healthy. Even most what we call high light plants do not require CO2 injection to be healthy. Your lighting and your plants definitely do not require CO2 injection. I would certainly not put swords on a list of plants that require CO2 injection.

One of the big reasons we inject CO2 in a high light planted tank is not only for uptake for the plants, but because it helps the plants uptake nutrients more quickly, which in turns help limit the growth of certain types of algae.

 

[thedannyd]

To answer your original post, yes, all photosynthetic organisms (plants included) require CO2. CO2 occurs naturally in your tank since the water will remain at equilibrium with the CO2 concentration in the surrounding air. I am going to assume you are talking about CO2 injection though

There are very few aquatic plants that we commonly put in aquariums that require CO2 injection to be healthy. Even most what we call high light plants do not require CO2 injection to be healthy. Your lighting and your plants definitely do not require CO2 injection. I would certainly not put swords on a list of plants that require CO2 injection.

One of the big reasons we inject CO2 in a high light planted tank is not only for uptake for the plants, but because it helps the plants uptake nutrients more quickly, which in turns help limit the growth of certain types of algae.

Thats cool info. I was having algea problems while I was using Co2. BBA was the pest. I stopped using Co2 and have been able to control for the most part. Mostly gone but Still have a few small patchs. Any suggestions fort?