Ferts and CO2 for a Noob

[black hills tj]

Hey Everyone,

Beginning to consider CO2. What is the cheapest and easiest way to go about doing so?

Also, which Ferts would you suggest for a 29g tank w/ a 65w CF over it? What are the price ranges for said ferts?

Thanks,

Mike

ps-reading through the fert guide in the sticky as we speak


EDIT: Can i use the 2L soda bottle, sugar, and yeast with some air tubing for a 29g medium light tank? Will the provide enough CO2? If not could I just setup 2 of them on the tank? Like I mentioned, I'm not looking to spend much money on this so if I could go this route it would be awesome!

EDIT: Looking at some different liquid ferts online. Will Flourish excel add enough CO2 to the tank to cure the algae problem or does flourish excel only help the plants? Could I only dose Flourish and Flourish excel and be better than I am now? If I go with the homemade fermentation CO2 would using Flourish Excel be unnecesary? Would Flourish and Homemade fermentation CO2 be a decent combination to get some good growth with little algae?

 

[Purrbox]

Unfortunately the cheapest (start up costs) and easiest method of CO2 injection are not the same. The most inexpensive method of CO2 injection is DIY CO2, but the easiest is Pressurized CO2.

Dry Ferts are definately the least expensive way to go with Ferts, although you may want to go with one of the liquid ones for Micro/Trace Ferts.
KNO3 (Nitrate and some Potassium)
KH2PO4 (Phosphate)
K2SO4 (Potassium)
CSM+B, or Flourish Comprehensive, or Tropica Plant Nutrition (Micro/Trace Ferts)
Here are a couple of possible sources for Dry Ferts.
Rex Grigg's Dry Ferts
Aquarium Plant Food Store (used to be owned by Greg Watson, but recently sold)

For a 29 gallon tank you would be looking at closer to three 2 Liter bottles. You can simply use T connectors to join their production and then use a single method of diffusion. Make sure to rotate when you change out the mix in each of the bottles as DIY CO2 is variable by nature and stagger the start times helps to even out the production. (ie change out one bottle every 5-7 days)

While Flourish Excel is a good source of carbon (CO2 is also a source of carbon) it's not quite as good as nice steady levels of CO2 and can get expensive the larger the tank that it's being used on. It also has to be used with caution in tanks that have Anacharis and Vals as they are sensitive to it. It can be used by itself or in combination with CO2 injection.

Don't forget to look at the Macro Fertilizers (Nitrate, Phosphate, and Potassium) as these are generally more important than the Trace Ferts. If you're short on any of these (which I believe from your other thread you were as Nitrates were bottoming out) then dosing Traces isn't going to help much until you get those straightened out first.

 

[black hills tj]

okay so if I hit the following ferts alone will my algae cut back and plants excel?

KNO3
KH2PO4
K2SO4
Flourish Comprehensive

Or do I need the CO2 as well? If I went with CO2 it'd be the homemade fermentation CO2 as I don't have the money to buy a whole setup or need to buy a whole setup for that matter.

Also, where is the best chart for dry fert dosing?

About how long would 1 pound of each of those dry ferts last me?

EDIT: What do you think of the combo pack offered at Rex's? It appears to be of better value. How long would it last?

"Combo Pack. 1 lb KNO3, 1 lb K2SO4, ½ lb each of KH2PO4 and Plantex CSM+B - $13 Shipping on the Combo pack is $5.10"

Thanks,

Mike

 

[Hoovercat]

The combo pack plus some sort of carbon supplement should get things in line. DIY CO2 or Excel will work for carbon supplementation. Best results usually come from a combination of the 2.

 

[black hills tj]

looks like next paycheck i'll be ordering Rex's combo pack and either some Flourish Excel or creating some form of DIY CO2. Thanks Hoover

 

[black hills tj]

I just sent Rex an email so I can order the combo pack. How long should this last if I am just dosing a 29g tank? Where's the best dosing chart to use?