Low CO2 - what are the drawbacks?

[Pacman]

So, I'd like to set up a fairly low maintenance aquarium, and am still in the planning stages. What would the drawbacks be of having a planted tank that does not have CO2 supplementation? Would it just be slow growing, or would it cause problems?

Honestly, I really don't want something that needs pruning every few weeks, dealing with CO2 (either bottled or brewed), and everything that entails. Thanks!

 

[neilanh]

Low light setups don't require CO2. Stay under ~2WPG and you'll be okay without it. THe drawbacks are that it limits the type of plants you can have. You'd be limited to anubias, anacharis, mosses, java ferns, stuff along those lines.

 

[black hills tj]

I run 65w CF lighting on my 29g tank w/o CO2. I dose on and off, but not as regularly as I should. I grow several java ferns, some hygro, several crypts, swords, and HM. You have "fewer" options, but you can still create a gorgeous tank with a wide variety.

 

[mgamer20o0]

there is a lot of plants you can have. if you dont add co2 to higher light you tend to have more algae problems and with out it plants grow a lot slower. what size of tank and what kind of lighting do you have?

hate to disagree with you neilanh but i have grown all kinds of plants from swords to stem plants with out co2.

 

[Pacman]

Hmm, algae problems are bad.

I've got a high intensity lighting system; estimate about 140 watts over 30 gallons. Would it be easy enough to solve with an algae eater/snails, or am I looking at green water?

 

[black hills tj]

With nearly 4 wpg, Pressurized CO2(not DIY) and fertilizers are probably necessary.

 

[gheitman]

Hmm, algae problems are bad.

I've got a high intensity lighting system; estimate about 140 watts over 30 gallons. Would it be easy enough to solve with an algae eater/snails, or am I looking at green water?

A high wattage lighting setup like yours really isn't appropriate for a low tech planted tank. You would need to cut your wattage by half if you want to avoid algae problems without using pressurized CO2. Can you remove one or two bulbs from your fixture? That being said, there are a lot of plants that will grow in tanks with less than two watts per gallon. You can find lists of plants requiring low light at several places including the two listed below.

PlantGeek.net - Plant Guide
Plant Finder - Encyclopedia of Aquarium Plants

You might want to also check them out for forums about low tech tanks. I have nine planted tanks with no pressurized CO2 although I do use fermented CO2 on three of my tanks and Flourish Excel on all of them.

 

[mgamer20o0]

your going to shoot your self in the foot. how are you estimating the light? what kind of light is it?

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

Pressurized CO2(not DIY) and fertilizers are probably necessary.

No required

 

[Purrbox]

Plants use nutrients in the following order.

Light --> Carbon --> Macro Nutrients --> Micro Nutrients

Your current setup provides tons of Light but very limited CO2. In most cases this is going to lead to ongoing algae issues. The reason is that you are driving high growth with the lighting but limiting the amount of carbon (CO2) available for growth. This creates a bottle neck that favors algae over plants. Better to limit the lighting so that the demands for CO2 meet the current supply. This way you aren't driving growth to the point where the plants are running out of the lower level required nutrients.

 

[Pacman]

Okay, thank you very much for your insightful answers! I'm gonna have to change up my lighting.

Unfortunately, this means redoing everything, but one thing I've learned is to (try to) start off right. I had planned to use 2x24" VHO lights which would be ~70 watts apiece; unfortunately the ballast cannot be run with a single strip. So, it's off to get some new aquarium supplies!

 

[black hills tj]

A pressurized CO2 setup may not run much more than a new set of lights.