Making the Leap: Low Light to High Light and CO2!

[emerald76]

Here's my plead for help! I've no clue what I am doing, I read all the planted tank articles possible because I have an OBSESSION with this tank.
2013 AGA Aquascaping Contest - Entry #57
I must have it, or as close as I can get. So, operating on a bit of a tight budget (I'm a high school student under the age limit for hiring, so my income is an astounding $27 a week! Amazing!), I want to create this, without the sand falls and with maybe some wood, as I don't wan it to be exact- I want some of myself in the design also. Help! I see from the specs that I need T5 lamps, however fixtures and all to go with that are cost prohibitive. Where on earth do I get eight T5 lamps and fixture for less than $400? Do I need eight? If I turn down CO2 to 1 bubble a second, can I do 3-4 T5 lamps? Is the Fluval CO2 kit for tanks under 150 liters good, or is it missing important parts? Freshwater Planted Aquarium & Plant Care: Fluval Pressurized CO2 Kit
What substrate should I use? There's no way I'm shipping in bagfuls of ADA Aquasoil- would Ecocomplete work? The specs on the tank say Flourite, which is what I have now, but not nearly enough of it. Should I get more Flourite and cap with ecocomplete?
The plant list only has a few very very high light plants, so would they be ok with less light? I feel like there are eight lamps just so the tank could be prepped for competition.
If my LFS doesn't have the plants, where should I go? Besides specially designed scape tools, what can I use to plant and trim? Would long medical tweezers and forceps work with some long scissors?
About how many bags of substrate should I need? Can I keep my stock plan with all the stuff taking up room?

Thank you!



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[emerald76]

Anyone?


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[Brookster123]

I read the first few line... aqua scaping contest and tight budget don't belong on the same page
Give us a list of what you already have and how much you have to spend.
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[emerald76]

I know I know- I was hoping that I could do slightly lower light and such for a bit slower growth. I don't want to enter any contests here.


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[emerald76]

Whoo! I found lights on eBay, a quad fixture, pretty cheap compared to petsmart's $600 set. I think I'm going to order the fluval kit above from drs foster and smith, then it's just substrate and plants!


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[emerald76]

I have about nothing brookster, I'm planning on saving for a few more weeks (around December 15th) to get plants. I have around $500 to spend here, and lights and co2 have taken about $100.


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[emerald76]

Plants shouldn't be more than $50 I hope and then rocks and substrate are $100 or so.


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[Brookster123]

Ok.. don't order anything!!! $500?#?!? You could get a build.my led for less! The fluval kit kinda sucks, on a larger tank? It'd be a pain... the aquatek paintball system is solid for cheap. I have a fluval mini system, it's yours if you want it.

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[emerald76]

I haven't ordered yet I promise! I'd like to spend less than $500 but the money is there


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[emerald76]

What about the fluval system of you dislike?


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[emerald76]

I'm very confused however- exactly what parts are needed for a complete working co2 system?


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[emerald76]

Um anyone?


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[Fresh2o]

Lots of questions...I'll try to answer a couple in no particular order.
The parts of a pressurized CO2 system may include:
Tank, regulator, solenoid, check valve, bubble counter, and tubing. I omitted diffuser because there are different methods for introducing CO2 into the water.
Standard tanks come in different sizes such as 5-20 lbs. There are paintball style tanks with sizes that include 10-24 oz.
A regulator connects to the tank and has a few gauges. One measures the pressure in the tank and the other measures the outgoing pressure. There are knobs to adjust the outgoing pressure and the amount going out (fine needle adjustment).
A solenoid is an electronic valve that opens and closes. It can be set to open and close using a timer.
Check valves prevent back flow from the aquarium to the CO2 equipment.
Bubble counter allows to to adjust the amount of gas being added to the tank. The fine adjustment knob can be used to regulate the number of bubbles in the bubble counter.
Tubing is typically heavier than standard airline tubing and less permeable to CO2 (to prevent gas leaking from the tubing wall).

I am currently using an AquaTek Premium regulator with Cool-Touch solenoid and a 24 oz paintball tank.

The Fluval mini CO2 system consists of a manual valve and small CO2 cartridges that do not have a long usable life. We are talking grams versus ounces and pounds.


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[jenelle]

I am inspired by your plan!

This is the C02 system system I bought. It runs on citric acid and sodium bicarbonate in 2 pop bottles. I bought the regulator and diffuser from Aquariums West (they import the system from Korea) and they ship me the bags of citric acid and bicarbonate for $7/pair of bags. I'm a month in on my first go running 24/7. I know its not as good as a pressurized system but it fits my budget. I've heard bad things about the Fluval kits.

D501 DIY SET UP Co2 Generator System Kit Edited b…: http://youtu.be/SnKYU166vXI

I'm attaching a couple photos of how my tank has evolved in about 6 weeks. The red plant on the left isn't doing awesome but the rest of the tank is growing really well.


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[Matt68005]

God this planted tank stuff is a science in its own, been thinking of redoing my tank planted but I ain't got that kind of money, and my water here is hard and alkaline, I'm sure I could get it to work but this isn't fIshlkeeping this is like a hole other ballgame with the aquascaping.....

 

[Mattfinn]

God this planted tank stuff is a science in its own, been thinking of redoing my tank planted but I ain't got that kind of money, and my water here is hard and alkaline, I'm sure I could get it to work but this isn't fIshlkeeping this is like a hole other ballgame with the aquascaping.....

It is. I think it's part of the fun.
Btw solid carp in your profile photo ?

 

[emerald76]

Lots of questions...I'll try to answer a couple in no particular order.
The parts of a pressurized CO2 system may include:
Tank, regulator, solenoid, check valve, bubble counter, and tubing. I omitted diffuser because there are different methods for introducing CO2 into the water.
Standard tanks come in different sizes such as 5-20 lbs. There are paintball style tanks with sizes that include 10-24 oz.
A regulator connects to the tank and has a few gauges. One measures the pressure in the tank and the other measures the outgoing pressure. There are knobs to adjust the outgoing pressure and the amount going out (fine needle adjustment).
A solenoid is an electronic valve that opens and closes. It can be set to open and close using a timer.
Check valves prevent back flow from the aquarium to the CO2 equipment.
Bubble counter allows to to adjust the amount of gas being added to the tank. The fine adjustment knob can be used to regulate the number of bubbles in the bubble counter.
Tubing is typically heavier than standard airline tubing and less permeable to CO2 (to prevent gas leaking from the tubing wall).

I am currently using an AquaTek Premium regulator with Cool-Touch solenoid and a 24 oz paintball tank.

The Fluval mini CO2 system consists of a manual valve and small CO2 cartridges that do not have a long usable life. We are talking grams versus ounces and pounds.


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Thank you! Do you know if a scuba tank filler could do CO2 refills?


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[emerald76]

I am inspired by your plan!

This is the C02 system system I bought. It runs on citric acid and sodium bicarbonate in 2 pop bottles. I bought the regulator and diffuser from Aquariums West (they import the system from Korea) and they ship me the bags of citric acid and bicarbonate for $7/pair of bags. I'm a month in on my first go running 24/7. I know its not as good as a pressurized system but it fits my budget. I've heard bad things about the Fluval kits.

D501 DIY SET UP Co2 Generator System Kit Edited b…: http://youtu.be/SnKYU166vXI

I'm attaching a couple photos of how my tank has evolved in about 6 weeks. The red plant on the left isn't doing awesome but the rest of the tank is growing really well.


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This is interesting, but I'm not sure DIY can support the needs of the tank.


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[emerald76]

Where can I get a co2 tank cheaply?


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[Cthulhu]

Expect to spend a few hundread dollars for a good reliable CO2 system. I paid 320$ for a dual stage regulator, and 200$ for a 20lb bottle. After the initial cost it is quite inexpensive, 30$ to fill a 20lb bottle that lasts about 8 months on my 95g. It requires almost no maintenance, and I have peace of mind, I know it won't fail and risk killing all my fish.