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

[emerald76]

Thanks! Another question, will a scuba tank work as a co2 bottle?


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[Cthulhu]

I got my bottle from a hydroponics shop. When it is empty I return it and they give me another full one. They take care of the tests and everything to make dure they are safe.

I know some people got their bottles and CO2 from shops that sell material for making beer.

 

[Brookster123]

I ordered a 5# off amazon for $60, get it filled at a paintball place.

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[Fresh2o]

From Amazon I got:
AQUATEK Premium Regulator with Cool-Touch Solenoid for $89. Included a bubble counter and check valve.
24 oz Valken paintball CO2 tank for $24.95. Heard not so positive things about the Empire brand of tanks.
AQUATEK CO2 Paintball adaptor $16.99
AQUATEK CO2 Proof Tubing 16' $9.99
Nano CO2 Diffuser $10.99
Total ~ $140
I got the CO2 tank refilled at Dicks Sporting Goods for $4.29. There is a deal where after four fill ups the fifth is free. My first tank lasted 4 months with a 20g planted tank. As mentioned above, after the initial cost, the rest is pretty inexpensive.



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[skywhitney]

If you have a scuba tank I would contact your local gas supply shop to see if they would fill it with CO2. As far as I know the vast majority of places won't do it but I've heard of people getting it done before so who knows. I got my 5# canister off of Amazon for $50 then spent $5 getting it filled.

My best advice is to not go the cheap route on a CO2 setup, you'll more than likely end up paying for it in the end and it could prove to be much more costly than getting a good setup right off the bat. I run Milwaukee brand regulators and CO2 controllers on my tanks and have had nothing but a great experience with them.

Maybe I missed it but how big is your tank? Depending on the size of your tank and the amount of light then you can also look at using a glut additive like Flourish Excel or API CO2 Booster until you can save up enough for a good pressurized system.

If your going high light and CO2 then you'll also want to start thinking about how you want to dose ferts into your tank.

 

[Cthulhu]

I agree with skywhitney, don't go cheap if you choose to have a CO2 setup. There are risks with CO2, like a end-of-tank dump, which can kill your fish and end up costing way more than the high quality regulator you didn't want to buy. But Milwaukee regulators are cheap!

There are people on the plantedtank forum who can assemble great regulators for you, you will get much better quality at much lower price that you would from a site like greenleafaquariums.com

 

[emerald76]

Okay, so I'm seeing CO2 will be the biggest expense, that's fine. The tank is 30 gallons. I'm actually thinking of asking for the co2 stuff for Christmas so I can get some better rocks and plants. Judging from the above, I should get a Milwaukee regulator, Aquatek everything else?


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[emerald76]

I'm currently using API co2 booster and leaf zone


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[Brookster123]

Did we ever decide on lighting? Co2 for a 30 gal can be as low as $150 delivered..

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[emerald76]

I'm going for a quad T5HO fixture. I may add another dual later on. I was planning on getting the light, putting in the slightly lower maintenance plants to grow a bit, then saving for CO2.


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[Brookster123]

That's an insane amount of light , why not start with a finnex planted plus and double up later on?? Things happen fast with highlight light, algae being the main "thing". T5 is nice and all but leds are the wave here.. the bulb replacement alone on 6 t5ho could go around $100/yr..

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[emerald76]

So what led should I use?


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[Brookster123]

Refer to previous post
Edit- After seeing fresh ' s post, I based that on an 18"tall tank..
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[Fresh2o]

What are the dimensions of the tank?


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[emerald76]

Oh sorry I meant is there a light besides the finnex or is that the best? The tank is 36" by 17" by 12"


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[Brookster123]

Oh, 30 long.. finnex planted plus is still my rec. For high light. I have 2 current sat plus on my 30 long.

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[emerald76]

Okay, so all the ones I'm seeing on amazon and eBay are around $108, and I'm assuming they last a long time. I'll keep a running tally of expected expenses and when I am buying the item-
Finnex Fugeray Planted Plus - $108, by 11/30/14
CO2 System- $150, by 1/15/15
Substrate (What should I get here?)-
Plants- $50, half by 12/15/14, other half by 1/15/15
Seriyu Stone- $50, by 2/1/15
Scaping Tools- $15, by 12/15/14


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[Brookster123]

Plants can be $10, i send trimmed starter packs all the time.. substrate?? Eco.complete or flora max depending in corys?

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[emerald76]

The plant list is pretty weird, some of the stuff is quite expensive I believe. I might put up a classified to see who has what. I have cories, which substrate is better for them?


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[skywhitney]

I've used eco-complete and floramax and you can't really go wrong with either. I typically do a 50/50 mix of one of those and the petco "sand" substrate.

A plant starter pack would be the way I would go. This gives you a nice variety let's you learn what plants do well in your system and which ones don't do so well.

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