Hello everyone! PLEASE HELP.... --- CO2 in 55 gal planted, planning

[YY7]

Im about to get a 55g tank, I want to have a planted aquarium with small tropical fish. This would be my first time trying this planted aquaruim business, so I need all the help and advice I can get. I've been looking into buying the Red Sea CO2 System 500, I plan to use my boyfriend's 20 oz. paintball co2 cylinder attached to the system. I would like to know if the Red Sea CO2 System 500 is worth buying. Has anyone had this system before, does it work, and if 20 oz. cylinder would be enough for a 55 gallon tank?

[Aquarium1]

Welcome to the forum. You might get better/more answers if you posted a thread in the Planted forum. Good luck

[YY7]

Thank you.

[jsoong]

First thing you need is light ... until you have enough light, CO2 won't help. <What light are you running? and what plants you want to keep?>

Most people run 5lb CO2 cylinders in a big tank. <They last 4-6 months.> 20 oz is OK, but you might be filling that every few weeks!

[meegosh]

I second jsoong, I would fork out the extra cash and get a 5lb tank and a good regulator. It will probably be better off getting a 5lb tank in the long run.

Keep in mind with higher lights you will need CO2 and fertilizers (ferts for short). If this is your first venture into planted tanks I would suggest starting with low light plants in a low tech setup (no co2, ferts etc). You might even be able to grow some with your current lighting.

[YY7]

I have two different lights in mind, I dont know wich one would work best, a Flora Sun Bulb, 48", 32W T-8, or Flora-Glo 48", 2800K, 40W T-10. I also got a 5 gallon bucket of AquariumPlants.com's own Freshwater Planted Aquarium Substrate, also plan to get Total Substrate Pellets. The plants I want in my aquarium are:
Pennywort
Anubias Nana,
Amazon Sword,
Contortion Vals,
Dwarf Subulata,
Dwarf Hairgrass,
Petite Nana ,
Dwarf Baby Tears,
Rotala Magenta,
Water Sprite,
Ambulia,
Aponogeton crispus
Java Fern
Banana Plant
Cryptocoryne parva
Dwarf four leaf clover
Rotala Wallichii

I also plan to put my betta in my tank along with other community fish like: cardinals, guppies, swordtail, platy, molly, dwarf gourami, zebra danios, andsome red cherry shrimps and ghost shrimps.

[meegosh]

You are going to want a bulb closer to 6700K rather than 2800K for plants.

[YY7]

ok, so would a Life-Glo 48'', 6700K, 40W T-10 be good for a 55g planted aquarium? Do you think my plants would thrive with good substrate, lighting, and temp, and no co2?

[meegosh]

A single 40 watt bulb over a 55g would give you less than 1wpg. You would not be able to grow much with that. I would recommend reading the article linked below. It is an excellent article explaining many aspects of planted tanks. It also has a great section about lighting.

Edit: I guess it would help if I posted the link...

So You Want a Planted Aquarium

[jsoong]

I run 4 32W T8 6700K bulbs & still not into CO2 range. I ran only 2 over my old 60 gal & never had luck with swords ... and your ground cover plants will definitely need much more light than the swords. In short I think you will need something like 200W total over your tank before contemplating CO2.

You just might want to start low tech, (lower light say 3x32W T8, no CO2) eliminate some of your more demanding plants, get a feel of how the tank works before adding more light, upgrading to CO2 & high light plants.

Also, T8's & T10's are bulky. I don't know if you have room to put in 6-8 of them over a narrow 55 gal. If you are planning to go high light (now or eventually), it may be better to start with 54W T5-HO's or power compacts.

[YY7]

Do all ground covers need high ligh? I would really love some kind of ground cover plant. Can you suggest any, along with other plants that will thrive in low light please?

[HardAct]

sorry double post

[HardAct]

YOu will need alot more light then that. You will need onaveraga 2-3 watts per gallon at least. i have just set up my 55 gal tank also, and I have a aqualight 4x 65 watt hood there 6700k bulbs and very brite. i will have to experement with using 2 at a time, or all 4. 2 is 130 watts, 4 are 260 watts, 4watts per gallon, lets keep each other posted on what works and what dosent ok, I know i have enough light though! lol!

[Crepe]

Marsilea Quadrifolia is a low light plant according to providers. It's however more of a medium light plant 1-2 wpg as cultivators normally underestimate lighting conditions to sell more of plant. It should grow in almost any light, just slowly.