Question about Co2

[Jimmy_D]

Newbie to this hole aqua scaping but I have had fish as far back as I can remember. Any ways I am starting my new tank this week. I have the gravel soil and sand in place. With high lighting in a 10 gallon tank. The plants i am going to start out with are Dwarf Baby Tears and Giant Hairgrass.
Now to my question in all the reading I have done, no one is very clear as to what type of CO2 system is the best to use. I know that some time you don't need to have a Co2 system depending on the plants you use. will i need a Co2 system and if so what one should i get. And if you know any good sites that can help me out along the ways please give me a link or two.


Jimmy D

 

[Jnam]

This site is great for questions. More than likely the HC you have will require co2 to grow quickly. Also the co2 helps limit algae growth in a high light aquarium. How did you come to the conclusion of high light?

 

[Jimmy_D]

Oh I worked at Petsmart in the pet care department. So I got a really good idea of what type of light to use. Any ways on the back of most all the boxs it tell you what type of aquarium you should use it for and if it is low, med or high light. i got high because of the type of plats i picked. but i never really had to deal with Co2 so i don't know to much about it other then what i have read.

 

[SWerner13]

How many watts per gallon and what kind of bulbs will you be using? And IMO for a 10 gallon tank the best way would be a DIY project. Type in something along the lines of DIY CO2 on youtube and there are some step by step videos. Its super cheap and will give you what you need. But for a bought system it depends on how much money you wanna spend but you can spend as little as thirty bucks on this system which would give you all the CO2 you need for a 10 gallon tank.

Freshwater Planted Aquariums: Red Sea Turbo CO2 Bio-System

 

[fort384]

Jimmy, welcome to AA!

No offense, but Petsmart doesn't sell many lighting setups that you could consider high light, even for a 10 gal tank.

If you provide what kind of lights (Power compact, t5ho, t8, t12, etc), how many watts, and what color temperature your bulbs are, it will help determine the type of light you have. This is a crucial step in determining whether or not CO2 addition will help your tank. Without the proper light levels, CO2 injection would be unneccessary.

However, with the HC you have chosen to plant, if you want it to grow/thrive, you will need high light and CO2.

There are basically 2 types of CO2 you can use. For a 10 gal tank, the cheapest option (at least in the short term) is to you a DIY (Do it Yourself) system that consists of mixing sugar and yeast in solution, capturing the CO2 the yeast produces, and injecting that into the tank.

The more expensive, but easier alternative is to buy a pressurized CO2 system. This is basically a co2 cylinder with a needle valve on it, and you inject the co2 directly into the tank. The intial setup can set you back $180-$400 depending on what level of automation and what you chose for the system.