New tank

[SittingDuck]

I've recently got back into the aquarium hobby after taking approx 6 years off due to lack of space in the place(s) we were living. A LOT has changed since I was last interested in running a tank (Especially the prices of fish!)

I've setup my aquarium approx 4 weeks ago and have left my filters running non stop to get the tank ready. It's a 130 Gallon aquarium with a 2217 eheim filter, a 250 Aquaclear filter and a....something, I don't know the brand name cause it's faded off (it's over 10 years old), 40 gallon filter with a protein skimmer (Total filtration approx 200 Gallons).

I picked up a new 300 Watt heater that is totally submerssable, and suprisingly enough, has raised the temp of the water to 81 degrees. It's placed at the center bottom of the tank with the cord running up the side (Any ideas on what I can use to hide it? It really is ugly).

I also plan in having a planted aquarium and after doing a lot of reading I have found that in order to both lower the pH consistantly, and keep it lowered, and to have a healthy planted tank it will require a C02 system of some kind. I'm not willing to spend hundreds of dollars on a C02 system, or continually dump money into keeping the C02 system running (buying replacement C02 canisters every 2 weeks for example). The "Pop bottle" solution makes me nervous because it seems like a LOT of work having to replace the baking soda, yeast and sugar every couple of days...also having it sitting in a "Warm" aquarium doesn't appeal to me as I have young kids who would most likely try to bathe in anything that isn't covered.

I have sufficient lighting for plants with over 600 Watts in four florescent bulbs...however these lights are rather old and I haven't replaced them from the first time I bought the tank over 10 years ago.

So a couple of questions:

1. What is a good pH level for plants?

2. What C02 system would be a good solution? I'm not worried about a DYI approach, just looking for one that will be the easiest to implement and most cost effective.

3. What is the prime temperature of the aquarium to support plants? Is 81 degrees too high for plants?

 

[malkore]

1. What is a good pH level for plants?

Any. Seriously, pH doesn't matter for 99.5% of the plants out there.

2. What C02 system would be a good solution? I'm not worried about a DYI approach, just looking for one that will be the easiest to implement and most cost effective.

On a 120gallon tank, pressurized CO2 setup is your only option. there's no way to get decent CO2 levels with DIY, unless the thought of 6 gallon jugs of DIY mix under the tank sounds appealing...but at that rate, you could buy a pressurized system for the price it'll cost for a years worth of sugar and yeast...and your time involved in keepign it running. Even then, I doubt you'll get over 15ppm of CO2, and 25-30ppm is the correct range.

3. What is the prime temperature of the aquarium to support plants? Is 81 degrees too high for plants?

For fish mostly...and some plants won't like it quite that warm. Typical tropical tank temps are 72-78 degrees.

Also, I'd replace the bulbs. Fluorescents lose 60% of their spectrum after 9 months of 12hour a day use.

 

[humpty]

I am not an expert by any means but I can get you started.

1. It depends on your KH level, you need to look at a co2 chart on www.littlefishtank.com put in your kh level and your ph and it will tell you your co2 in ppm. You want to run somewhere in the 15 to 30 ppm range for plants. So you would add co2 until the formula gives you the level you want.

2. From everything I have read you will have a hard time doing a DIY co2 on that large of a tank, not impossible just a lot of work. I just bought a 10lb co2 bottle and from what I am estimate that should last a year or more. I have got about $300 in to my co2 system but I did go all out.

3 If you want discus 81 is perfect Otherwise most fish are going to prefer close to 77 or so.

HTH
humpty

 

[malkore]

I just wanna clarify point #1, since Humpty interpreted it differently.

I was specifically addressing pH on its own. Humpty is referring to the fact that pH will decrease when you inject CO2. You can measure pH and Kh to determine your CO2 levels.

 

[SittingDuck]

http://www.bigalsonline.ca/catalog/product.xml?product_id=19223;category_id=2873;pcid1=3349;pcid2=

http://www.bigalsonline.ca/catalog/product.xml?product_id=19219;category_id=2873;pcid1=3349;pcid2=

Would either of those be a viable C02 alternative? The prices aren't too bad and it looks like they might be a good solution. Has anyone had experience with the above products or the C02 Reactors?

 

[malkore]

The links you posted are for CO2 reactor/diffusers. They work well, but you still must purchase a CO2 cylinder and regulator, so you have a source of CO2.

 

[SittingDuck]

Do you have any links or suggestions for products that I should be looking at?

 

[tiptoptank]

Get a JBJ regulator from aquariumplants.com then call a welding store near you and purchase a 5-10 pound tank. THen you will need a reator. You could also just send the co2 tube into your filter intake. Filters make great reactors. All together it will cost about 200-250$.

I did the DIY on my 55 and it was too much work. Since I got my presurised system I don't need to do anything at all.

 

[SittingDuck]

Okay, so what if I have a small amount of plants in my aquarium? Would it be easier to sustain say, 2 to 6 plants rather than going full out and popluating the entire aquarium with plants? I don't think a C02 solution is quite what I'm ready for at this point in time. Everything I've seen is very expensive.

 

[mattrox]

I have heard of people getting an old CO2 fire extinguisher as a tank and retro-fitting it with a regulator etc. I don't know how much that will save you.

 

[Guest]

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=9935&ref=3167&subref=AC&N=2004+2021

(Edit, all prices I mentioned are in US dollars, I just noticed you are Canadian. Currency conversion is up to you.)

I have this system ($129.99 plus shipping). For someone such as yourself who probably doesn't want to order all the various parts from several sources, it is a good all-in-one co2 system. You would still have to purchase a co2 cylinder. I got mine from a local welding shop, $80, $17 to have it refilled. With the timer, a tank of co2 lasts around a year.

With this system, your initial investment would be about $225 (really depends on how much a co2 cylinder costs in your area). After that, $15-$20 a year to refill your co2 tank. I've found this to be an affordable way to add supplemental co2 to my tanks.

If you'd still rather not spend that much on co2, a different approach will be needed. If you use all 4 of your lights (10-12 hours per day) with no co2, there is no doubt you will have massive algae problems. The algae can, and will, thrive with that much light and no co2, and the plants will not be able to out-compete the algae for nutrients without the added co2.

So, is your lighting set up so that you can use only 1 or 2 bulbs, or do you have to use all 4? (Sorry, I'm not good with the electrical terminology.) If you can use 1 or 2, you will cut your wpg way down and go for a low-light planted tank. There is still a fairly good selection of plants you can use in the 1-2 wpg lighting range that would not require co2 supplementation. If you can keep your lighting within this range, you can still have a planted tank without (hopefully) the algae problems mentioned earlier.

I hope this has been helpful,

Corvus