Liquid co2

I'm about to take the co2 route in helping my plants, as not having much luck. Yesterday I bought java fern and anubias bartri ( which I've "anchored" to rocks) also a bottle of liquid co2.
I've other plants that have been in there for over a year.
My lighting is a tri-spec which is on for 8hrs (13:00_21:00) balanced at: white 60% red 80% blue 10%. I'm turning air bubbles off during the light and on when off.
Would this be viable, any tips would be appreciated.

Many here frown on using liquid co2. I spilled some on my linoleum floor once and it removed the color. I wouldn't want that in my fish.

Liquid CO2 products usually contain glutaraldehyde - if you google that you'll see it is used for sterilising heat sensitive medical equipment, in embalming fluid etc. I won't let this chemical anywhere near my tanks.

I was going to do it every 2-3 days, dosing 2ml to see how it goes, just to help them. If I could afford pressured and understood the mechanics I'd do that

Glutaraldehyde is OK in plant only tanks - though even a tiny overdose can kill some plants - but I won't risk it near my fish.


Anubias and java fern are slow growing plants which do not need added CO2. You don't mention what the older plants are. Most fish tank tanks are well stocked. The CO2 exhaled by the fish and produced by bacteria in the substrate is enough for all but tanks heavily planted with high-tech plants and only a few fish.

I've got vialis

Essjay said:

Glutaraldehyde is OK in plant only tanks - though even a tiny overdose can kill some plants - but I won't risk it near my fish.


Anubias and java fern are slow growing plants which do not need added CO2. You don't mention what the older plants are. Most fish tank tanks are well stocked. The CO2 exhaled by the fish and produced by bacteria in the substrate is enough for all but tanks heavily planted with high-tech plants and only a few fish.

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Vallis, amazon sword( they haven't grown for atleast 7 months. elodesa ( might of spelt it wrong) the tall ones at the back i can't remember

dutto73 said:

I've got vialis

Vallis, amazon sword( they haven't grown for atleast 7 months. elodesa ( might of spelt it wrong) the tall ones at the back i can't remember

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Agree with what has been said. That tank does not need CO2 and gluteraldehyde is poison. The amazon sword is a heavy root feeder and would benefit from root fertilisation, I use Seachem root tabs for this. 1 Every 2-3 months at the base of the plant. The rest will all feed through their leaves. The best poducts for this in the UK are Seachem flourish comprehensive supplement or TNC Lite (must be lite not the complete). I use whichever of these is available and usually dose at half the recommended dosage.

dutto73 said:

elodesa ( might of spelt it wrong)

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Elodea, or egeria. Americans call it anacharis. That doesn't need CO2.

I don't recognise the tall stem plant though.

seangee said:

Agree with what has been said. That tank does not need CO2 and gluteraldehyde is poison. The amazon sword is a heavy root feeder and would benefit from root fertilisation, I use Seachem root tans for this. 1 Every 2-3 months at the base of the plant. The rest will all feed through their leaves. The best poducts for this in the UK are Seachem flourish comprehensive supplement or TNC Lite (must be lite not the complete). I use whichever of these is available and usually dose at half the recommended

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seangee said:

Agree with what has been said. That tank does not need CO2 and gluteraldehyde is poison. The amazon sword is a heavy root feeder and would benefit from root fertilisation, I use Seachem root tabs for this. 1 Every 2-3 months at the base of the plant. The rest will all feed through their leaves. The best poducts for this in the UK are Seachem flourish comprehensive supplement or TNC Lite (must be lite not the complete). I use whichever of these is available and usually dose at half the recommended dosage.

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I could benefit increasing light intensity be don't want to cause an algae growth ?

dutto73 said:

I could benefit increasing light intensity be don't want to cause an algae growth ?

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Its a balancing act. Too much light + not enough nutrients = algae. Too many nutrients + not enough light = algae.
If you don't have algae today I would suggest changing one thing at a time so you can assess the impact and revert if it does not have the desired effect. I would start with root tabs and liquid ferts and leave the lighting as is. None of the plants you mentioned need high light.

seangee said:

Its a balancing act. Too much light + not enough nutrients = algae. Too many nutrients + not enough light = algae.
If you don't have algae today I would suggest changing one thing at a time so you can assess the impact and revert if it does not have the desired effect. I would start with root tabs and liquid ferts and leave the lighting as is. None of the plants

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seangee said:

Its a balancing act. Too much light + not enough nutrients = algae. Too many nutrients + not enough light = algae.
If you don't have algae today I would suggest changing one thing at a time so you can assess the impact and revert if it does not have the desired effect. I would start with root tabs and liquid ferts and leave the lighting as is. None of the plants you mentioned need high light.

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I did have excessive BHA about 3 yrs ago, so ripped everything out, done WC every 3 days, changed the duration of light to 4 hrs. With the algae not coming back I got the "new plants" about 14 months ago the vallis started growing new shoots then died off and the shoots haven't grown

Don't add CO2, it will be wasted on the plants. As mentioned, Java Fern and Anubias don't need supplemental CO2.

Increase the lighting period and fertiliser for better plant growth.

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LIGHTING TIMES
Most aquarium plants like a bit of light and if you only have the light on for a couple of hours a day, they struggle. If the light doesn't have a high enough wattage they also struggle. Try having the tank lights on for 10-12 hours a day.

If you get lots of green algae then reduce the light by an hour a day and monitor the algae over the next 2 weeks.
If you don't get any green algae on the glass then increase the lighting period by an hour and monitor it.
If you get a small amount of algae then the lighting time is about right.

Some plants will close their leaves up when they have had sufficient light. Ambulia, Hygrophilas and a few others close their top set of leaves first, then the next set and so on down the stem. When you see this happening, wait an hour after the leaves have closed up against the stem and then turn lights off.

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LIST OF PLANTS TO TRY
Some good plants to try include Ambulia, Hygrophila polysperma, H. ruba/ rubra, Elodia (during summer, but don't buy it in winter because it falls apart), Hydrilla, common Amazon sword plant, narrow or twisted/ spiral Vallis, Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides/ cornuta).
The Water Sprite normally floats on the surface but can also be planted in the substrate. The other plants should be planted in the gravel.

Ambulia, H. polysperma, Elodia/ Hydrilla and Vallis are tall plants that do well along the back. Rotala macranda is a medium/ tallish red plant that usually does well.

H. ruba/ rubra is a medium height plant that looks good on the sides of the tank.

Cryptocorynes are small/ medium plants that are taller than pygmy chain swords but shorter than H. rubra. They also come in a range of colours, mostly different shades of green, brown or purplish red.

Most Amazon sword plants can get pretty big and are usually kept in the middle of the tank as a show piece. There is an Ozelot sword plant that has brown spots on green leaves, and a red ruffle sword plant (name may vary depending on where you live) with deep red leaves.

There is a pygmy chain sword plant that is small and does well in the front of the tank.

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IRON BASED PLANT FERTILISER
If you add an iron based aquarium plant fertiliser, it will help most aquarium plants do well. The liquid iron based aquarium plant fertilisers tend to be better than the tablet forms, although you can push the tablets under the roots of plants and that works well.

You use an iron (Fe) test kit to monitor iron levels and keep them at 1mg/l (1ppm).

I used Sera Florena liquid plant fertiliser but there are other brands too.

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CARBON DIOXIDE (CO2)
There is no point adding carbon dioxide (CO2) until you have the lights and nutrients worked out. Even then you don't need CO2 unless the tank is full of plants and only has a few small fish in.

There is plenty of CO2 in the average aquarium and it is produced by the fish and filter bacteria all day, every day. The plants also release CO2 at night when it is dark. And more CO2 gets into the tank from the atmosphere.

Don't use liquid CO2 supplements because they are made from toxic substances that harm fish, shrimp and snails.

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TURNING LIGHTS ON AND OFF
Stress from tank lights coming on when the room is dark can be an issue. Fish don't have eyelids and don't tolerate going from complete dark to bright light (or vice versa) instantly.

In the morning open the curtains or turn the room light on at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the tank light on. This will reduce the stress on the fish and they won't go from a dark tank to a bright tank instantly.

At night turn the room light on and then turn the tank light off. Wait at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the room light out. This allows the fish to settle down for the night instead of going from a brightly lit tank to complete darkness instantly.

Try to have the lights on at the same time each day.

I've got the fertiliser; it's easy life root sticks and these are my light setting

Increase the blue portion of light. Plants need equal amounts of red and blue light.

Increase the duration of light. Have the timer come on a few hours earlier and go off at the same time as it normally does. Plants can have up to 16 hours of light per day but need 8 hours of rest.

Essjay said:

Elodea, or egeria. Americans call it anacharis. That doesn't need CO2.

I don't recognise the tall stem plant though.

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Alll plants need CO2 to grow. Including Anacharis. However Anacharis is classified by biologist as a C4 plant. C4 plants can do very well with very low levels of CO2 in the water. Most other plants are C3 and need higher levels of CO2 to do well

Essjay said:

Glutaraldehyde is OK in plant only tanks - though even a tiny overdose can kill some plants - but I won't risk it near my fish.

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Many plants can uses Glutearadehyde (an organic molecule ) and other organic molecules as a substitute source of carbon when CO2 supply is limiteed. However Glutearadehyde can also damage some plants including Anacharis.

The plants on the left side of the tank many of the lower leaves are missing. I suspect they died and were removed. Although it is hard to tell iw th all the Anacaris I suspent the new leaves look healthy. Loosing old leaves is often caused by a mobil nutrient deficiency. Mobil nutrients are nutrients that the plant can strip from old leaves and move them to support new growth. That means you tank is deficient in one or more of the following essential nutrients, Nitrogen, potassium, magnesium, phosphate, molybdenum chloride (chloride salts not chlorine gas which is toxic).

dutto73 said:

Vallis, amazon sword( they haven't grown for atleast 7 months.

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Slow or no growth for months is a sure sign of a nutrient deficiency Deficiencies are the primary reason people have difficulty with aquatic plants. People tend to overestimate the improtance of CO2 and light. Check your nitrate reading you don't want zero nitrates, try to keep you nitrates between 1 and 5ppm. Also check your GH. The gh test tests for the pressence of calcium and mangnesium. plants need both of these and if your water if very soft you might need to add little bit of a GH booster to insure you have enough of both. Also do a water change once a week to help insure your nutrient levels in the water are stable. Water changes are good for plants.

dutto73 said:

I'm turning air bubbles off during the light and on when off.

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You want CO2 in your Water. you are better off leaving the air on 24 hours a day and maximizing surface agitation of the water to get as much CO2 as you can go mix with your water. It also helps stabilize oxygen levels.

All other essential nutrients plants need to grow are not mobil and those are Calcium, sulfur, iron, manganese, boron, zinc, copper, and molybdenum., and nickel. Tap water typically supplies enough calcium, chloride, copper molybdenum, and nickel. but that is not always the case .So preferably you want to buy a fertilizer that supplies as many of nutrients as possable.