Cheap Co2 Kit System?

[cooledwhip]

I want to try using CO2 on my planted tank. I currently have these plants:
 
Peacock Fern
Staurogyne Repens
Bacopa
Temple Compacta
Anubias Nana
Windelov Java Fern
 
Plus a large lip algae eater
 
I've had the Windelov, Anubias, Temple and Bacopa for about a week and they haven't really grown, some greyish white film has grown on the leaves and on the Bacopa, all the leaves have fallen off and all that is left is some green stalks. I want to try CO2 because I have no sunlight and the only light I have is a LED light.
 
I am looking into getting the Fluval mini pressurized 20g Co2 system. I have a 20 gallon btw so I'm hoping it will work with that.
Does anyone have any recommendations or thoughts on this? Any reviews on the Fluval?
 
I am excited to try this in hopes that my plants will grow large because they aren't really growing at all.
 
 

 

[Munroco]

Co2 may be great for some plants, but for Bacopa, Anubias, Java fern, it isn't needed. What is needed is patience. You have had a tank for a week, and your plants haven't taken over the tank, what did you expect?
 
Having no sunlight is a positive, not a negative, tanks that are in direct sunlight will most likely suffer from algae.
 
I would forget about the co2 system for now and start learning to have some patience. Your plants haven't even had time to root. The one thing I would say that might hold them back in the future is the lighting. Plants rely on light to flourish, and as you haven't said what your lighting is (apart from saying its LED) then its hard to say whether or not its adequate.
 
You need to learn to walk before you can run.

 

[cooledwhip]

Thanks. I thought a week would be enough but I guess not. I already bought the Co2 system but I'll use it anyway for the other plants. I have a 30 inch LED light its a big light.

 

[Munroco]

I'm no expert on lighting, but I know that its the wattage that counts. A 30" LED will probably deliver quite a high wattage

 

[dgwebster]

Wattage only advises of the power consumption, for which incandescent, fluorescent and LED have different efficiency at converting it into light over other types of energy (e.g. heat, noise (yup, they all make noise to some degree) and so on.
 
What actually matters is the spectrum covered for your specific plants & ultimately, the lumens. the wattage is a nice n easy gauge to use but for LED can be very misleading - 1W can easily provide around 200 lumens depending on the LED(s) itself.
 
That said, there are THOUSANDS of different types of LED's and this makes a big difference. If you LED is manufacturer made, please provide make & model details, if it is home made, try to find out what LED's its using e.g. 5050 SMD & the colour details (this could be much harder to do.)

 

[jag51186]

I would argue that PAR is even more important than Lumens, but it's all relative 

.
 
Are you using any fertilizers for your plants?? You've started into a very complicated aspect of the aquarium hobby (depending on how you look at it) and it sounds like you haven't done much research. Also, just because it is relevant to plants, what is the GH of your water?

 

[cooledwhip]

Idk anything of that. I just have a co2 rig and pump co2 into my tank lol