Co2 And Lights?

[col748]

I went to shop today to buy a yeast based CO2 kit after reading on here people seem to get good results.

The bloke in the shop put me of saying i should get a pressurised kit?

What do people think about this?

I don't want a mega planted tank just want my plants to grow they just seem to fall apart/rot away it looks a mess and cost alot to keep replacing plants.

Also i run my lights 5 hours on 2 of 5 on as its says on the sticky thread here....what do people think is this the correct way?

I have four T8 tubes on a 180 litre 3 foot tank with tube reflectors.

I use a cap of JBL liquid fertilizer a week is this right (does carbon in filter just take it out?).

Thanks guys any help gratefully recieved.

 

[aaronnorth]

what wattage are your tubes?

what plants have you got, some have different requirments (nutritious substrate/ dim/ bright lighting etc). also tell us you water parameters (ph, nitrite, nitrate, ammonia and possibly co2, there is a calculator for working this out on practical fishkeeping website,)

i have nutrafin yeast kit, works great, only difference is on a pressurized you can control the amount of co2 being let out and on some you can switch off at night with a solenoid

it depends on the instructions on your fertiliser bottle, all manafacturers are different.

 

[SuperColey1]

The bloke in the shop put me of saying i should get a pressurised kit?

He is right everyone should. But it is not necessary if you aren't going too high tec and aren't over 2WPG

Also i run my lights 5 hours on 2 of 5 on as its says on the sticky thread here....what do people think is this the correct way?

With a yeast kit this often works as it lets some CO2 'reload' into the water during the 'siesta'. this is especially valid for your tank seeing as it should have at least 3 nutrafins on it (now you are getting close to half the price of pressurised!!!!)

I have four T8 tubes on a 180 litre 3 foot tank with tube reflectors.

As per previous poster. wattages?

I use a cap of JBL liquid fertilizer a week is this right (does carbon in filter just take it out?).

Remove the carbon and never use it again (even in a non planted tank) It only has a short working life (maybe as short as 48 hours) so is a waste of money. Keep some in your cabinet and only use to remove medicines. If the JBL fert says 1 cap a wekk then yes should be right.

Andy

 

[col748]

Tubes are 30w running on juwel starter pack jobbies built into the hood, two are fairly old so i will replace them soon.

Temp is 27

Nitrate is 10

PH 6.8

 

[aaronnorth]

You have 3wpg so you would be better off with a pressurized unless you purchase multiple units and connect them via a t peice.
If you just run 3 tubes then you would have 2wpg which would be better for fermentation kits.

This high light without co2 would be the reason for the rotting

 

[col748]

looks like i'd better get the pennies out for CO2 kit then

 

[col748]

Can anyone recommend a pressurised kit for 180l tank, how many bubbles would I want a minute? I wouldn't want fully automated one.

 

[col748]

Had a look around the net was thinking either of these

http/www.swelluk.com/aquarium/aquarium-c...let-kit-84.html

or

http/www.swelluk.com/aquarium/aquarium-c...asy-2-6558.html

the second one is cheaper and shut valve for night what people think?

 

[SuperColey1]

I would suggest getting your hose, solenoid and needle valve from Aquarianversand on ebay:

Link to Aquarianversand Solenoid

Link to Aquarianversand Needle Valve

Then the second item down on this page is a disposable regulator which will fit all makes of disposable bottles.
WELD UK Regulator

Finally these bottles are cheaper than the JBL ones and have more content (3 bottles for £29
Link to disposable CO2 cannisters

This is a disposable bottle setup. If you want to use refillable fire extinguishers then you can either buy an adaptor or buy a regulator for refillable cylinders (disposable cannisters can be adpted to use refillable. I am not sure if there are adaptors for refillables to use disposable)

If you do want to go the fire extinguisher route rather than disposables then there is a link somewhere on here to a plcae that sells fire extinguishers and there are many many threads on the subject. Look for a post by Themuleous and in his sig you should find the link.

This is the kit after this all you need is a method of diffusion. inside the tank - glass/ceramic. Outside the tank CO2 inline reactor.

Then you should buy a drop checker, bubble counter and Non return valve.

So the next question is:
What do you want aesthetically on the diffusor? The glass ceramic gear is quite nice and can be found cheaply. It will be in view all the time within the tank. The external reactors are out of the tank so is not visible.

Drop checkers - These are in view most of the time so are you bothered about the aesthetics or just want something that works.

Bubble counter - These can be in view or not. There are glass ones available that look quite nice or you can just get cheap plastic ones and hide them behind the tank/inside cabinet.

I will post some links to show what I mean.

As a guide anything over 2WPG and you need CO2 to keep an algae free tank. The cheaper option is to halve your lighting so just use 2 tubes (1.5WPG) in which case you can get away with either a couple of nutrafins or possibly no CO2 at all.

A lot of us use CO2 whatever even at 1WPG!!! as its easier to keep algae at bay.

Andy

 

[SuperColey1]

This link is for 2 glass ceramic diffusors on ebay which means that you can have 1 in the tank and either keep a spare or swap them over whilst cleaning each week. These should be suitable for your size tank.
Cheap glass diffusors

Cheap bubble counter

Glass drop checker

[URL="http/"http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/Gamba-XII-Japanese-Co2-bubble-counter_W0QQitemZ250111833869QQihZ015QQcategoryZ66794QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem""]Glass bubble counter and glass Non Return Valve[/URL]

Rhinox 2000 glass/ceramic diffusor

4dKH solution for drop checker (dont use the one supplied with a drop checker)

Struggling to find an external reactor.

I use a Rhinox 2000 with the Gamba glass NRV/Bubble counter set and a glass drop checker.

As for bubble rate this is different for different equipment. 1 unit may have smaller bubbles than another therefore my 1bps may be 3 bps to you!!! Also plant uptake will mean you need to increase or decrease accordingly then leave it at that rate. don't turn it up and down every day. Get it right and balanced and leave it.

Andy

 

[col748]

Wow thanks for great posts very helpful

 

[col748]

Sorry i'm new to this and finding it a little hard to work the bits i need seperatly.

I had a shop brought kit in an old tank i had like the one in the first link i posted, it had a plastic diffusor like a helter skelter that i had to put a power head onto.

Do those glass diffusors you've posted take up the job of the one i'm on about and do they need a power head?

That ebay shop sells a full kit is it any good? Here is a link

http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/CO2-Complete-System-...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[SuperColey1]

That kit is a recommended one by many on here and i said to be very good. You will need fire extinguishers once that cannister is empty as most refillers wont refill it. (Not their brand, wrong colour etc.) Look for a post by Sam and check out his fire extinguisher link

Most people who buy this kit buy a different diffusor. What you are talking about from your old kit is an internal reactor.
ceramic diffusors are 'alleged' to be better for plants as they let the bubbles stay in the water and get caught under the plants leaves. It does take the place of the reactor you are talking about. It doesn't need a power head. It just goes into the tank on the end of the hose and you position it and your inlet outlet to make sure the bubbles get blown around the tank.

Oh and click on the link in my sig and join UKAPS. Much more plant info on there (same people as here as this is where most of us started)

Andy

 

[col748]

Will do thanks again.