CO2 is it really needed?

[DOLORES]

well, most of you, knows that im going to live plants on my 29 gal and as i didnt buy them yet... is it reaaally necessary the co2?


i have anythin in the tank xpt (except) for the filter (emperor 280) heater (visi-term deluxe, from marineland 100w) and a a replica decor, its a guy , those from the island... i dunno how is it call in english , oh and almost forgot, water , that i need to pour more right now, still not being de-chlorinated cuz i've ran out from stress coat. buyin more 2morro , AND so thitian moon sand too from carib sea. about 15 or 20 lbs.

but the question is above, just put that to let you know

thnx for time and patience

edited : added a pic and if ur wondering what kind of plants i'll get heres a list

anubias nana
petite nana
anacharis
brazilian penny wort
water sprite
asian ambulia
java moss
dwarf sagittaria


my brother wants to steal that guyyy frooom me!!!!! (the one in the tank)

 

[Doggfather]

I don't know much about plants myself...

but i don't think the CO2 is really needed, as long as you can provide the right amounts of light, but if you do need it, theres no need to buy an expsnsive unit a good DIY job should be enough

hope that helped a little bit

 

[DOLORES]

hope that helped a little bit

it did! i was thinkin on that a while ago

and another pc of my super man! (sorry for the glow)

 

[dyclops]

i can't see any styrene under your tank. be careful.
Mitch

 

[DOLORES]

i can't see any styrene under your tank. be careful.
Mitch

styrene?.... if you meant gravel/sand im buyin it when the petsmart opens like 11 i guess and the ammonia too and some more decorations! im buyin a tahitian moon sand....



otherwise what styrene means?

thnx

 

[Bol]

By styrene, I think dyclops means polystyrene, or 'styrofoam'. Many people place a sheet under their tanks to help keep them level. edit: for what it's worth, I've never used it, and my tanks are fine. Also, if you do decide to use it, personally I'd recommend only using strips around the edges -- the tank bottom is raised for a reason, it's not supposed to be supported directly underneath.

And, for a short (but not always accurate) answer about the CO2, the generally accepted 'rule of thumb' is that if you have less than 2 watts per gallon of fluorescent light over your tank, you probably don't need to inject CO2 (some will say it's 1.5 wpg).

Adding CO2 if your light level is below that will probably help some, but opinions differ about whether the improvement would be noticeable enough to be worth the effort.

 

[JeremyD]

What will you be using for lighting? We really need to know that to tell you if you're gonna need c02 injection.

But, the plants you listed for the most part are medium-low light and fairly hardy. IMO 2 wpg and no c02 would be ideal for most of them.

 

[DOLORES]

aww thnx bol for the translation and your opinion, and jeremyd for your opinion , and u saved me a question thnx guys!

about the light i didnt get till i i'd get sure of what "wpg" would need the plants, so im pretty much gettin it today i guess i'll be using fluorescent strip lights

 

[Doggfather]

I use styrofoam on every tank i have, it's evenly distributes the weights of the tank so the pressure of the water dosn't build up in one spot

You don't have to use it, but it's a lot safer if you do and on the plus side, it's extremly cheap, only $1.50 here

Good luck with the tank

 

[sinistral]

I'll be interested in what kind of lighting you'll end up getting for the 29g. A brief word of caution about anacharis: I've never had any luck with it. Invariably I'd get a few stalks and it would turn into mush and disintegrate. More recently a guy at my LFS told me that anacharis is really more of a coolwater plant and doesn't do well at temps in the high 70's/low 80's.

 

[DOLORES]

thnx! thnx doggy for wishing me luck, im wishin mah self luck with it i just pour the sand, is a lil bit cloudy tho, but its going away fast , either way its not cloudy , is just that its not clear like crystal like it was b4 but is normal.

and sinistral thnk u too for lettin me kno some facts about the anacharis and i guess 2 wpg, so..29 by 2 equals 58, so i guess ill be using somethin close to 58w

and flourescent

 

[konrad05]

Just wanted to let you know, if you want 2 wpg. The only combination is using 3 24" bulbs for your canopy, that gives you 20watts x 3=60 watts. That's unless, you put in a compact fluorescent (which are expensive). Don't know if there's a 30" tri-bulb strip so if you have the skills, build your own! Good luck and HTH.

 

[fish_r_great]

The thitan moon sand clouds up your water> I washed mine 4-5 times and my tank was still cloudy, but it went away after a day.

As for a light there are 55 and 65 watt compact flourescents which are about $80+ for one of those. that is what I have along with a normal compact flourescent.

Good Luck

 

[DOLORES]

mm yeah i did notice that about the lovely sand grrrr! it was crystaaaaal water! but oh well i'll do a 25% water change tomorro also he ligths im gettin a glass top and a double striped lights if im not wrong i saw a 3 strips on big als.... i dunno i think im wrong.

thnx anyway it did helped

 

[DOLORES]

but i'll come up with something you'll c