CO2 Natural Plant system from Drsfostersmith

[Misskiwi67]

Ok, I'm convinced. If I can keep the CO2 cheap and easy, I'm willing to up the lights and add the CO2 to make my tank better.

Will this nifty little system do the trick??

http/www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod...4+113779+113565

 

[pseud]

What size tank is it?

In a 55 gallon tank I use two DIY CO2 bottles. EASY to make and they cost practically nothing, and do just a good a job as a system like that. The key is not really in what makes te CO2 but what diffuses the gas into the water. A decent airstone that makes lots of very tiny bubbles works great.

 

[LA321]

is that what u use to diffuse the C02? man I should have known it was that simple.....

Yes I use that System (the hagen one) I judge it as a fair item...

 

[Discomafia]

A decent airstone that makes lots of very tiny bubbles works great.

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Using an airstone alone won't do much. You need to give the CO2 more time to diffuse into the water.

From the pinned topic about CO2;

"CO2 is quite unstable in water and it must remain “in contact” with the water for it to fully dissolve. Devices that perform this task are commonly known as diffusers or reactors. There are many types of diffusers available ranging from a simple bell-jar, where the CO2 bubbles simply collect and dissolve over time. A more popular method is a ladder-type device where each bubble travels up through a series of “rungs”, the bubble remains in contact with the water for longer and thus the water absorbs the CO2.

This process is visible as the bubbles get smaller as the diffuse into the water. The Nutrafin diffuser is a good example. Other types include a cylindrical type affair where the bubbles rise up a sort of inverted helter-skelter – the principle is identical. JBL produce such a device. The above diffusers are known as “self-driven” i.e. the CO2 gas is released into the water with no mechanical drive."

 

[zig]

Ok, I'm convinced. If I can keep the CO2 cheap and easy, I'm willing to up the lights and add the CO2 to make my tank better.

Will this nifty little system do the trick??

http/www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod...4+113779+113565

[snapback]925239[/snapback]​

That will work great for your tank, i run these on my own tank and they are very effective, they will come supplied with little premixed satchets which are useless i still have them in the drawer, make up your own mix with sugar, yeast (just ordinary fast action bread yeast is what i use, available in any supermarket) and bicarbonate of soda (not baking soda, you will find the bicarb of soda in your local supermarket as well)

If you get the unit and read gf225s pinned article on carbon dioxide he gives advice on how to make the mix etc.

 

[pseud]

An airstone alone will do much, because it does a lot in my tank. Using two diy co2 bottles and an airstone alone I easily attain 30ppm CO2. My pH is usually at 7, and with the CO2 it drops to 6.5 with a KH of 3.5.

I'm using a very small airstone that creates VERY small bubbles. Because there's ALOT of bubbles, all very small, the combined surface area is very large. It's the surface area in contact with the water where the CO2 dissolves into the water.

 

[Misskiwi67]

The tank is a 10 gallon, so I think that will work ok. Can someone tell me what their mix is??

Also, the kH from the tapwater is ridiculously low, like 1.5, and the GH was 6 in the vet school tank. I'll see about getting the test kit and testing my own tank.

I'm looking at getting a compact fluorescent fixture with a 40W bulb. Will I be able to balance CO2 with light and nutrients if I use eco-complete for substrate? I have essentially no algae at the moment, and I don't want to make things worse by trying to make them better...