Co2 Or Whatever?

[fishboy619]

i have a 15 gallon tank with sand substrate, the sand is newly added to the tank, only a few weeks ago, i have 3 plates, 2 shrimp, 2 ADF's and a betta. the plants i have are starting to go yellowish-browny and are dieing really. i was thinking of adding some sort fo CO2 tablet or that ladder thing i see in other planted tanks, i dont know much about any of these and usally my plants i have are just planted and left to grow, but ive recently bought a a whole load of them and want them to survive, at the monent i have amazon sword and vallis spiralis, java moss and java fern arre growing well.what can i add to make them grow better, that wont effect my fish or shrimps of frogs.im new to the planing business, and i thought i'll get some info of you guys and girls. i only have a heater and filter in my tank, no air stone or whatever.can you recomend any products or brands i should look for, im going into town at the weekend so will have a look then at the fish shop.
cheers all

 

[Dave Spencer]

I am going to assume that you have lights at <2WPG.

Your plants should be OK at low light levels, so I`ll move on to CO2. Your plants will benefit from this, but at low light levels it is not essential.

Fertilisers will help. I dare say any of the main brands will be OK. Your Amazon Swords are heavy root feeders, so think about getting root tablets for these.

By the way, don`t worry about not having an air stone. Pants don`t like them because they drive off any CO2 that is dissolved in the water.

Cheers, Dave.

 

[fishboy619]

i forgot to mension, sorry, i have strong lighting.will any of the fertalizers or tablets effect my water in anyway, such as PH? or will it hurt the shrimps or frogs as these are weaker than the fish?any recomadatiopns on products or brands? im in the UK, can any one please explain the ladder thingy that a lot of planted tanks have? i have no clue what its about, but its useful it seems

 

[Dave Spencer]

How many Watts of lighting do you have?

 

[fishboy619]

erm...not sure, its very bright and has a reflector behind the light.