i have a 4 foot tank and would like to have it well planted
im thinking of using co2. no prod making it my self but dont know how big i need to go and will it be worth it
A bit of advice, although DIY co2 works, it can be messy and a bit of a hit and miss affair. If you intend going down the planted aquaria road then I would go for pressurised co2 from the start as you will at some point do this anyway.
I'm all for saving money, so DIY CO2 was the way to go for me. It is a little more work in the long run, but I think it's worth the cost you save if you can't afford pressurised. Most of the work is involved in the beginning - building the units, deciding how much to use, placement, how to diffuse it efficiently. It takes a little time and effort. Once you get it sorted the only work you have to do is replacing the mixture. And once you've figured out how much mixture you need and get into a routine, it's not that tricky. I literally spend less than 5 minutes twice a week (mon & thu night) mixing up the liquid and hooking it up. I only check my CO2 levels every couple of days now too.
