Help With Co2

[vincentclive]

i've currently got a jewul rio 125 with twin interpet daylight 'bulbs', a sand substrate and live plants. the plants seemed to be doing okay with that and the natural sunlight that i get through my window but i had a bit of an mts problem (i've since cut back on feeding and been removing them manually) but the plants seem to have taken a hit and don't seem to be recovering.

i've decided to spend a bit of money on the aquarium this month and i've pretty much come to the conclusion i'm going to need to replace a few of the plants (50-70% ) but if i'm going to do that i want to give them a better environment. i've seen a lot of threads regarding co2, bubbles, a diffuser and what not but i really am at a loss as to what i need, the initial cost and upkeep cost and most importantly how to implement it...

is any body able to point me in the right direction please?

thanks


edit: oops, just spotted the back to basics bit >.<

 

[aaronnorth]

edit: oops, just spotted the back to basics bit >.<

And take a look at PARC (resource centre) but there may be links in the back to basics.

 

[baron von bubba]

co2 injection will cost 80-100 quid if you put together the kit your self, rather than buy an "off the shelf" set up.
the cheapest way is to use fire extinguishers as your co2 source.
i pay £10 for a 2kg refil (the FE's are around £25 if you shop about) this would last you at least 4 months

 

[vincentclive]

thanks so far for the replies so far guys.

so, i've done a little reading up and i've had to dismiss the DIY co2 injection, i'm in a house with 4 other people, things get knocked, i'm inexperienced and i wouldn't like the inherent dangers at this time all things considered. this leaves me with the liquid carbon, fermentation (specifically the nutrafin DIY setup i've heard about) and store bought co2 injection.

i've pretty much ruled out the nutrafin, almost, it's still something i may go for first anyway but i have my reservations, i have a 125 litre tank, which is a bit bigger than the recommended, don't have a huge deal of extra space around the tank and don't want to lose any more of it to additional cannisters and t-connectors et al so it's one cannister only, i'm concerned this wont do nearly enough of a good job even with the DIY mix and i'm not really digging the extra maintenance required to keep the co2 from fluctuating too much.

meanwhile i don't have a ton of expendable cash, ever, so more expensive store bought Co2 injection kits are also out.

so, what i need to know is nutrafin kit; worth it, even if it's only for experimentation/break me in slowly?
cheaper (£100 or less) store bought (or internet bought) co2 injection; does it exist, if so where?
liquid carbon; effective or not, anything additionally i'd need to be aware of?

 

[llamalord305]

Dont waste your money on buying the kit, DIY and save some money! Plus you can get more than one bottle, which will be beneficial.
Check out these links, they helped me a lot.

http/www.discusnews.com/article/cat-02/diy-co2.shtml

http/www.petfish.net/kb/entry/348/

http/www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_co2.php

http/www.fishforever.co.uk/carbondioxide.html

 

[baron von bubba]

the liquid carbon it is then!
a lot of ppl use this with great results.
look at aqua essentials the do a litre bottle of their own brand for around £20.

using a fire extinguisher really is no different at all to using a shop bought kit however.
the reg still needs screwing on and off in exactly the same manor, in fact it'll need doing less often as the bottles will be a lot bigger.
mine is fixed to the wall with velcro strips, that are screwed to the wall then wrapped around it.

 

[vincentclive]

weeeell i went with DIY fermentation just to get my hand in, picked up some hydrocotyle, hair grass and some other plant that i don't really know the name of (Anacharis i think) as well as a nice big piece of spider wood (that was the name on the sign...) which is floating marvellously in the bath, i'm hoping it will sink before my parents kill me and a smaller piece of bogwood which needed no help sinking to which i attached a bunch of those yet to be names plants to.

the hairgrass has grown about 2 centimetres so i decided to trim it right back today, i want a big carpet of the stuff. out of curiosity how do i trim hydrocotyle? if i cut the stem (and therefore the leaf) away wont that affect it's ability to photosynthesise? i still need to buy some java/willow/xmas moss to tie to my piece of 'spider' wood and a second plant to carpet but i ran out of money before i got to that so that'll have to wait till next month along with some better lighting. i do however have a drop checker and a nicer looking ceramic diffuser (to replace that manky looking bubble ladder) on the way from HK.

i get paid twice in december so i think the second payday will be spent on liquid Co2, i'm liking the plant growth from the fermentation but i want MORE