I Dont Wanna Do C02 But I Want Plants.

[Annaconda]

Can you still have plants without using Co2?? I dont understand it, and I really dont wanna be stressed out by it. But I will get som Seachem Flourish when I get the plants.

Any how I have a 29 gallon tank-platys and swordtails

I wanna add water sprite hornwort ( leave it floating, maybe stick some into the gravel) Java Moss Banana plants.

I want easy plants- and these are all on the easy list.... Which would be better??

 

[Themuleous]

Hell yeh you can! CO2 is by no means vital to plant growth! Keep the lighting relatively low say around 1.3-1.6WPG and get easy plants like swords and stem plants, given them a decent substrate and you can create some lovely scapes without CO2, you wont get the rampant growth you get in high light tanks with added CO2 but can still have healthy green and red plants.

Sam

 

[lljdma06]

Hell yeh you can!

Sam

That was enthusiastic, Sam! And I say, ditto! I have two tanks, no CO2, high bioloads, lots of plants.

Here's a link to some of the easier plants that will do great in the conditions Sam described (1.3-1.6 WPG). For better growth, just stick some rootabs in the gravel, especially for rootfeeders like swords and crypts. Growth is slower, but by no means non-existant.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...p;#entry1382934

Platies and swordtails are great fish for this, as they tend to munch on a little algae. Have fun.

llj

 

[Annaconda]

Thanks, I was hoping I didnt have to do c02, just reading it is over whelming, and I didnt understand what I was reading any how,Was all greek to me!!

What are root tabs??
and the seachems - flourish, do you just add that to the water in the fish tank?

Hell yeh you can!

Sam

That was enthusiastic, Sam! And I say, ditto! I have two tanks, no CO2, high bioloads, lots of plants.

Here's a link to some of the easier plants that will do great in the conditions Sam described (1.3-1.6 WPG). For better growth, just stick some rootabs in the gravel, especially for rootfeeders like swords and crypts. Growth is slower, but by no means non-existant.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...p;#entry1382934

Platies and swordtails are great fish for this, as they tend to munch on a little algae. Have fun.

llj

 

[Sibelius]

Root tabs to my knowledge are tablets that are put beneath plants in the substrate, that gradually give nutrients to the roots of the plants directly. If your fertiliser is liquid, it'll probably just require you to put it in the tank and the plants get to it that way. Read the instructions on the bottle, some suggest that you dilute the concotion first.

 

[Themuleous]

Root tabs are concentrated blocks of fertiliser, that you just push under the plants to provide them with food to grow over several months. Seachem flourish is just added to the tank when needed, probably weekly in your tank. Just follow the instructions on the bottle.

Sam

 

[Griz]

Some low-light (under 1 wpg) plants that I've had success with are: Amazon swords, crypts, java fern and java moss. Go for it!

 

[plantbrain]

If you apprach non CO2 plant tanks with a fully planted tank in mid, it can be done very cheap and with virtually no mainteance, less than other tanks.

Essentially with the types of fish you are interested and given your goal, a non CO2 approach sounds ideal.
While some have given good advice, you need to consider doing a real planted tank here.

It's not complicated, nor should CO2 addition be either.
Folks measure their KH, add enough CO2 to drive the pH down to certain level based on the KH, keep it there during the day, that's it.
It's pretty simple.
If you want to discuss the theory and what not, well..........

But the how is very easy really.
If you a KH reference solution, then it's really easy once you know how to set one of those up.

But you should really look into how to set up proper non CO2 planted tank.
It'll make the tank look nicer and run much easier with far less maintenance in the long run, a very worthwhile and wise investment of your time.

It involved virtually no water changes, maybe once every 6 months.
You need to have a good substrate though and some algae eaters, relatively decent low lighting, 1.5-2w/gal of normal put T12 lighting with a reflector etc and decent but not excessive fish load.

The pay off is a great tank, no water changes and vibrant fish health.
You will spend less in the long run doing things this way also.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[jordan.m]

There is always some useful info on Wikipedia: http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Substrate_%28...ith_live_plants

Enjoy!

 

[thefishycouple]

Co2 like said before is not needed but much better if present.
Check out Red Sea's "DIY" kit.
I personally own it, and it takes a second to set it up.
You change the mix every 30 days or so. Very little maintenance.