When Is Co2 Needed?

[Fish_Newb]

I have recently disposed of some plants as they were pretty much dead. My Amazon Sword seems to be doing fine.

I have some Java Moss and Cabomba on order. The moss will be used to create a blanket and a kind of slope upto a 'Rocky Mountain' pile... (All up there I assure you

It is only a 25l tank. I was intending to home a betta but after spending some time over at UKAPS, I think a nice scaped tank with some shrimp and a very small shoal will be much more intriguing...

The substrate is just plain, general white gravel, about 3-5mm in size.
WPG is 1.21.

What do I need to ensure they dont all die straight away?
Also, I am currently beginning a Fishless cycle. What effect will this have on the plants?
I have also just begun to using King British Aquatic Plant food as that is all my LFS had... is it sufficient?

Sorry for all the questions

 

[lljdma06]

No problem.

In your case, CO2 is optional. For little tanks, such as yours, however, I personally like it. It is very easy to setup a DIY fermentation CO2 system and get pretty stable results. It is inexpensive, and you'll get good growth.

You are fine with your lighting, IMO. What you plan to grow doesn't demand much. I have had trouble with cabomba, but my water tends to be hard.

The amazon sword may get too large an invasive for your tank. A cryptocoryne might give the same effect and be a bit smaller. There are smaller swords, but I have no idea what you have without a picture.

I personally use, though I'm in the US, TPN+. I have it delivered and love its simplicity. It doses what you need; macro and micro-nutrients. It is cost effective, IMO for smaller tanks.

For me, CO2 is more important that WPG and all that jazz. If you don't opt for it, know that you will have to grow plants that do not especially need it (anubias, crypts, mosses, java fern, swords, vallis). If you do opt for it, even a simple setup, you will be able to grow more different types of plants and the hardy plants will grow faster without increasing your lighting. The lighting isn't the important thing. Treat lighting as more of a limiting factor that will determine how you proceed with the rest of your setup. How much lighting will determin how your plants will use CO2 and nutrients. The more lighting you have, the more CO2 and nutrients they will need. The less, well then, you can guess. It doesn't mean that a lower-light tank won't appreciate the addition of CO2 and ferts.

Shrimps love moss.

You'll eventually redo your substrate. You'll be able to grow plants fine with the gravel, but it's an aesthetic thing. I'm currently on my "I love sand" phase. If you dose through the watercolumn, however, you'll be absolutely fine without a nutrient-rich substrate, so save the money.

Take a look at PARC, it is a small little collection of links that will help you with your setup. Pay close attention to the first two articles.

You will not, if you go well-planted, need to bother with a fishless cycle. It is explained in the second article. I have not personally cycled a tank in a number of years. You go planted, it is taken care of.

I hope this helps you a little bit. Keep us posted with your updates and consider establishing a journal here, so we can keep track of your progress. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask here or contact me.

lljdma06

 

[Fish_Newb]

Thank you for the detailed response; really cleared a lot up. I'll definitely be setting up a Journal in the next couple of days.

I think I'll stick to 'hardy' plants. That way I can concentrate on scaping etc without getting too complicated; Co2 will however be used in my next project (I am finding this rather addictive)

Thanks again,