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Need help choosing a CO2 system

2K views 18 replies 7 participants last post by  Firefly01 
#1 ·
Hello, I have had fish tanks for about 15 years but only recently tried to foray into the planted aquarium. I'm having a lot of difficulty getting a healthy planted tank going so I could use some advice! I started with half a dozen plants and a home-made yeast reactor which worked pretty well, so I moved up to a carbo-plus unit along with 5 or 6 sword plants, a few wrendii, 3 banana plants, and a couple others whose names I now forget. I can tell the carbo-plus unit doesn't provide even a quarter the CO2 these guys need because the only plants that grow at all are the ones immediately surrounding the unit, and the tank is completely overtaken by green hair algea, and of course worst of all, the plants are not healthy. So, I want to get a CO2 system - however in trying to research what I should get, I find it so confusing that I'm afraid I'll easily waste hundreds of dollars before I get it right.

Hoping to avoid wasting any money-here I am. I don't really have a spending limit, as long as I get a good value. I'm looking for a fully automatic system that will be as maintenance free as possible.

What I have now: The tank is a 92 gallon bow front with a canister filter. The substrate is Seachem Flourite about 3 to 3.5 inches deep. Outside of the plants mentioned above (which have all somehow managed to stay alive), I also have 3 clown loaches about 3 inches long each, a 3-inch koolie loach, another loach of some type which is about 5 inches, 2 corydoras about 1.5 inches each, a 1-inch bumblebee fish, 2 chinese algea eaters, a 6-inch plecostamous, 2 2-inch columbian (blue/red) tetras, 3 2-inch rams whose name escapes me at the moment, 5 3/4-inch rasboras, and 8 1.5-inch cardinal tetras. I have a UV sterlizer and a 4-bulb light on top so more than enough lighting (only using two bulbs at the moment to keep the algea under control). I keep the water at roughly 6.5 PH which is a compromise between the 7.0 the plants want and the 6.0 the discus want that I would get if I could ever get the tank healthy. The water is pretty soft as it comes out of the tap, and I keep it at about 78 degrees. I also fertilize once a week with micro nutrients (which doesn't seem to have any affect either on the algea or the plants).

So the question is-what's the best low maintenance CO2 system I could get for the money, and are there any other suggestions for my setup that would increase my chances of success with my plants?

Thanks for your help!
 
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#6 ·
Welcome to the forum Firefly01.

Your algae issues may be more then just CO2.
-You say you have 4 bulbs, what are they? (watts/spectrum)

Also after reading the plant list you are really going to be in for a battle getting rid of your algae. Its a big tank with all substrate feeding plants. The micro's are only feeding the algae right now. Get yourself a bunch of fast growing type stem plants and the algae will go away by itself before you know it.
CO2 will definaely help you but it may not be the cure-all you seek.
 
#8 ·
Thanks for the suggestions to take a look at Rex Grigg's guide. I've read through some and it really is very clearly written (and amusing too!).

I tried a couple of Water Wisteria with my initial set of plants and it actually was overcome by the algea pretty quickly (within a couple of months) and died. I also had a lot of Myrio in the tank for a few months that grew OK around the Carbo-Plus, but it was so covered in algea that I pulled it out about a month ago (I've been struggling with my planted tank since about June).

The lighting is 2 54W Daylight and 2 54W Actinic lamps (total 216 watts), but like I said I've only been using two of the four bulbs (one daylight and one actinic) in an effort to keep the algea under control.

Any ideas what's causing my problems beyond lack of CO2? I'll stop the micro feeding for now (it doesn't seem to help the plants right now anyway). What other plants can I try to get rid of this algea?
 
#9 ·
Get yourself a bunch of hygro poly stems, they are the best plant I have ever used to balance out an algae problem and they look great too !
Dump the actinic bulbs, light up the two daylights, stick a fert tab under each of the swords, crypts and banana's and they will thank you for it.

CO2 is not your problem.
You dont have enough light to demand it, would it help? It never hurts but your issues are other then that.

Some other things to consider...
How often do you do a water change? (You have quite a bio-load)
How long are you leaving your lights on?
What do you have for filters and are your filters clean?
Do you have good water circulation?
 
#10 ·
I tell you what there Mr Firefly...you caught me in a good mood and you posted your area (NH...hop,skip and a jump from CT ) and it is near trimming time. If you promise to get a picture of your tank for this thread , I will send you some stems of Hygro this week absolutely free to see if we can get you straightened out !

PM me your name and a mailing address and I will ship you out some early this week on me. :biggrin:
 
#11 ·
Hi Buck,

I would love some free hygro stems - thank you SO much!! I'll definitely post a photo of my tank though it won't be until mid to late this week (family in town at the moment).

I confess, I do not do water changes as often as I should. Probably I average about 20% every other week. The lights are on for 12 hours a day on a timer. My filter is an Eheim canister which I cleaned a few months ago but I can tell it needs another cleaning already (on my to-do list after the family goes home) Water circulation I struggle with - there is a lot of "gunk" in the water which I am assuming is dead plant and algea matter, which gums up my powerhead within a few days, so even though I clean it out a couple times a week, it's still pretty useless. That's another reason I pulled out the Myrio-because I suspected it was the leading contributor to the "gunk."


What type of fertilizer tab do you recommend I use?

Thanks again for your help!
 
#12 ·
Oh man we gotta get you on a better maintenace program!

You should be changing about 40-50% of the water each week, especially with your list of fish.

If you have as much "gunk" floating around you should be cleaning your filter out more often as well. I try to get mine done every 8 weeks or so but if I have been messing around in the tank then it gets done sooner. Good flow through your filter will help your woes.

Cut your lighting down to 10 hours , 12 hrs. isnt helping your plants, its helping the algae right now.

Between those few little things I have mentioned you should see a huge decline in your algae alone. Once you get a better supply of fresh water in the tank, your plants will grow better as well which will help fend off any algae.
How do you do your water changes? Im assuming that if you have a lot of loose plant debris and "gunk" in the tank and are only changing 20% every two weeks then I am assuming it is a hassle and you are changing water with a bucket and a small hose or something.
If you dont have a python or similar type water changing hose...GET ONE ! That will be money better spent to beat your algae then a CO2 set-up right now.
Plants/Fish need fresh water. Algae dont...

I got your addy, I will send you some hygro stems out to you probably Wednesday and you should have them by Friday/Saturday. No worries about the freeze, I will wrap them good.

Now go do a water change... !! :hihi:
 
#13 ·
Wow, thanks for the suggestions! I have a setup similar to the python but the part I was missing was the faucet water pump, so yes I was doing a version of the bucket brigade. I'll get a faucet water pump right away-that will totally solve the problem!

But for return water I'm still stuck with buckets-the water comes out of the faucet at about 7.5 PH which is way too high for the 6.5 I try to maintain, so I use a bucket to adjust the PH before adding the water to the tank. (Once I adjust it, it doesn't fluctuate much in the tank so I'm lucky there.) I do run it through a water filter on its way into the bucket. Do you have any suggestions for how to make this part of the water changing process easier? Can I add the water and adjust the PH in the tank? I am concerned that having the PH fluctuating like this would stress the fish.

Here's another question for you - I had an undergravel filter before changing to the eheim canister and flourite substrate. Since changing the substrate I have no idea how to clean it or even if I should, so I've been erring on the side of caution and pretty much leaving at alone. Should I be doing anything differently?

Thanks again for all your help! I was getting pretty frustrated with the whole thing because I couldn't get rid of the algea but now I'm excited to put your suggestions in place so I can get my tank cleaned up finally! (And it's a lot cheaper than a CO2 setup!) :D
 
#15 ·
Do you have any suggestions for how to make this part of the water changing process easier? Can I add the water and adjust the PH in the tank? I am concerned that having the PH fluctuating like this would stress the fish.
You have a 92 gallon tank, start by doing weekly 20-25 gallon water changes and keep an eye on your fish and PH...if it all looks good then increase the water change to 30-35 gallons. A ph of 7.5 out of the tap aint bad at all.
Ideally a 40-50% water change is what you want for your tank. Estimate the "actual" water volume of the tank and remember that stone and wood displace water as well as the substrate too. I would bet my 75G tank only has 50 gallons in it ! Your fish and plants will get better benefit from the fresh water, then they will from "your" idea of a perfect ph for "them"..

In other words , get the adaptor so your faucet is ready to direct fill your tank and dump the buckets ! Also, I do not use the sink to drain my tanks, I just throw the hose out the door and let it drain. During the summer I use it to water the flowers, in the winter it just makes ice...LOL
I only use the sink connection to fill the tank back up with.
Here's another question for you - I had an undergravel filter before changing to the eheim canister and flourite substrate. Since changing the substrate I have no idea how to clean it or even if I should.
Please tell me the plate is not still under the substrate? :icon_eek:

Hey I gotta go right now but I wanted to tell you that your hygro is all boxed up and on its way tomorrow morning, you should have it thursday/friday. :proud:
 
#16 ·
LOL no the plate is not still under the substrate! It's gathering dust in the basement, right where it belongs! :D

The idea behind the PH of 6.5 is that someday (in the glorious future when I won't be too busy - haha) I'd like to try breeding discus again. Before I moved to NH I had two pairs and had a few hatches-never got past the first few days but I'd sure like to try again. They wouldn't breed at all in the higher PH water-but then I guess at the same time, I could always worry about the PH when I'm actually trying to breed, as opposed to now when I don't even have any discus yet...

Thanks again for the hygro! I'll be looking for it!
 
#17 ·
My wife mailed out your plants this morning.Your best bet right now is to get the hygro planted and get in the habit of regular, larger water changes.

If you ever decide to add CO2 your ph will lower anyways. That is one of the side effects from "good" CO2 addition.

As far as cleaning the substrate, I rarely do it. I will normally just hover the python over top of the sub and just stir up the top 1/4" or so to collect loose debris as I am draining some water.

Marty when you get the plants you will see that there are a few stems in the package that have a new stem growing from each of the leaf nodes. After the plants settle in and the stems grow a bit, you can take scissors and seperate them all to start new plants.

Last suggestion...do some research here on EI fertilizing, as the hygro grows you will need to feed them and micros alone wont keep them happy.

Enjoy the plants and dont forget...you owe me a picture here some day soon when you are algae free ! :)
 
#19 ·
Hi there,
I'm happy to report the hygro arrived in fabulous condition and seems to like my tank as I am seeing new growth. It's getting a bit of brown hair algea (is that an actual kind of algea? Looks like green hair, except it's brown, and a little "kinkier"), which I have not seen in my tank before (maybe the brown stuff likes the change from actinic to daylight lamps?) but so far it's not too invasive. Time will tell how the hygro affects the algea overall!
 
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