[pageerror404]

Someone on another forum told me that its a bad idea because it will make the plants too big... but this doesn't seem like a bad thing. The fish tank is new but the plants are by far my favorite thing about it. The fish are just there because other people like them, the plants make it look beautiful.

I want the plants to be as healthy and attractive as possible, I don't care about the amount of maintenance involved.

Right now I have really basic plants, swords, anubias, java moss etc... but that's when I wanted something low maintenance. After I put the plants in there, and noticed how good they look, I decided I wanted to do more.

 

[wetworks]

You can put a CO2 system on pretty much any size tank as long as you have the lighting and ferts at a roughly equivalent level. The plants you list can and will do just fine in a low light no CO2 system, so in your case the CO2 may be unnecessary. If your plants are doing well, it might be better to leave it alone.

 

[Sparky007]

I love your description of your tanks, and I feel the same way about them, the plants are what make them amazing. I put a few fish in cause I thought they would like it, and because people think it so odd to have a fish tank with no fish. I like to think of myself as an aqua gardener as I live in an apartment and don't have any outdoor space.

I inject CO2 on two 5 gallon tanks and have similar plants as you listed. The plants are doing very well, and I trim often (every 1-2 weeks) as they grow fast. I've been adding some more stem plants over time and they are happy as well. The Norton's lamp eyes I have in one tank have started to reproduce, so clearly injecting co2 isn't doing them any harm.

Initially I went with DIY CO2 but quickly moved to a pressurized system, much less maintenance and better accuracy with the amount injected. I used drop checkers to make sure I'm adding enough and not too much.

cheers

 

[radioman]

I have co2 on a 2.5g. With the plants you have C02 is not necessary. You could try to dose ferts to see if that helps them grow faster.

 

[pageerror404]

I wasn't clear about what I meant. I will put in other higher maintenence plants if I have co2 running.

 

[Mxx]

Constant trimming isn't exactly good for plants, so if that's what the result of adding Co2 is then you might want to rethink it. I have pressurized CO2 on my 5.5, but my lighting is low enough that I'm not particularly having problems from it.

 

[DishyFishy]

I have co2 on my 5.5gal and I love it. It's up to you really.

 

[bruinhd]

Is anyone using the fluvial mini co2 kit on their 5 gallon? I have that running but I didn't know how many times to dose it per day. I just fill the apparatus once a day instead of twice like they do in the instructions for a 15 gal.

 

[somewhatshocked]

Dosing CO2? Highly recommend you read CO2 stickies and search around a few threads here.

CO2 would typically be measured by bubbles per second. With the Fluval system, it'd be on 24 hours per day. You'll require CO2 for at least the duration of your lighting cycle.

 

[bruinhd]

Dosing CO2? Highly recommend you read CO2 stickies and search around a few threads here.

CO2 would typically be measured by bubbles per second. With the Fluval system, it'd be on 24 hours per day. You'll require CO2 for at least the duration of your lighting cycle.

The fluval miniCo2 kit doesn't dose with bubbles. It's basically an upside-down reservoir that you fill with co2 once or twice a day and it slowly mixes into the water over the course of an hour or so. imagine like a small bowl that hovers upside-down in ur tank, then u put a co2 gas pocket under the bowl periodically and that pocket dissipates into the water flowing by.

 

[somewhatshocked]

Definitely ditch that system when you're finished with the product you've got on-hand.

Go with DIY champagne yeast or a basic paintball system. Way cheaper (not even in the long run - probably cheaper just to get started) and easier with better results.

 

[Noahma]

Constant trimming isn't exactly good for plants, so if that's what the result of adding Co2 is then you might want to rethink it. I have pressurized CO2 on my 5.5, but my lighting is low enough that I'm not particularly having problems from it.

trimming depends on the plants. Many stem plants LOVE to be trimmed, that is one way to get the very thick dense bushes found in many aquariums. here is a trimming journal off of another forum. There are some stems taht do not like to be trimmed, but for the most part it encourages growth, lotus's become more dense, stems throw out side shoots, swords throw up more leaves ect.

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/aquascaping/57960-pruning-timeline.html

The fluval miniCo2 kit doesn't dose with bubbles. It's basically an upside-down reservoir that you fill with co2 once or twice a day and it slowly mixes into the water over the course of an hour or so. imagine like a small bowl that hovers upside-down in ur tank, then u put a co2 gas pocket under the bowl periodically and that pocket dissipates into the water flowing by.

there are two fluval systems out there, there is the bell type that comes with the flora, and has a smaller cartridge, and then there is the 88g kit that comes with a ceramic diffuser, and regulator.
the only problems with these two systems is the cost. they get expensive really quick due to the cost of the cartridges.


to the OP, in the DIY part of the forum, you will find a link near the top to a DIY paintball system. The needle valve is really finicky though. I personally use this : http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/4531/product.web
the needle valve is not the greatest, but it works well. it turns off at night when attached to a timer, and does not need refilled that often (about every 6 months or so on my 7.8gal fluval flora) the refills are cheap (3.50 at sports authority) and you can get them filled at most sports equipment stores.

Co2 is never a bad thing, even for low light plants. Carbon is essential for proper plant growth. if your light is lower, your plants will grow slower, more light, more demand for co2 and faster growth.

 

[oldpunk78]

Co2 is never a bad thing, even for low light plants. Carbon is essential for proper plant growth. if your light is lower, your plants will grow slower, more light, more demand for co2 and faster growth.

yup, co2 is good thing. It can be a little overwhelming in the beginning but it's well worth the investment.

Wow!! Someone else in Redding. I thought I was the only one - lol

 

[bruinhd]

Definitely ditch that system when you're finished with the product you've got on-hand.

Go with DIY champagne yeast or a basic paintball system. Way cheaper (not even in the long run - probably cheaper just to get started) and easier with better results.

I was able to buy an adapter called "Storm 3/8" Male to 1/2" Female Adapter" for $6. It supposedly converts the fluval mini co2 kit so that it can take paintball tanks so that is where i'm headed after this first little bicycle co2 cartridge that it came with dies out.

 

[drb]

I'm setting up a 6gal EHEIM aquastyle and will be using co2.

 

[pageerror404]

I have the co2 up and running now, but not sure if I did it right. There are a LOT of bubbles now. There are loads floating on the top, but the filter blows them down all around the tank and breaks them up. But it's like... an excessive amount of bubbles haha

 

[somewhatshocked]

I was able to buy an adapter called "Storm 3/8" Male to 1/2" Female Adapter" for $6. It supposedly converts the fluval mini co2 kit so that it can take paintball tanks so that is where i'm headed after this first little bicycle co2 cartridge that it came with dies out.

+1 to this!

I'm usually the first to yell about how dangerous paintball systems are (I use them myself, so, color me hypocritical for sure) but you will be a lot happier with the end result once you switch over.