diy co2, what should i be looking for

648 Views 3 Replies 3 Participants Last post by The Plantman, Nov 12, 2010

monty67

Discussion Starter · Nov 12, 2010

just started the co2 system about a week ago, ok, 5 days, what should i be expecting to see this early on if anything in the plants?

Observations so far are: Anacharis, seems to be growing a little quicker then before, since the co2 5 days ago it's probably put on an inch.

Amazon Sword putting out leaves regularly and just looking at the tank one leaf is putting out one o2 bubble about ever 30 seconds.

anubis, no change

melon sword, no change,

java fern, no change

java moss, no change

crypts, no change

One thing that seems to stand out the most to me is that the coloration of the plants seems to be standing out. Before the tank seemed to have one color or at least there was no real difference between the plants. Now the hues seem to be stronger through the tank. Deeper greens or brighter greens, the new amazon sword leaves have more redish veining in them before they turn green. The melon sword seems to be a bit more dark redish on the newer leafs

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MrMoneybags

· #2 · Nov 12, 2010

you probably wont "see" anything

that list of plants are all slow growers...so if you take a pic today,...then come back 2 months later youll see a BIG diff. but since you see them everyday...you wont notice

but adding CO2 into your water will def. benefit all of your plants and they should all come in healthier and stronger

if you had faster plants...you would see a growth EXPLOSION when CO2 is added

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monty67

Discussion Starter · #3 · Nov 12, 2010

Ahhh... Good to know. I also forgot to mention that I have moneywort but i'm not sure if that will make it or not, i think it's a 'medium' grower but when i got it from the store it was pretty beat up with faded yellow leaves, some rotting off. The very tips of 3 out of the 5 stems are bright lime green though so hopefully it will spring back, again, only been in the tank for 4 days.

I know everytime i've kept anacharis it's always been a super fast grower but this last batch i put in when i was using excell. apparently that was a no no and might explain why it wasn't really doing anything. Stopped using excell cause i wasn't seeing any really difference after about a month. so hopefull with a few water changes and the co2 it will bounce back. it didn't melt but the leaves weren't as strong and thick as they should have been, the platies had no problem tearing it down to stalk in some spots.

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The Plantman

· #4 · Nov 12, 2010

monty67 said:
just started the co2 system about a week ago, ok, 5 days, what should i be expecting to see this early on if anything in the plants?

Observations so far are: Anacharis, seems to be growing a little quicker then before, since the co2 5 days ago it's probably put on an inch.

Amazon Sword putting out leaves regularly and just looking at the tank one leaf is putting out one o2 bubble about ever 30 seconds.

anubis, no change

melon sword, no change,

java fern, no change

java moss, no change

crypts, no change

One thing that seems to stand out the most to me is that the coloration of the plants seems to be standing out. Before the tank seemed to have one color or at least there was no real difference between the plants. Now the hues seem to be stronger through the tank. Deeper greens or brighter greens, the new amazon sword leaves have more redish veining in them before they turn green. The melon sword seems to be a bit more dark redish on the newer leafs

I started my DIY with two 2 liter bottles on a 46 Bowfront. I noticed colors seemed stronger and growth in some plants “seemed” faster but my drop checker was only turning to a dark green and after the plant load grew enough I started fighting BBA and other algae. It has been almost a year now with much trial and error. I really hope to get a pressure system soon.

I would recommend you run at least 2 bottles and change one per week.

Co2 bottles, I chnage 2 every Sunday.

What size is your tank?

Type of lighting, wattage, height from substrate?

Right now I run 4 two liter bottles run into a rex style reactor connected to the exhaust of two Eheim canisters (2217, 2215). I change 2 bottles every week and my drop checker is a solid lime green all the time.

Get a drop checker it made a world of difference to me. I noticed once I was able to get lime green showing in my drop checker Crypts, stems and java started growing like crazy! I then ran into other issues related to running out of nutrients and then learned all about Tom Barr’s EI and this made another huge difference in my ability to grow not only fast but much healthier looking plants. Look into IE dosing and run 2 bottles.

If you’d like I could make you 2 glass bottles like the ones I’m using, the lids are metal with the valves soldered into the lids, they will not develop leaks. I’ve been running these bottles for 6 months now with no issues with leaks at all. If you have a powerful soldering gun I could walk you though how to make them on your own.

Good luck!

When I started the tank it looked like this for about 2 months,

Then After 2 bottles DIY Co2 with the use of a drop checker and just 1 month in,

Then I added a third bottle, EI dosing, Rexx style reactor and a new plant,

This is like 5 months in; Crypts grow VERY FAST when all is right in the tank!

The tank has gone through many changes but one this is certain DIY Co2 can and does work!

This is today; I’m trying my hand at Ludwigia Repens, it’s the plant in the far right back corner. Just planted it today and rearranged the entire tank. I cut the Crypts down to the substrate just aweek ago and already they are growing back! Freaking weeds!

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