Planted Tank and CO2

[Blademan]

Hi I have a few broad leaved plants attached to driftwood in my tank, the others are artificial but i am getting algea growing on the leaves of both real and artificial, not sure if this is too much light, usally on for 8hrs a day.

Would using CO2 system such as in the weblink below benifit the plants and solve the algea problem ?, if so then on the other hand if this type of system is used in a Discus tank, what are the negative effects of using CO2 that i would need to be aware of, sorry if the questions appear dumb to you guys with more exprience but i do like to see both plants and Discus and this is my main show tank in my apartment and the discus seem very relaxed in this enviroment.

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=...id=14758574360

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[rickztahone]

Well, there is good news . Your photo period is too long. Reduce the photo period, or intruduce a "black out" in the middle of the day for a couple of hours and the algae should go away. You may just have way too much light for this type of tank. You can basically grow those anubias with ANY type of light, even if it was a very low wattage one. So, either dim the lights, introduce a black out, or shorten your photo period by at least 3 hrs.

Co2 is a game changer for people that want to go fully planted. You do not have enough plants to justify the upkeep cost of co2. If you plan on fully planting the tank, then go ahead an invest. If not, try the alternatives I gave you.

Lastly, you can invest a few bucks with DIY co2. I personally don't think you'd benefit from it, but it is also an option.

check out this vid by one of our members here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JzvfHO31Ug

[Twistofer]

For us in the US, the system is available at http://www.adana-usa.com. It's expensive but looks great.

[discuspaul]

Well, there is good news . Your photo period is too long. Reduce the photo period, or intruduce a "black out" in the middle of the day for a couple of hours and the algae should go away. You may just have way too much light for this type of tank. You can basically grow those anubias with ANY type of light, even if it was a very low wattage one. So, either dim the lights, introduce a black out, or shorten your photo period by at least 3 hrs.

Co2 is a game changer for people that want to go fully planted. You do not have enough plants to justify the upkeep cost of co2. If you plan on fully planting the tank, then go ahead an invest. If not, try the alternatives I gave you.

Lastly, you can invest a few bucks with DIY co2. I personally don't think you'd benefit from it, but it is also an option.

check out this vid by one of our members here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JzvfHO31Ug

Good advice - take it.
Don't even think about DIY CO2 - not only would you not likely benefit from it, it could become a problem for you.

[cellingson]

Gotta echo what rick suggest

[Blademan]

I hear you all, and I will not try this with the discus tank, I might however try it in a comunity tank with more plants, or I may set up another spare tank.

Can anybody explain to me how to set this up correctly, I can see from the diagram on the back of the box but I fully dont understand how the CO2 actually gets into the tank through the diffuser, all it say on the instructions are "one CO2 drop every three seconds" I would have thought I needed to attach an airpump ?

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[Blademan]

For us in the US, the system is available at http://www.adana-usa.com. It's expensive but looks great.

I looked on the web link, but I could not see a CO2 system ?

[bluelagoon]

If your tank is bigger than 30 gal.,those would not put enough CO2 in a tank to make much,if any difference.They are used more so in nano (a few gal.) tanks.Your'll need tanks that hold pounds of CO2 and not grams.

[Blademan]

If your tank is bigger than 30 gal.,those would not put enough CO2 in a tank to make much,if any difference.They are used more so in nano (a few gal.) tanks.Your'll need tanks that hold pounds of CO2 and not grams.

I said I would use this in a comunity tank not the discus tank, but need to know how to set the system up, if any of the plant experts could help

[rickztahone]

The "instructions for use" picture is pretty much your best intructions here.

Simply put, the small cartridge will contain the co2. The part on top of the cartridge is a nano regulator (not sure how good it will be). Then, there is a check valve that does not allow water to flow back to the regulator. That goes to the bubble counter which shows you how many bubbles per minute (BPM) you are using. You adjust the BPM with the regulator. Lastly, the air line hose ends at the diffuser. The diffuser simply diffuses the co2 in small bubbles that will hopefully make it in to your tank before dissapating at the water line.

As mentioned by another member, these kits are made for small tanks, such as 2-5g tanks or "pico" tanks. Running something like this will more than likely be lest cost effective that actually getting a full on co2 setup. If these cartridges are anything like the ADA ones, they are not cheap, and the simple truth is, they SHOULD be cheap, they are just small cartridges that you can not refill that hold co2. It isn't rocket science but their prices tend to be too high for what they are.

[Blademan]

The "instructions for use" picture is pretty much your best intructions here.

Simply put, the small cartridge will contain the co2. The part on top of the cartridge is a nano regulator (not sure how good it will be). Then, there is a check valve that does not allow water to flow back to the regulator. That goes to the bubble counter which shows you how many bubbles per minute (BPM) you are using. You adjust the BPM with the regulator. Lastly, the air line hose ends at the diffuser. The diffuser simply diffuses the co2 in small bubbles that will hopefully make it in to your tank before dissapating at the water line.

As mentioned by another member, these kits are made for small tanks, such as 2-5g tanks or "pico" tanks. Running something like this will more than likely be lest cost effective that actually getting a full on co2 setup. If these cartridges are anything like the ADA ones, they are not cheap, and the simple truth is, they SHOULD be cheap, they are just small cartridges that you can not refill that hold co2. It isn't rocket science but their prices tend to be too high for what they are.

Thanks for the info, actuallly three replacment cartridges are around $12 USd over here, which I think is ok, I have a small tank that I might try this, just to see how it works, or not, its a cheap expriment, and if nothing else should provide some exprience

[rickztahone]

Thanks for the info, actuallly three replacment cartridges are around $12 USd over here, which I think is ok, I have a small tank that I might try this, just to see how it works, or not, its a cheap expriment, and if nothing else should provide some exprience

In that case, I would tell you to go ahead with the experiment to get a feel for it. However, if you want to take on a larger setup, invest in a larger system