CO2???

do you know for sure if you need co2?
First you should have some good lighting in place, and then decide which route you want, DIY or pressurized co2.

Pressurized is nice, but pricey.
DIY is cheap but sometimes not very dependable.

tell us a bit more about your tank.
Lighting, plants, inhabitanats etc...
 
I have a 45g with 6 angles, 5 BST, 3 balas, 3 Hatchets, 1 cory, 3 ottos, and plant wise 2xAmazon Sword, 1 Java Fern, and some others Which I cannot ID. I have pictures posted in the photo gallery. I have this light, which if I did the math right it is around 2.13 watts per gallon. I have done ferts and excel but my plants are looking bad, I wanted to go pressurized just so I dont have to worry about the other issues with DIY. Thanks for the help.
 
and tubing for both.. and a good diffuser

I've seen some really cool glass diffusers in some tanks online... I have a nano 3gallon bowfront and I would love to have a small glass diffuser, or maybe just a limestone air diffuser?

Any suggestions are very welcome! Sorry for the thread jack :o
 
If you have that light w/ an actinic bulb, you essentially have half a light. Replace the actinic w/ a whiter bulb in the 6500K-10,000K range and your plants will perk right up.

links to a couple of my posts etc. that spell out some CO2 stuff:
Drop checkers
KH standards & other drop checker related stuff
DIY mix
I have the freshwater version of the light which does not have the actinic light in it, it has two, 34" 96 watt 6,700°K bulbs in it. That is why I am thinking CO2 now.
 
If it has 2 96w bulbs that would give you more than 4wpg and with that co2 would be a must and can give you pretty great results.
You can find regulators on ebay such as the milwaukee for under $100 shipped, www.water-testers.com has theirs for cheaper. Then theres regulators from rex rigg and green leaf aquarium
The co2 cylinder you can either buy online or rent one from a local welding supply store. For a tank your size I would go for a 10lb tank.

With ferts not sure which ones you did but you would have to get Trace, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium (NPK) and combine that with the co2 and light to provide a nice balance for the tank. Slowly tweak each to find the balance.

(taku i answered your question in your profile)
 
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