Help with CO2

[kazinvan]

I recently upgraded to a 55G tank from a 33G tank. The primary resident is a very old red belly piranha. I noticed that in the larger tank he doesn't seem to trash the plastic plants like he did in the 33. Given that, I decided to put some live plants in there with him. The plants have been in there for a week and so far so good. I also upgraded the light as I didn't like the pink glow of the old light (full spectrum I think) and it was too dim. I now have a Coralife 130W 6500K plant light. I like the colour a lot better and I think it will work better for the plants too. I know that 2.4 watts/gallon isn't a lot, but this is never going to be a heavily planted tank. Right now I have 2 Java Ferns, 1 Wisteria, 2 Amazon Swords, and a few floating lilly pads. Not sure what they are but I figured if the plants get trashed at least the lily pads have a chance of survival.

The only other stock in the tank are the feeders, anywhere from 5-25 at a time. Also, I have 2 zebra snails and from what I can tell 2 types of apple snails (total of 5). I think I'll need to get rid of the apple snails as I have already seen them snacking on the java ferns. I will try to get rid of one type as the other one is supposed to be ok with plants. Time will tell.

My pH is usually around 7, KH at 1 (as in the second drop changes the colour in my Sera test kit), ammonia, nitrite at 0, nitrates normal, 30% water changes every week. Filters are 1 AC70, 1 AC30, and a powerhead with a quickfilter for circulation.

So given the setup above, I would like to try and give the plants a good growth environment. I have a CO2 diffuser that I'm not using, it's the common one like this:
http://home.loswarren.com/images/aquarium/IMG_3860.jpg

I was thinking of setting up a simple DIY CO2 system with a bottle, yeast, sugar and the above diffuser. From what I recall this diffuser is suitable for a 20G tank. I don't have a lot of plants so I is this sufficient? I also have Fluourish Excel that I can add to supplement the carbon. I already have my lights and pump on timers with this setup:

main lights, on 10am-10pm
moon light on 10pm - 1am
air stone on 12am - 6am

My kh is fairly low, and I want to avoid the dreaded ph drop with CO2. I'm hoping that the small amount I'm injecting won't cause that to happen. However, with the DIY method I don't have any control on the amount injected. Also, it's on 24/7, will that cause a problem?

Any input on my setup would be greatly appreciated!

My tank
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z187/kazinvan/fish/chuck2.jpg

[phanmc]

If you can afford it, look into a pressurized CO2 system. A yeast setup isn't good enough for tanks over 30g, it doesn't provide enough nor a consistent level of CO2. If you stick with the yeast method, add another bottle to generate more CO2. It is nearly impossible to add too much CO2 using the yeast method unless you do something ridiculous like using 5+ bottles.

Add some crushed coral to the tank or filter to buffer your kh, or use baking soda during your water changes.

2.4w of PC lighting is more than enough for your goals. At this light level you will need to invest in some ferts.

Add more plants. It is MUCH easier to maintain a heavily planted tank than a lightly planted one.

[Squawkbert]

^ pretty much agree

was going to add - swords are heavy root feeders, root tabs are a good thing for them, or, if you mix & dose your own liquid ferts, you can just squirt some into the substrate near the swords

W/ swords & wisteria, you'll be heavily planted very soon!

For a 55g, DIY - you're probably talking about 2 or 3 Gallon jugs of mix... Pressurized would be better in the long run. Excel is good, Metricide 14 is cheaper... (don't use the activator solution)

[kazinvan]

If you can afford it, look into a pressurized CO2 system. A yeast setup isn't good enough for tanks over 30g, it doesn't provide enough nor a consistent level of CO2. If you stick with the yeast method, add another bottle to generate more CO2. It is nearly impossible to add too much CO2 using the yeast method unless you do something ridiculous like using 5+ bottles.

Add some crushed coral to the tank or filter to buffer your kh, or use baking soda during your water changes.

2.4w of PC lighting is more than enough for your goals. At this light level you will need to invest in some ferts.

Add more plants. It is MUCH easier to maintain a heavily planted tank than a lightly planted one.

I can't get a pressurized co2 at this point, so it is DIY or nothing. Also, this whole plant thing is a big experiment as Red Bellies are known to destroy plants. I'm hoping they can co-exist, but if not I don't want to make this into a big investment for nothing.

As for crushed coral, won't that bump up my pH too? Currently, I add a capful of 'Sera KH/pH plus' to my tank after each water change. My tap water is about ph6.5 so I use the KH/pH plus to bump it up to about 7.

Also, adding more plants doesn't make sense until I know the Piranha won't destroy them. Keeping my fingers crossed. If all goes well, I'll add a few more.

Thanks for the help.

[kazinvan]

^ pretty much agree

was going to add - swords are heavy root feeders, root tabs are a good thing for them, or, if you mix & dose your own liquid ferts, you can just squirt some into the substrate near the swords

W/ swords & wisteria, you'll be heavily planted very soon!

For a 55g, DIY - you're probably talking about 2 or 3 Gallon jugs of mix... Pressurized would be better in the long run. Excel is good, Metricide 14 is cheaper... (don't use the activator solution)

I'll look into the root tabs for the swords. If all goes well, I would like to get a pressurized system down the road but that is at least 6 months away.

Never heard of Metricide, but I'll check it out. Thanks.

[phanmc]

Metricide is watered down glutaraldehyde. Excel is also a form of glutaraldehyde that is formulated for aquarium use. I personally wouldn't use Metricide in place of Excel. You can save money but would have to be careful with the dosage amount.

Crushed coral will bump up the pH but that isn't an issue, the rise in pH, kH, and gH is slow so no harm is done.

Just letting you know that with less plants algae will likely be a problem. With the amount of light you're using and low plant mass, it's pretty much a guarantee you'll see algae within a few weeks.