CO2 Dosing

[aquaman3680]

Hello all,

I am new here and am currently setting up a 14gal Bio-Cube as a planted tank. The tank has a total of 48 watts of light and was wondering your opinion on dosing CO2. Is it really necessary to dose on such a small tank? What would the other alternatives be to dosing CO2? I have heard Flourish Excel by Seachem works well. What are your opinions on this?

Thanks,

Matt

[calivivarium1]

Excel can be good, but I would highly recommend a CO2 system (DIY or pressurized). Though I bought a cheap regulator (too cheap of one, really) my pressurized CO2 is much less hassle than buying something else to dose. I would look for a paintball CO2 system cheap on the classifieds here. If not, a 5# tank would be the next smallest size.

[Fordtrannyman]

Hi aquaman,
Welcome to AC. Co2 is the number one nutrient needed by plants.
It is always recommended to inject C02 or use Excel on a small scale as a substitute.

[aquaman3680]

Thanks for the info!

What are your opinions on the DIY CO2 systems? Do they work effectively or would I be better off with the excel?

[Fordtrannyman]

Thanks for the info!

What are your opinions on the DIY CO2 systems? Do they work effectively or would I be better off with the excel?

Your tank would be a good candidate for DIY C02. Making C02 does take some time and practice to keep it going well. I would not recommend buying a DIY kit per say. You probably have stuff lying around already to set something up.

What is your lighting type? Filtration? Plants you are/plan to keep?

[jpappy789]

Co2 isn't necessary but it will always help.

You would be able to get away will probably only 2L worth of DIY Co2. I wouldn't jump right into pressurized, especially with a smaller tank. All you need is yeast, sugar, warm water, an empty 2L bottle, some tubing, and something to diffuse the Co2. An airstone would work just fine.

[phanmc]

The BioCube comes with 2x24w CF bulbs, which is borderline on needing CO2. You should be ok with a DIY setup though will see better results with pressurized. Excel alone isn't a good choice though using it in conjunction with DIY CO2 would be good.

[Mgamer20o0]

even with low light it does help though. i would save the money and invest in pressurized. its def worth it.

[aquaman3680]

Thanks for the info! I will probably just start out doing the DIY CO2 and see how it goes.

Any tips or tricks on how to do this best? Also can the bottle be like two feet away from the tank, or will it effect the efficiency of it?

[jpappy789]

I think the key is to get maximum diffusion. I use my cannister filter but that's probably not an option for you...as I said before you can use an airstone but I'm sure others have more efficient options.