biowheel & flourish vs canister & CO2

[slvrcvc]

ok i know there are tons and tons of info on this subject.

for a 30gal tank with mostly med-light plants and low-light plants using one 55watt CF and miro reflector and a flourite substrate

1)the biowheel is simple and flourish isnt that expensive and would seem to last for like 4months a bottle?

2)the canister would still need a pre-filter plus good media in the baskets, the DIY CO2 would need some work to make properly and safely plus the possibility of pH changes.

so would the plants in the biowheel and flourish live and grow well vs the canister and DIY CO2?

[anonapersona]

Try it and find out, it won't cost you much, assuming you already have the biowheel.

After a few months of the Excel, you might look at the cost and decide if you want to continue. You have to weigh the startup cost against the on-going expenses.

Excel works great, esp for small tanks. 30 is larger than I would suggest, but Excel is so easy to use, it might work out for you.

And there are intermediate steps, you can remove the biowheel and use DIY CO2. Then switch to a canister if you find the cash.

[carpguy]

Just wanted to point out that Flourish and Excel are two different things. Both are made by SeaChem, but they do different things. I'd use both.

If you have the BioWheel already, I'd agree with anona that you can experiment from here and build up later until you can find your own equilibrium between cost and effort. I'd prefer a canister with CO2, mostly because I think you'd get better results that way. Others have reported satisfaction with Excel in lowish light setups. YMMV.

If you're trying to minimize cost and effort, I'd go plastic. Plants tend to require more of both than generally anticipated… :rolleyes: