Set me straight on CO2 injection

hike13

hike13

Hello Gorgeous
Aug 23, 2005
90
0
6
SF, CA
As I inch closer to setting up my new tank I've been doing more research into having a planted tank. I had planned to have a medium planted tank with anacharis in the background and maybe something like java ferns around the rest of the tank. I had planned on using flourish excel because I was a little nervous about getting in over my head with CO2. Then I read that excel and anacharis don't get along. Ok, maybe Co2 is the way to go for the tank I want.

Then as I was reading the CO2 sticky I see that CO2 injection can cause PH crashes in water with low kh. My water out of the tap is about 1dKH so I add crushed coral just to boost my tank water to 3dKH and keep my PH stable.

If I decide to go planted is it worth it to do CO2 with my low kh? It just seems that I would have to add more crushed coral (or something) to raise the buffering capacity of my tank. Maybe I should just get different plants and use excel. I'm a confused newbie. (I've been researching like mad but I think I'm on info overload right now.)
 
I likewise have very low KH straight out of the tap and crushed coral in the filter to boost. And pressurized CO2. No problems, very stable.

Going with plants other than anachris is certainly one option.

Excel and DIY both have low start up costs but it adds up over time. DIY was interesting for a little bit but just too much work for me: I greatly prefer pressurized. Depends on what you want to do, on what you want to spend and on when you want to spend it.

But CO2 (pressurrized or DIY) isn't a problem so long as you supplement the buffer: crushed coral makes a nice low maintenance supplement. Check it weekly, check it monthly, replenish as necessary, very low fuss.
 
To add with what Carpguy posted:

As your pH lowers the water, it becomes more acid. The acidic water will allow the coral to dissolve more rapidly, thus bringing your KH up another notch or two. So if you have 1 dKH out of the tap and the coral brings it to 3 dKH, then after injecting CO2, you'll probably end up with 4 or 5 dKH.

Nice and safe :) So don't worry.

Roan
 
what size is the tank DIY would be too much work on a large tank, but if your talking 10-30 gallon then no poblem.

I don't use anacharis myself..
 
Roan Art said:
As your pH lowers the water, it becomes more acid. The acidic water will allow the coral to dissolve more rapidly, thus bringing your KH up another notch or two. So if you have 1 dKH out of the tap and the coral brings it to 3 dKH, then after injecting CO2, you'll probably end up with 4 or 5 dKH.

Nice and safe :) So don't worry.

Roan
Click to expand...

I must have missed that in the sticky. That gives me hope. My chemistry knowledge has eroded since high school. Just one more step for the project I don't have time for :p:

justintoxicated said:
what size is the tank DIY would be too much work on a large tank, but if your talking 10-30 gallon then no poblem.

I don't use anacharis myself..
Click to expand...

40 gallon. DIY seems to be a good option.

I just like the look of anacharis getting tall at the back of the tank. Pleasing to the eye.
 
If you need an immediate boost to your kh, you could use 1tsp of baking soda to raise your kh by approx 1.5-2dkh
 
A 40g is getting to the upper limit of effective DIY CO2. I'm not saying it can't be done (I done it myself on a 75g for a while) but it does get harder to keep constant with larger water volumes. On my 75g I had three 2 liter bottles set up and rotated them every week. It gets to be tedious pretty fast though.

Since you mentioned that you want to keep anacharis and java fern, there's no need to blast supernova style light into your tank so you could always keep lighting down to a level where no CO2 or Excel is required. If I go over 2wpg then I start thinking about a carbon source. My low light tanks don't need the extra carbon, but.....if I did add carbon would my plants be healthier and grow faster? Well, I'm not even going to try.

OK lol, I've blabbed on a bit and I don't even know what your current lighting is or what other plants you plan on having. But even if you're happy with anacharis and java fern, it's only a matter of time before you will want to widen your scope. You'll see :)
 
reiverix said:
A 40g is getting to the upper limit of effective DIY CO2. I'm not saying it can't be done (I done it myself on a 75g for a while) but it does get harder to keep constant with larger water volumes. On my 75g I had three 2 liter bottles set up and rotated them every week. It gets to be tedious pretty fast though.

Since you mentioned that you want to keep anacharis and java fern, there's no need to blast supernova style light into your tank so you could always keep lighting down to a level where no CO2 or Excel is required. If I go over 2wpg then I start thinking about a carbon source. My low light tanks don't need the extra carbon, but.....if I did add carbon would my plants be healthier and grow faster? Well, I'm not even going to try.

OK lol, I've blabbed on a bit and I don't even know what your current lighting is or what other plants you plan on having. But even if you're happy with anacharis and java fern, it's only a matter of time before you will want to widen your scope. You'll see :)
Click to expand...

I've already widened my scope. There was a time when I was happy with the 10 gallon I have. :rolleyes: I haven't figured out my lighting yet. I need to get a new hood but I was figuring on about 2-3 wpg. I don't necesarily need big plant growth just healthy looking plants and no algae. We'll see where I go. I always know where to get advice.
 
reiverix said:
A 40g is getting to the upper limit of effective DIY CO2. I'm not saying it can't be done (I done it myself on a 75g for a while) but it does get harder to keep constant with larger water volumes. On my 75g I had three 2 liter bottles set up and rotated them every week. It gets to be tedious pretty fast though.
Click to expand...

I know this is a few days old but my CPU crashed last week and I haven't a chance to post more questions. If DIY isn't the best option for a 40 gallon what type of product am I looking at? Sorry but I'm new to this planted stuff and I'm not sure what I'm looking at. I just want to get an idea.
 
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