CO2 injector???

[nick_iam]

i plan on planting my new 30 gal tank for my 5 Australian Rainbows and some future tetras and oto cat an ive been hearing alot about CO2 reactor and injection systems

• what i was wondering was is it necessary for a 30 gal planted and how do i do it or do i have to buy one? :wall:

• which one is better to do?

 

[Mgamer20o0]

well you can do diy or pressurized. both up their up sides and down sides. diy is cheap to set up but harder to keep stable. pressurized you turn it on and forget about it for 6 months but cost a lot more to set up.

 

[Nolapete]

I just bought the equipment to set up for pressurized. My 10# aluminum tank and super duper regulator cost me just under $300. You can do a 5# aluminum tank and a starter regulator for about half that.

 

[fgump]

Or you can buy a non-pressurized one, similar to a DIY system, for a fraction of that.

Hagen's CO2 system: http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/215438/product.web
That's just the first place I looked. you might be able to find it cheaper if you look around.

 

[nick_iam]

thanx ill see what i can do

 

[mellowvision]

the hagen ladder is the worthwhile portion of a diy kit. making a bottle can be pretty easy. the ladders sell for 10 bucks I think.

 

[vic46]

You need to do a little research. Rainbows and CO2 don't get along well. You will have to treat the waster column to avoid the issues that rainbows have with CO2. I am sorry but I can't remember the treatment. I learned of this issue as I was contemplating rainbow's for my community tank but decided against as a result of the special treatment required. It wasn't the treatment itself it was not knowing the effect of the treatment on the rest of the tank population.
Vic

 

[Mgamer20o0]

hum i have seen many rainbows in planted tanks. dont have any myself but off hand i dont remember hearing about that before.

 

[vic46]

hum i have seen many rainbows in planted tanks. dont have any myself but off hand i dont remember hearing about that before.

The issue is not the plantings, the issue is the CO2. Rainbows are apparently not as tolerant of the CO2 as are most other fish.
Vic

 

[UCF-Planted]

Is this an Australian Rainbow specific issue? My local LFS has a community planted display tank with Rainbows and 30ppm CO2.