I have a 110 Gallon freshwater aquarium with mainly amazon swords. Ideally I know a pressurized CO2 system would be best for a tank this size but they seem to be pretty expensive. Eventually I will purchase one but need to save some money first. In the mean time I want to get some CO2 in my tank to help my amazons grow. I've read many success stories regarding DIY CO2 systems, mostly on smaller tank. Where can I start with a DIY CO2 system for a tank my size(110 Gallon)? All the help and advice will be greatly appreciated.
DIY CO2 advice needed...
- Thread starter TropicalBreeze
- Start date
How much light and what kind and amount of plants do you have in the tank?
These are important questions that should be answered in order to advise regarding CO2 injection.
One more......do you know the kH of your water? What is it?
Len
These are important questions that should be answered in order to advise regarding CO2 injection.
One more......do you know the kH of your water? What is it?
Len
I have two Zoo Med Flora Sun Max Plant Growth Fluorescent Lamp - 48" (T8) which producea 5000K high intensity light. I keep the lights on an automatic timer and are on for about 12 hours a day. At the moment I have 20 small amazon swords. In the future I plan to plant some amazon frogbit, vallisneria spiralis, green cabomba, madagascar lace plant and some water lettuce. As far as the kH of my water I am not sure where it stands but I will test it in the next couple of days and post it. I plan to keep south/central american species such as tetras, angelfish, discus, pleco, maybe some algae eating shrimp, danios, cory cats, hatchets, clown loaches and rasboras.
Thanks Len, hope to hear from you soon.
Thanks Len, hope to hear from you soon.
Two T-8's are not a lot of light for 110. Did you mean two fixtures with two T-8's in each one? Even that would not be a lot of light for that tank.
There is no doubt that CO2 will help in just about any situation, but DIY CO2 is a tough way to go for a 110. I was using two bottles at a time with a good reactor and barely getting 20ppm/CO2 in my 55s at one time. It's a lot of work keeping up with all the mixing necessary for that size tank. I can't imagine the work involved with keeping your tank's water table at 20ppm.
I would recommend that you look into pressurized, but as I said any added carbon will help.
The thing is that at this time you really don't need CO2 injection with your lighting. Even 2 fixtures (4 tubes) of NO fluorescent would only yield you about 1.5 wpg. You can grow low light plants in that environment and the Swords will probably do OK for you, but I would look into increasing your lighting with compact fluorescent to maybe 3 wpg, and consider pressurized CO2 for better results.
What are your goals, plant-wise for the tank? Do you want a low maintenance tank or are you willing to spend a lot time on it?
BTW, kH is the carbonate hardness of your water. It determines the amount of buffer your water has which is what protects your fish against pH crash when injecting CO2. It is recommended that you have a minimum of 3 - 3.5° kH to be save. But if you intend to go the DIY route, it would be very difficult to inject enough CO2 to endanger your fish.
Len
There is no doubt that CO2 will help in just about any situation, but DIY CO2 is a tough way to go for a 110. I was using two bottles at a time with a good reactor and barely getting 20ppm/CO2 in my 55s at one time. It's a lot of work keeping up with all the mixing necessary for that size tank. I can't imagine the work involved with keeping your tank's water table at 20ppm.
I would recommend that you look into pressurized, but as I said any added carbon will help.
The thing is that at this time you really don't need CO2 injection with your lighting. Even 2 fixtures (4 tubes) of NO fluorescent would only yield you about 1.5 wpg. You can grow low light plants in that environment and the Swords will probably do OK for you, but I would look into increasing your lighting with compact fluorescent to maybe 3 wpg, and consider pressurized CO2 for better results.
What are your goals, plant-wise for the tank? Do you want a low maintenance tank or are you willing to spend a lot time on it?
BTW, kH is the carbonate hardness of your water. It determines the amount of buffer your water has which is what protects your fish against pH crash when injecting CO2. It is recommended that you have a minimum of 3 - 3.5° kH to be save. But if you intend to go the DIY route, it would be very difficult to inject enough CO2 to endanger your fish.
Len
Hi Len, I only have 2 tubes in total. I was looking into stalling two fixtures of 2 bulbs each. The fixtures I was looking at is the Coralife F/W T-5 Aqualight Double Strip Light-48". http://www.bigalsonline.ca/catalog/product.xml?product_id=32853&category_id=1853&pcid1=1843
If I install these fixtures do you believe I will have enough lighting? As well I was looking into the Coralife Freshwater Aqualight- 48" Power Compact Light-2 x 65W. http://www.bigalsonline.ca/catalog/product.xml?product_id=29553;category_id=1875;pcid1=1843;pcid2=
I think I should start with the proper lighting before I look into the CO2 system then determine the kH and then finally the CO2. The goal for my aquarium is to house a variety of different plant species along with the complementary fish species(mainly amazon species;central/south american fish). At the moment I have 4 red eye tetras to get my cycle going. It will be 1 week this wednesday since the introduction of my first fish. I plan to get some bottom dwellers next(cory cats and possibly dwarf otos). I don't mind spending the time into the work of my aquarium since I love this hobby.
If I install these fixtures do you believe I will have enough lighting? As well I was looking into the Coralife Freshwater Aqualight- 48" Power Compact Light-2 x 65W. http://www.bigalsonline.ca/catalog/product.xml?product_id=29553;category_id=1875;pcid1=1843;pcid2=
I think I should start with the proper lighting before I look into the CO2 system then determine the kH and then finally the CO2. The goal for my aquarium is to house a variety of different plant species along with the complementary fish species(mainly amazon species;central/south american fish). At the moment I have 4 red eye tetras to get my cycle going. It will be 1 week this wednesday since the introduction of my first fish. I plan to get some bottom dwellers next(cory cats and possibly dwarf otos). I don't mind spending the time into the work of my aquarium since I love this hobby.