With root tabs, liquid fert, and 2.5 - 3 wpg how necessary is having co2, I've heard florishs excel can be helpful as a replacement for co2 , what do you think?
how necessary is co2
- Thread starter GreenTerr0
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What size is the tank? With that lighting it would certainly be a good idea but I'm sure you could get around it if you're fine with slower growth and potentially algae. I ask for the tank size because unless it's small (like less than 10 gallons) you would want to save the money by going the Co2 route rather than excel. On my 15 gallon I have just over 3 wpg and I can get by using excel but if I had the space I would definitely choose a Co2 system.
Absolutely necessary, its not. Your plants will grow just fine without. However, so will algae so gotta watch that.
How easy is it to combat algae, I have a common pleco 3 siamese algae eaters and a cory, I'm thinking of adding some more cories.... Will these guys handle the algae load lol
Corys will not eat algae. Their mouth structure does not allow for it.
'Common' plecos are so-so when younger but tend to get lazier and prefer prepared food when older.
True SAE's are pretty good, especially with stuff like BBA, but it's not uncommon for misidentified fish to be sold. I would check out pinkertd's sticky in the bottom dweller section to make sure you have the right species. A lot of the imposters will not do an efficient job.
And generally less algae = happier plants. It would be much more productive to aim for less algae growth than have fish to cover up the problems.
'Common' plecos are so-so when younger but tend to get lazier and prefer prepared food when older.
True SAE's are pretty good, especially with stuff like BBA, but it's not uncommon for misidentified fish to be sold. I would check out pinkertd's sticky in the bottom dweller section to make sure you have the right species. A lot of the imposters will not do an efficient job.
And generally less algae = happier plants. It would be much more productive to aim for less algae growth than have fish to cover up the problems.
Sorry, it's not a sticky so here is the link to make sure you can find it...
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=192330
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=192330
How would I keep algae under control rather than having fish to keep it under cover as you said? For example I'm lighting my tank for 12 hours a day and doing weekly water changes and adding florish excel as directed on bottle, what can I do?
That's a lot of flourish excel. I can't imagine the bottles last you very long- since it's 1 capful for every 10 gallons (so 7.5) after a water change, then 1 cap for every 50 (so 1.5) daily or every other day, more for heavly planted tanks, if used as directed.. And it's not cheap, $10 bucks for the smalled bottle- at least around here. I'd think CO2, combined with dry ferts would pay for them selves pretty quick, instead of spending that much of excel..
I've done a 20long, 29g and 30g hex all with over 3wpg, dosing Excel for a carbon source. No CO2. I had no problems at all but in the long run it is not cost effective. CO2 is literally plug and play.