Upgrading! Help Please

ZachAttck

ZachAttck

AC Members
Dec 13, 2008
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Alrighty, I'm thinking of upgrading my lightly planted 20 gallon aquarium to a more moderately planted one, and I'm looking for more vigorous plant growth. I was going to start dosing CO2, upgrade my lighting, and possibly, hopefully i don't have to, change my ferts. I have a few questions on each of these topics...
Lighting:
For lighting i was planning on upgrading from 1x15W Flora-Glo Flouresccent to 2x24W T5 HO. This would give me close to 2.5 WPG instead of the >1 I'm currently getting. I was going to do one Life-Glo bulb and one Power-Glo bulb.

CO2:
For this i was planning on going with the simple Hagen CO2 Natural Plant System that i can get from my LFS. I currently am not dosing CO2.

Ferts:
As of right now, I'm just using simple Seachem Flourish Root Tabs.

And now for the questions :help:
(1) The main one is will all of these things go good with eachother. Will the lighting be too much for the CO2 coming into the tank, giving me and algae factory? Or on the otherside not enough meaning my plants can't take in enough CO2, raising my levels, and possibly killing my fish. I have a feeling if anything it'd be too much. And finally will just the root tabs be enough for fertilzers.
(2) If all of this does work together, could i replace the diffuser that comes with the CO2 with just a regular air stone. I don't think it will be a problem, I just don't want to look at the big diffuser everytime i look into my tank.
(3) Any input, experiences, or places i can find the lights or CO2 cheap would be great! :)

Links to what i am looking at:
Lights- http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+13822+19759&pcatid=19759
CO2 - http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_AquariumPage~PageAlias~freshwater_hagen_co2_natural_plant_system.html

I'm planning on adding some ludwiga, more water wisteria, and possibly some microsword. I'm mainly just looking for more vivid colors on my plants and better growth. I'm currently using just regular medium gravel from PetSmart, no flourite or any of that other stuff. If you need to know anything else about my current set up, just ask.
Thanks!!! :D
 
1) The lights would be great. Different plants have different needs. Most stem plants take VERY little nutrient from their roots.
2) The Hagens CO2 cannot put out enough CO2 to kill fish in a 20.
3) Does the Hagens CO2 system have a CO2 ladder??
 
tanker said:
1) The lights would be great. Different plants have different needs. Most stem plants take VERY little nutrient from their roots.
2) The Hagens CO2 cannot put out enough CO2 to kill fish in a 20.
3) Does the Hagens CO2 system have a CO2 ladder??
Click to expand...


Yes it does have a CO2 ladder. I didn't think it could put out that much either, but on the otherside would it put out enough?
 
With 2.5 wattts/gal you will need some CO2. Some is better then none.

Enough?? I have not used the Hagen so am not sure.
 
Go DIY Co2. Similar to the Hagen setup only you just have to assemble the ingredients and equipment yourself, which shouldn't be a huge issue. If I can do it, you can...trust me.

Reason being that I have been told that even though it's supposedly rated for up to 20 or 30 gallons (I forgot which one) it only really works up to 10 gal. Not only that but I found it to be unpredictable. Algae will thrive in fluctuating Co2 levels.

I believe you can still buy the bubble ladder separately. You could diffuse through that with the DIY.
 
What i was thinking is using my own recipe in the Hagen.<- Would this work? That way it's pretty much the same thing as DIY just without the 2L pop bottle. I like the Hagen because the only thing I'll see is the tubing running down into an airstone (diffuser) beneath my filter intake, and it'll hang nicely on the back of my tank. This way hopefully i won't have too unpredictable levels, it's the same thing as DIY, except I'm using the Hagen to contain the reaction instead of a 2L bottle.
 
Save the money...

Use 2L pop bottles instead for the containers. They can be easily hidden behind or underneath your tank stand.

The unpredictable levels come from the fact that it is too small of a container than what it is rated for. You'll get more Co2 out of a pure DIY...
 
Alright, i was thinking and i could just drop it behind what I'm using for a stand. Is there anything special i should know about DIY or anything to be careful for?
 
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