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Do I need co2?

kempster2000

kempster2000

Seedling
Joined
10 Nov 2014
Messages
16
Hi,
Ive been having trouble keeping plants and think it might be down to my co2 levels.
Ive got a 220 liter tank with 100w lighting, ive got two external filters with a combined turnover of 1900lph. The substrate is sand.
Given this set up do u think adding co2 would be beneficial.
Cheers Dave
 
I havent actually been using any, but have just bought some overcthe weekend from my lfs, the plants have big brown patches which ive read might be lack of magnesium, so ill give that a try first but wanted to ask about co2 to see if that would help as well
 
That is a lot of light without adding C02, in fact that is plenty of light for a high tech tank running max C02.
If you decide to go the injected C02 rout then you can expect much faster growth, maybe ten times faster!
However this is not a simple decision as with the faster growth comes other possible issues that can be more frustrating than slow low light tanks!!
 
So no plant food at all! Do you not feed your fish and expect them to grow and live? Ha ha ;) well co2=plant nutrient too and as quoted above your giving them a high impetus to grow but not giving them the building blocks to do so. They will eat themselves to death...

Try root tabs in the sand as its pretty much inert and has zero nutrient value, look into the EI liquid feeding techniques and in my experience co2 is 100% needed. I tried with out for years =failure or poor growth and algae. One of your canisters would be great to run a co2 reactor or inline diffuser. Your flow is great. Light is way great, lovely size tank. Just feed them plants and watch them grow....
 
Hi all,
If you just want an aquarium with healthy plants, and don't have any particular wish to grow carpets etc. you don't need CO2. If you feed your plants with a fairly low level of nutrients they will grow, even in pure sand.

I think your best bet might be to buy a complete fertiliser kit from one of our sponsors, something like <Complete All in One Aquarium Plant Nutrition> (other sponsors are available). There are dosing instructions here <Dosing pdf>. (From this thread, <Water column dosing ...>)

Light drives photosynthesis, and photosynthesis drives the demand for nutrients. The nutrient plants need most of is inorganic carbon (CO2), but they can only make use of the light and CO2 if the other nutrients they need are all present.

True aquatic plants are adapted to grow in low CO2 environments, but many of the plants sold as aquarium plants are actually terrestrial plants that have been produced in glasshouses, and the first time they have been submerged is when you put them in your tank. Some will adapt to life under water without much problem, but a lot will die without additional CO2.

cheers Darrel
 
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