Hi Guys, newbie here, first tank since I was a kid, and 2nd post here!
I recently setup a CO2 system in my planted tank. I have a drop checker and all the required tech to regulate it, at the moment I have it going on 30 mins before my lights come on, and for the duration of the lights (8 hours). My drop checker shows as green whilst the CO2 is running, so I assume I am dosing the correct amount of CO2 (not too much, or too little). However, again because I am a newbie, I'm not really sure at what rate my plants should be growing, they seem to be growing, and I have only had my new plants in (and the CO2 system) for about a week, so I know I shouldn't expect them to have grown in already, however I just get paranoid that maybe I need to add more CO2? I have a couple of plants at the front that have gone partially translucent, which I have looked up is lack of CO2, however the rest of the plants are doing fine, so I just assume this is to do with lack of flow of CO2 to that area? I am dosing fertiliser daily using " the aquascaper - complete fertiliser " . I don't have a plant soil (overlooked it at tank setup) but I do have root tabs in, and try to make sure my plants are getting all the nutrients from the water column with my fertiliser. I have 2 x T5 iquatics 24w tropical florescent bulbs which have reflectors on also, these are on for 8 hours a day.
Am I just being paranoid or do I need to add more CO2!?
I recently setup a CO2 system in my planted tank. I have a drop checker and all the required tech to regulate it, at the moment I have it going on 30 mins before my lights come on, and for the duration of the lights (8 hours). My drop checker shows as green whilst the CO2 is running, so I assume I am dosing the correct amount of CO2 (not too much, or too little). However, again because I am a newbie, I'm not really sure at what rate my plants should be growing, they seem to be growing, and I have only had my new plants in (and the CO2 system) for about a week, so I know I shouldn't expect them to have grown in already, however I just get paranoid that maybe I need to add more CO2? I have a couple of plants at the front that have gone partially translucent, which I have looked up is lack of CO2, however the rest of the plants are doing fine, so I just assume this is to do with lack of flow of CO2 to that area? I am dosing fertiliser daily using " the aquascaper - complete fertiliser " . I don't have a plant soil (overlooked it at tank setup) but I do have root tabs in, and try to make sure my plants are getting all the nutrients from the water column with my fertiliser. I have 2 x T5 iquatics 24w tropical florescent bulbs which have reflectors on also, these are on for 8 hours a day.
Am I just being paranoid or do I need to add more CO2!?