# Question about CO2



## azn1stknightsou (Aug 25, 2005)

Would I need something like this in order to keep my plants growing strong? I use the liquid ferts, but they still seem a little on the "limp" side.


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

It would help. Look into DIY Co2 also. Cheaper and lasts longer.


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## goodie (Sep 2, 2005)

DIY, DIY, DIY!!!

Super easy and fun to make. But I'm just a dork like that.


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## MyraVan (Jan 19, 2005)

What is your substrate? What is your lighting? If you don't have a good plant-growing substrate, and if you have very low lighting, I would suggest that you sort that out before you mess with CO2.


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## DavidDoyle (Jan 18, 2005)

Before going to messy and much work diy co2, consider trying Flourish Excel.


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

DavidDoyle said:


> Before going to messy and much work diy co2, consider trying Flourish Excel.


A great alternate for small tanks. For larger tanks, just not cost effective.


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## azn_fishy55 (Aug 7, 2005)

Well,for my 15 gal. I use both DIY CO2 and Florish Excel and my plants are doing great.You can add CO2 if you want to in low light tanks,but in medium and high light tanks it is crucial.What ferts are you using?What is your wpg?What is your substrate?


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## DavidDoyle (Jan 18, 2005)

I have 14 planted tanks ranging in size from 5.5 to 75 gals- total 340 gals. I dose flourish excel in all of them- at the very least with weekly water change- and a few get more. I buy two 2 liter bottles/year for 40-45$ plus their share of shipping in my order. Now that doesnt compare to the approximate $6/year I spend for pressurized, but is isnt expensive.


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

We want to see some of your tanks Mr. Doyle.


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## DavidDoyle (Jan 18, 2005)

I am pretty lazy about taking pictures and have a tough time with full tank pics vs closeups. I tend to take a pic right after I first set up a new tank and then get lazy with followups. I also have a habit of letting them jungalize and then redoing them. 

I am also not a fan of Aquascaping contests- I do my tanks for my pleasure and dont give a dead fish what anybody else thinks of them. So, many of my pics are for illustrative purposes rather then tank display. I am also probably one of the very few plant people around who is not a fan of Amano tanks. I do plants for my fish not to impress others


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Takashi Amano has a great skill and is very creative, but I'm not a big fan either. My plants are for my fish as well as my sanity. Watching a very small microcosm of nature is very relaxing.


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## MyraVan (Jan 19, 2005)

I see Amano's tanks as examples of fine art. While I enjoy looking at pics of his tanks, I would no more try to imitate his style than I would try to imitate Rubens. First, I have no artistic talent. Second, he uses expensive, time-consuming high tech methods that I have no interest in to grow some of the more demanding plants. 

My own tanks have healthy growing plants, but very little to no artistic merit!


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## slidewaysL28E (May 31, 2005)

If you've got $30.00 to spare, go ahead and purchase the Hagen system, it's going to be more reliable and less likely to leak, also it'll look better and it diffuses the CO2 much better than your standard 2-liter bottle setup. I use a simliar system and I had a noticable increase in plant growth versus the DIY setup.


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

I never have real plants in my tank, NEVER, too much trouble. I rely on the nitrifying bacteria to create my ecosystems. I've even managed to culture certain types of good bacteria with an airstone and a bottle to add to my tank filters to make the filtration system as efficient as possible.


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## azn1stknightsou (Aug 25, 2005)

Just to let you guys know, I saved up and went ahead and bought the CO2 system. Been using it for around 2 weeks. There is definite difference with my plants now. Thank you for all of your helpful comments!!!


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## Thomas (Nov 8, 2005)

azn_fishy55 said:


> Well,for my 15 gal. I use both DIY CO2 and Florish Excel and my plants are doing great.You can add CO2 if you want to in low light tanks,but in medium and high light tanks it is crucial.What ferts are you using?What is your wpg?What is your substrate?


Can I ask what exactly Florish Excel is? I think on any other thread it was said that it would help to get rid of algae too


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Flourish excel is a source of carbon that plants need to grow and live. It also has some chemicals (though for various reasons seachem is not allowed to say why) that act as an algaecide. It also makes iron readily available for plants also.

http://www.seachem.com/products/product_pages/FlourishExcel.html


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## Thomas (Nov 8, 2005)

Thanks Simpte :smile: It sounds quite good as it acts as fertilizer for plant and killer for algae. I think I will try it. If someone knows other benefit or drawback of it, perhaps give us a shout?


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