hey everyone, i've been planning on a heavily planted tank for when i upgrade my fish and had a question. some background info.
1) i don't have the budget for a pressurized CO2 system, so i will be using a DIY yeast setup
2) i'm afraid of accidentally gassing my fish at night
3) 50 breeder, 2x T5HO, ADA amazonia aquasoil, eleocharis acicularis, rotala indica, ludwigia peruensis, hygrophila corymbosa, heterantha zosterfolia. Gonna use estimative index for dosing
my question is
if i just ran the CO2 for however long it took for the plants to fill in the way i want, then remove it and add my fish would there be any problems? I'd still be doing everything else the same minus the CO2
Well unfortunately for your plan Co2 and Lights are like fuel and air with a gas powered combustible engine. Too much light (fuel) then you need to counter that with air (co2) and if you don't expect mad algae growth and nutrients out of whack! What I'm saying starting a high tech w/ co2 and high light then just leaving it to low tech may have some long lasting ill effects!
From what I gathered you want to grow out some fast healthy plants via high lighting and co2 + fertz/sub but once you fill your desired space in you kind of want to pull the plug and slow everything down for the beauty, naturalness and growth wanted? But its not that easy!
First you need a stable planted tank which can benefit from old planted substrate, if not; a newly setup high tech planted will do some funky things!
My advice: if you don't mind turning on your co2 45min or so before the lights turn on (making sure bbs are consistent to provide constant co2 levels everyday) and the same before they turn off at a decently @ apprx the sametime everyday then you should avoid nuisance Algae! But high lighting needs good injected co2 which can be hard to achieve via yeast but has been done.
I found my 5lbs bottle, needle valve and 2 stage regulator on CL for 80$ and if you go to your brew supply center you can pick up new everything for 130$-150$ or so. Search classifieds for kegorator and you may need a couple fittings, needle valve and bubble counter (fluval makes a 6$ one)
You can try your idea but after your done with Co2 you need to cut the lighting way back! Lets say your fixture has 4 bulbs take at least 2 out!
*Co2 parts NOT to skimp on: needle valve, newish regulator, decent solenoid valve (to run on timer so you don't manually turn it on and off) check valve and REACTOR! LOOK UP REX GRIGG REACTOR AND EASILY DIY YOUR OWN FOR 15$!!!!! Some say 90-100% co2 absorbency into water!
What plants did you have in mind? Med/high light plants in some cases need high light and injected co2!
×Go S. Vettel #1 Infiniti Redbull! 4x WDC!!! Congrats on another flawless title and 9 wins back to back in 1 season (record!) See you next year in Australia boys!×
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Cheap way to decrease nitrates and keep your fish healthy: http://monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=504763