Drip System + pressurized Co2

[coryjac0b]

So I recently re-homed a few large central american cichlids to convert my tank to a fish tank with a good amount of plants. I am not looking for a show-type tank, more of a fish tank with plants. Just a more natural looking tank with a good amount of vegetation. I have a drip system setup that does about 24 gallons a day running through a 3 stage chloramine filter. The tank is a 5ft 120 (60x18x26). I would like to add a co2 system to my tank so the plants can thrive. So far I have add some ancharis and some red ludwigia and a few jungle vals.


So my question is, am I going to be at a disadvantage with a drip system rather than the traditional water change style? Another idea is to have a solenoid connected to my Apex Neptune that would drain water at night rather than have it constantly draining as the drip is going on.

TIA-

 

[jonah h2o]

Fat Homer KNOWS A LOT ABOUT THIS STUFF

but heres what I think:

I would guess that it would take out the co2 before it has a chance to get absorbed into the water (or diffused, whatever you call it)
I would assume that the chloramine filter would be a good thing
I think that if you're not going for an extreme planted tank thank co2 isn't necessary and you should spend the extra money on lighting something like these:
kessils (I got my first one last week and I love it)
aquatic life halo
maxspect razor could be used to grow plants (I've seen it done on SUPER planted tanks)

hope this helps!

 

[coryjac0b]

Fat Homer KNOWS A LOT ABOUT THIS STUFF

but heres what I think:

I would guess that it would take out the co2 before it has a chance to get absorbed into the water (or diffused, whatever you call it)
I would assume that the chloramine filter would be a good thing
I think that if you're not going for an extreme planted tank thank co2 isn't necessary and you should spend the extra money on lighting something like these:
kessils (I got my first one last week and I love it)
aquatic life halo
maxspect razor could be used to grow plants (I've seen it done on SUPER planted tanks)

hope this helps!

Thanks for the input. Correct me if I am wrong, but the plants need some kind of supplemental Co2, whether it's from pressurized or dosing of some sort to thrive? I was just assuming that a pressurized Co2 system is the most cost-effective over time.

Right now I have 2 beamswork Leds on there.

 

[jonah h2o]

many people use stuff like seachem trace and flourish. another factor would be substrate. you could blow $500 on a lux co2 system but if you really want to do one well I would assemble it from different parts and build a nice system. but these guys make super nice ones
ithttp://greenleafaquariums.com

again its NOT necessarybut it sounds like thats what you want to do and many people feel that way but a TON of people would say that it isn't necessary you can view the admin thread about co2, its very controversial wether its needed but in you're case it seems like you'd be better off just seing what happens with those beams works and if it doesn't work replace the lighting and you won't need it. also if something goes wrong it will kill you're fish. another thing you'll probably need a 20lb co2 tank for that size. just one more Time, unless you're going for a tank like this (not mine) co2 isn't necessary and again their is probably 1000 articles about why to use co2 and why not to use co2 and in the end It boils down to you're tank I also have some questions about the tank!
does it have a sump? in addition to chloramine filter
what kind of substrate
if not a sump what kind of filter?
sorry its so long, when it comes to co2 their are people who would wright a 5 page paper (they know a lot more than me)

 

[Fat Homer]

Fat Homer KNOWS A LOT ABOUT THIS STUFF

but heres what I think:

I would guess that it would take out the co2 before it has a chance to get absorbed into the water (or diffused, whatever you call it)
I would assume that the chloramine filter would be a good thing
I think that if you're not going for an extreme planted tank thank co2 isn't necessary and you should spend the extra money on lighting something like these:
kessils (I got my first one last week and I love it)
aquatic life halo
maxspect razor could be used to grow plants (I've seen it done on SUPER planted tanks)

hope this helps!

Im far from a pro when it comes to planted tanks, just happen to have gotten lucky with a lot of trial and error...

Anyway, onto the OP's tank...

The drip system i would think doesnt gas off too much Co2 if its entering the tank slowly, normally people will say an air bubbler or even any surface tention that is broken will help let some of the Co2 gas out, but will ist require some fine tuning as to how much you need...

The one thing the drip system will remove however, is any ferts you may feed your tank which may mean you need to add a bit more each time to compensate any loss..,

You also need to consider things such as what type of substrate you want to use, and what other plants you want...

Coz if you keep lots of low light plants then you could maybe able to avoid Co2 and a lot of other things, but for more demanding plants such as red ludwigia, they tend to do well with stronger lights, and nutrient rich substrate to get those bright / dark reds you see in pictures all the time..

 

[jonah h2o]

Im far from a pro when it comes to planted tanks, just happen to have gotten lucky with a lot of trial and error...

Anyway, onto the OP's tank...

The drip system i would think doesnt gas off too much Co2 if its entering the tank slowly, normally people will say an air bubbler or even any surface tention that is broken will help let some of the Co2 gas out, but will ist require some fine tuning as to how much you need...

The one thing the drip system will remove however, is any ferts you may feed your tank which may mean you need to add a bit more each time to compensate any loss..,

You also need to consider things such as what type of substrate you want to use, and what other plants you want...

Coz if you keep lots of low light plants then you could maybe able to avoid Co2 and a lot of other things, but for more demanding plants such as red ludwigia, they tend to do well with stronger lights, and nutrient rich substrate to get those bright / dark reds you see in pictures all the time..

I am curious to see if you agree on the use of co2, I'm a firm believer that good lights are the most important (not that nutrients aren't)

 

[jonah h2o]

oh and substrate will be a bigger factor than co2, not that co2 isn't. but if you don't have the right lighting and substrate co2 won't be off much help!

 

[Fat Homer]

I run 2 planted tanks, one hi-tech 50G with all the bells and whistles which i dose with ferts on a schedule i worked out for my tank...

The other is a 60G medium light low tech planted with no Co2, barely any ferts etc... so i know both can work...

The thing is with planted tanks is its all a balancing act, and when one of the factors such as light / ferts / Co2 is increased, everything else needs to be appropriately increased along with it or you can risk turning the tank into an algae farm...

 

[Fat Homer]

Now that i'm sitting at a computer, i can go into a bit more detail about what i meant in my above post...

My 60G is a low tech planted tank with more emphasis on the hardscape, but i also focus on only keeping low light plants in there that aren't overly demanding, such as very basic Bucephalandra / 3 types of Cryptocoryne / 2 types Anubias / Swords etc, with the tank itself running only specialized dirt / heater / filter / 2 LED Strip lights

(60G Tank Link - Jump to last page for current look) https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/and-so-the-new-journey-begins.493881/

My 50G planted tank however is more plant focused, so i keep more demanding bucephalandra such as Brownie ghost blue as well as different Cryptocoryne that grow a lot nicer and lusher as well as a few other plants, but the tank also runs: a chiller / TDS remover / heater / high light / specialized soil / decent levels of Co2 / Ferts / High end LED lighting system

(50G tank Link - jump to last page for current look) https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/50g-aquascape-3-0.666846/

So really just depends on what your ultimate goal is with the tank that kind of dictates whats the best way to set it up... i would maybe advise you check out places like youtube and google to see what type of tank you like and then come back here with your ideas and maybe someone can give you some more solid info on how to go about setting something similar up...

 

[HarleyK]

Drip, no CO2. It's possible. Quite easily, actually.