Starting a Nano

[MDK500]

I have a 7in. x 7in. x 7in. Glass Cube (about 1.5g) that I am going to make a planted setup with. I'm going to have a small sand stream running down the middle (coming from the back corner) and on the sides use Eco complete with a layer of ADA Amazonia Powder on top. Lighting is an 18 watt PC bulb (7,500K) over the cube. I have a few questions:
- I want to grow some HC on the substrate and was thinking about growing it with no water, but very moist conditions until it fills in, then filling the tank up with water. Could this work?
- Also, I don't plan on having any heating or filtration. The tank should stay around 70ºF. Will this be fine?
- When the tank is filled I'll run DIY CO2 with one 2L bottle, which should give me 2-3 BPS, plus i'll use a glass diffuser.
- The tank won't have any inhabitants, maybe a ghost shrimp or two?
I may have more questions along the way, but this is all I can think of for now. Thanks for any help.

 

[hybridtheoryd16]

Growing Hc emersed works very well. Because it is able to use the atmosphere's 300+ppm of co2.

Most people get a good amount of die off upon filling with water. To combat this they run huge amounts of pressurized co2. Around 60ppm or so.

Also Diy co2 will not diffuse thru a glass/ceramic diffuser. Many many people have tried it. But all have been plagued with leaks in the co2 system because of the pressure it takes to push air/gas thru a diffuser. Even a large air pump will not push thru a glass diffuser.

I have never seen a DIy co2 mix that would make 2-3 BPS. Most make 1 bubble every 5-10 seconds at best and fall off quickly. That's where diy co2's flaw's shine. Its not consistent and there for causes problems when used in higher light/tech set ups.

But I do like your idea with the nano and I wish you the best of luck.

 

[MDK500]

Growing Hc emersed works very well. Because it is able to use the atmosphere's 300+ppm of co2.

Most people get a good amount of die off upon filling with water. To combat this they run huge amounts of pressurized co2. Around 60ppm or so.

Also Diy co2 will not diffuse thru a glass/ceramic diffuser. Many many people have tried it. But all have been plagued with leaks in the co2 system because of the pressure it takes to push air/gas thru a diffuser. Even a large air pump will not push thru a glass diffuser.

I have never seen a DIy co2 mix that would make 2-3 BPS. Most make 1 bubble every 5-10 seconds at best and fall off quickly. That's where diy co2's flaw's shine. Its not consistent and there for causes problems when used in higher light/tech set ups.

But I do like your idea with the nano and I wish you the best of luck.

Alright, thanks for the help. Sorry to prove you wrong though but I have been running DIY CO2 with glass diffusers for years now. It works perfectly. Also, I use a glass bubble counter so I know how much CO2 is running and when to refill the bottle. I don't use the sugar, water and yeast formula. I use an improved formula with protein powder and other different additives to get a better yield and a longer lasting colony . If anyone wants this formula I can send it to you . I'm using two 2L bottles in my high tech set up (in my sig) and everything is going great.

 

[hybridtheoryd16]

Yea post up your mix and ingredients. I still use diy on a couple of tanks and would love to do the research to see for myself.

Also what brand of glass diffuser do you use? Maybe a pic?

Over the years I have purchased 3 off of ebay and none of those would work with diy. So when searching on all the planted tank sites it is a general consensus that diy will not diffuse thru most glass/ceramic diffuser's because of the high pressure.

 

[MDK500]

Sure, In one 2L bottle I use:
- Dechlorinated water (filled half way up the bottle)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon protein powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Yeast
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- Also, I leave the previous yeast colony on the bottom when I refill

And here's your picture... kinda old though (this set-up is a double bottle one)

 

[MDK500]

Everything is set up now, I will post pictures in a new thread. Oh and I use these diffusers.