Put together my first planted tank with CO2

[Krisvalkyrie]

I will post pics when I get home, but last night I set up a 10 gallon for fry and cherry shrimp with a bunch of plants that I got from Tiapan, Bogdan and from some of my other tanks.  Then I used some of my brewing skills to throw together a mix of honey, sugar, water and yeast that should go for quite a while bubbling, attached air hose and stone (rigged together something using a bunch of left over brewing supplies) and it is bubbling away - I didn't think it would be that easy

I have gotten a lot of great ideas talking to a bunch of folks on this board and reading old conversations.  My bf is amused that two or three months ago I was "you have to dechlorinate the water?"  to rigging a CO2 set up from left over junk.  

Kris

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Put together my first planted tank with CO2

Cool beans.......Now lets see those pictures!

[screename]

Re: Put together my first planted tank with CO2

.......waiting for Kris to get home and post pics.....

Doesnt it feel nice to do something yourself and it actually works?

[Krisvalkyrie]

Re: Put together my first planted tank with CO2

Well, here it is.  Nothing amazing or anything - but I am rather proud of it :)

[JGUERRA]

Re: Put together my first planted tank with CO2

COOL      makes me wanna do one too!! great job!!

[Mzungu]

Re: Put together my first planted tank with CO2

Cool! Great job!

Are all those bubbles from the CO2??

[Krisvalkyrie]

Re: Put together my first planted tank with CO2

LOL, not all of them.  I have a bubble bar for regular air.  The CO2 is coming through a smaller air stone.  It has also slowed down a bit.  If you look behind the rock you will see an orange airstone - it is the CO2.

[mahoro]

Re: Put together my first planted tank with CO2

i would get rid of the air stone, or at less put them on timmer so it turns an hr after lights out and off an hr before lights on... hows the cherry doing?

[wesleydnunder]

Re: Put together my first planted tank with CO2

i would get rid of the air stone, or at less put them on timmer so it turns an hr after lights out and off an hr before lights on... hows the cherry doing?

I agree. Your air stone is gassing your co2 off into the air. After lights out the plants don't need the co2.

Mark

[Krisvalkyrie]

Re: Put together my first planted tank with CO2

How do I stop the CO2 at night?  The air stone makes the bubbles small, there is no pump behind it - the tube runs from the airstone into the carboy with yeast and such.  Without the airstone it would just be big bubbles of co2...

Should I crimp the pipe at night?

Kris

[Krisvalkyrie]

Re: Put together my first planted tank with CO2

Also, the cherry shrimp are doing well.  I would like them to start breeding, but they haven't yet.  It is hard for me to tell how many are in there :)

In the first tank I had them in, there was a bit of loss - the one or two biggest died, not sure why.  The rest of them are doing great.  

Kris

[wesleydnunder]

Re: Put together my first planted tank with CO2

How do I stop the CO2 at night?  The air stone makes the bubbles small, there is no pump behind it - the tube runs from the airstone into the carboy with yeast and such.  Without the airstone it would just be big bubbles of co2...

Should I crimp the pipe at night?

Kris

I wouldn't crimp the co2 tube at night. Pressure will build up and pop a seal on your bottle or push the tube out. I'd just leave the airstone from the air pump bubbling all night after lights out and let it keep the water moving to the surface while gassing off unneeded co2.

Mark

[Krisvalkyrie]

Re: Put together my first planted tank with CO2

Ok, now I am confused.


I have 2 air lines in the tank.  One goes to an air pump and is attached to a bubble bar.  It aerates the tank.  The sponge filter I have running along side the regular filter (acting more like a powerhead to create current) also has some aeration effects.  The second airline runs to the bottle creating CO2.  Should I just let both lines run 24/7? Or should I remove one of them?

Kris

[wesleydnunder]

Re: Put together my first planted tank with CO2

Turbulence at the water's surface, like air stones, will cause your co2 to gas off. You don't want this during the time the light is on, so I would have the bubble bar pump on the timer, set to go on after "lights out", then turn off before "lights on" like mahoro suggested. You can leave the co2 tube in the tank all the time, though I'd put a drier bottle (which is simply an empty bottle with the co2 tube from the yeast bottle running into it and another tube running out of it to the tank) in between your yeast bottle and the tank to catch any liquids that may get out of the yeast bottle. I've seen some nasty accidents happen when DIY bottles are plumbed directly into the tank.

Mark

[Krisvalkyrie]

Re: Put together my first planted tank with CO2

I am not worried about liquids - I have been brewing for years - I don't have that trouble.  If my air bar isn't going, how are my fish going to breathe?

Sorry if I sound silly, but I am worried that the CO2 will be too much for them, despite the Oxygen that the plants give off.  Are there enough plants in there?

Kris