LC Scotty

This will probably sound ridiculous, but bear with me. I want to have a planted tank, and I want to ensure that my plants get enough CO2. After I have bought all of the fish I want to get, I will have about 32 inches of adult fish in a 30 gallon tank. Yes, it's a bit overstocked, but as mitigating factors, all fish are 2" or less (with the majority topping out at 1.5"), I run an UGF and a HOB filter, and the tank will be planted. I'm supposing that those factors coupled with religious water changes of about 15% 1-2 times per week ought to leave me in good shape.

What I'm worried about is enough CO2 to support my plants. I am envisioning a few wisteria, a few ludwigia, some swords (Ocelot and dwarf) as well as an anubia. Will this fish load provide enough CO2? If not, is there any reason not to just add a liter of carbonated water with water changes? It should be just water that is super saturated with CO2 to make it fizzy.

Since I've seen no mention of this practice, and I hold no illusions about being the only person clever enough to come up with this, I surmise that it's probably a bad idea-I just don't see why.

lilsoccakid

not sure about carbonated water, but i do know that seachem has a product called excel, and it is a liquid form of carbon for the plants, and they say if a full co2 setup is rated a 10/10 for providing CO2, then the excel is a 7/10. which means it is pretty much just as good, just as a liquid.

also, if the tank is going to have lots and lots of plants, your nitrates will remain close to 0, so you wont need religious water changes

sirdarksol

I would think really hard about a planted tank with a UGF. The roots can get into the UGF and block it up. A HOB combined with the extra surface area provided by the plants will go a long ways toward biological filtration.

I've heard good things about Excel, though there are some plants that don't do well with it.

LC Scotty

O master of the insufficiently luminous sun,

My plan is to have all of these plants (except for any with rhizomes) potted. I did, however, consider deep sixing the UGF. If I did decide to go that route, my plan would be as follows: Since I have a 30 gallon tank, the UGF is broken into halves, with one riser in each back corner. Step 1: Purchase a larger HOB filter, or possibly a canister. Set new filter up and let it run for 2 weeks. Step 2: Remove 1/2 of ugf. Remove all of the gravel on that side, and clean (as best as possible) the area under the UGF plastic table. Replace removed gravel with substrate that is conducive to good plant growth.
Step 3: Wait two weeks. Step 4 change media in the pair of HOB filters and wait 2 more weeks. Finally, remove the other half of the UGF. Thoughts on this plan are, of course, appreciated.

This leaves a few questions: What substrate? If I decide to get some short grass that covers the bottom of the tank, how do I go about vacuuming that? How do I ensure no anaerobic gas pockets I keep hearing about?

Thanks for your thoughts, both of you.

angelfish220

Your method sounds like a good one, but the water will get pretty nasty (you'd be surprised at the amount of junk down there) so I would recommend puting all fish in a different tank, or even a bucket with a heater, for a hour for the dirt to settle.

I couldnt tell you, I have sand and add fertilizer monthly and all plants are well.

You just put the vacume down an inch away from the substrate and pick up the stuff on top.

You get a cool snail called a Malasian Trumpet Snail, and they aerate the soil for you, no work nessisary

sirdarksol

You're not my cousin, are you LC? He's made a similar comment about my handle.

Potted plants would help with the UGF.

However, I think that using EcoComplete or fluorite (or a fluorite/sand mix of 50/50) would be the best way to go. Skip the UGF altogether (believe me, removing substrate once the aquarium is going is a pain). Either of these would do well to support live plants (like grass)

Set the tank up and cycle fishless. There's no need to run the UGF at all (the UGF wouldn't help the fish survive the cycle, nor would it speed it up).

Once the cycle is complete, then begin adding fish.

LC Scotty

Hi Angelfish, Thanks for the tip-I will probably house the fish in a bucket for an hour or so if I do go that route.

Darksol-I don't think we're cousins-you got family in Buffalo? The tank is already up and running, so if I change substrate, I already have that pain coming. If I can find any Malay Trumpet Snails, I may just go that route.

sirdarksol

Alright, you're not my cousin.... or you're lying about where you are.

I've got my eye on you