Do you really need CO2 for plants?

I've never had a planted aquarium but I absolutely love the look of them. I have read lots of posts about how you need this and that and CO2 with this and a whole bunch of stuff I find confusing and expensive. I want a relatively small planted tank (5-10gal), and I know that plants that require high amounts of light will definitely need CO2, but I was just thinking about some low to medium light plants like, java moss, amazon sword, java fern and maybe some anubias nana. I know I will need to add some soil for them and about 1-2 watts a gallon but could I skip on the CO2? And what else would I have to do if I don't need to add he CO2? I don't really mind if they don't grow very fast. Thanks!

 

As long as your lights don't have a high PAR then the plants you listed will no need additional Co2 added to the tank.

 

The plants you listed do not need C02 to thrive. I have ALL of those you listed with LED lights and they are thriving and growing.

As far as what plants that need C02, I don't know......... Maybe someone else can chime in...................Also to note, Marimo moss balls are really cool and do not need C02. The oldest ones in my tank are 6 years old, one of them the size of a baseball and the other a small orange.
I had another that was relatively big but I ruined it when I took some cuttings off of it and now its a big carpet looking thing!

 

I have all these plants and they will live without CO2..,.however I started dosing with liquid CO2, excel, and growth increases tons!

 

I have all these plants and they will live without CO2..,.however I started dosing with liquid CO2, excel, and growth increases tons!

Do you use ferts/root tabs? The OP mentioned soil, but I don't know if Amazon Swords needed root tabs.

 

I hear so much about root tabs and have tried several kinds. I don't notice any difference with using these.....I've not had luck with swords in any of my tanks even with tabs. I use ferts, flourish 2-3 times weekly and this helps but the excel is the biggest contributor to growth IMO.

 

Do you use ferts/root tabs? The OP mentioned soil, but I don't know if Amazon Swords needed root tabs.

Any plant that are root feeders will definitely benefit from root tabs. Amazon swords will definitely benefit from root tabs. U can use liquid ferts if u want to if u have any column feeders like anubias and ferns etc.