Interested in some details on dry starting?

I am setting up a 55 gal, I would be very interested in some details on dry starting? I'm new to "tanking" please fill me in, thanks!

 

HI kimoore welcome to FishLore!!

Your question has been moved to a thread of it's own so you can get responses geared toward your tank.

For those wondering, kimoore was reading ScottsTanks's thread here:


Have fun & good luck

 

Hey Kimoore. Dry starting is fairly simple and its a good way to start out carpeting plants especially Hemianthus callitrichoides (dwarf baby tears). The root systems on HC is so shallow that it needs to grow in before water can be added or it always just seems to float away. For my tank I dry started HC and pygmy chain swords. I filled the tank in with planting substrate, arranged my hardscape elements (driftwood and river rocks) and then planted the HC and PCS. After that its a waiting game. I would spray down the tank with water taken from another tank and then wrap the tank in plastic wrap to keep the moisture in. I ran the lights 10 hrs/day and resprayed the tank once a week for 6 weeks. At the end of that time I planted the rest of tank heavily to help offset algae problems (since I'm using pressurized Co2) and filled the tank with water.

Its a simple build as long as you are patient. I'm not patient at all but luckily I have other tanks to look at. The other advantage to dry start is that your nitrogenous bacteria start to colonize the substrate during the dry start so my cycle took two days after filling in the water.

Not all plants can grow emmersed like this so you need to do a bit of research first. I killed 6 bundles of ludwigia and 9 bundles of blue hygro trying to dry start them at the same time as the HC and PCS. Good luck!

 

thanks ScottsTanks, what do you use the CO2 for?

 

The Co2 is essentially a fertilizer for the plants. Plants consume Co2 and release oxygen the same way we consume oxygen and release Co2. I have a pressurized Co2 bottle that releases Co2 directly into the tank to help the plants with their photosynthesis. Co2 isn't something that you MUST in a planted but it helps with growth so much. I see that you have a 20 gallon and 55 gallon tank. With the 20 gallon you do a yeast-based Co2 kit instead of the full-flung pressurized set up but a 55 gallon tank is just too big to run off of yeast Co2.

 

so I can add some yeast to the 20gal? how much? I want my plants to thrive as much as fish too. How do you get the CO2 into your big tank?

 

I don't know that much about co2 set up but, I don't htink u actually add yeast to the tank. you make a mixture with other thing plus the yeast in a pop bottle.

 

I don't know that much about co2 set up but, I don't htink u actually add yeast to the tank. you make a mixture with other thing plus the yeast in a pop bottle.

Yes, do not add yeast directly to your tank water. You have to make a mixture of yeast, sugar, and warm tap water. Most people mix this in a 2-liter pop bottle. Here's a good video about how to do a DIY Co2 system:

There are hundreds of these videos out there so if this one doesn't work for you, you can find lots more. It's a simple set up and its a LOT cheaper than a pressurized system. The only thing I would suggest against from his video is that he uses a ladder diffuser. If you spend like $15 you can get a nice glass Co2 diffuser on Amazon and those rock they get a lot closer to 100% diffusion than the ladders do.

Also, I've heard that wine-making yeast and champagne-making yeast work a lot better and last twice as long as baking yeast. Those things might be hard to come by though.

 

so I can add some yeast to the 20gal? how much? I want my plants to thrive as much as fish too. How do you get the CO2 into your big tank?

okay so as far as the big tank is concerned, by a 29 gallon tank you've reached what most people is as the practical limit for yeast-based Co2 and you really need to step up to the big leagues and drop some cash on a pressurized system. For a pressurized system you really only need 4 things (5 if you count the tubing)

1. a pressurized bottle (I use a 5 pound bottle for my 55 gallon but they come in all sizes. A 5lb bottle should last 5-6 months between refills)
2. a regulator (I'm using this Milwaukee brand regulator )
The really nice things about this regulator are it's relatively cheap at only $100, it has a built in bubble counter, and most important, it has an electronic solenoid valve which allows you to connect it to the same timer as your lights so when the lights are off the Co2 is off. Ive seen just a solenoid valve without a regulator sell for $100+ so this is a great buy.
3. a bubble counter. if your regulator doesn't have one built in you will need one to monitor how much Co2 is entering your tank.
4. Co2 tubing. like regular airline tubing but Co2 resistant.
5. a glass diffuser. This breaks the Co2 into a fine mist of bubbles that will get diffused into the aquarium water much more readily than large bubbles.

Once you have everything, you need to find a place that sells Co2, AirGas is a big supplier and they are in small towns like mine. Otherwise any welding supply company will sell Co2. Here a full fill cost me $10 for a 5lb bottle.

 

sweet, I live in a small town and there is an airgas right up the road! Thanks for all the info!

 

DIY CO2 can be done in bigger tanks, it just takes more bottles to do. I just read that juice bottles work better, hold more pressure and leak less. Even a beer fermentor will work. I'm exploring that option myself. Dry starts are very popular on ADA tanks so check out their site.