On The Verge Of Co2

So... I am on the verge of buying pressurized co2 for a 75 gal tank.
Mainly to manage bba.

Green plants are nice too.

I'm looking fir opinions if this is the way to go for my tank ?
I dose thrive and mag every water change.

Mostly low light plants- java fern, temple, ludwigia, anubis, crypt and guppy grass.
Pretty well stocked too.

1 c pleco- 1 GBR -cherI shrimp
15 cardinals. 4 sprklers- 1 badis
2 mystery snails. 1 Electric blue goby-
2 nerites.- 10 kuhlI loachs- 18 rasboras
3 sterbaI cories - 2 ghost shrimp -5 sidthmunkI loach -2 african dwarf frog -8 amano shrimp- 2 assassin snails. 5 tetras. 9 p. cories 1 sunset gourami.

This is new to me; wondering if this is the way to go or not.?

 

So... I am on the verge of buying pressurized co2 for a 75 gal tank.
Mainly to manage bba.

Green plants are nice too.

I'm looking fir opinions if this is the way to go for my tank ?
I dose thrive and mag every water change.

Mostly low light plants- java fern, temple, ludwigia, anubis, crypt and guppy grass.
Pretty well stocked too.

1 c pleco- 1 GBR -cherI shrimp
15 cardinals. 4 sprklers- 1 badis
2 mystery snails. 1 Electric blue goby-
2 nerites.- 10 kuhlI loachs- 18 rasboras
3 sterbaI cories - 2 ghost shrimp -5 sidthmunkI loach -2 african dwarf frog -8 amano shrimp- 2 assassin snails. 5 tetras. 9 p. cories 1 sunset gourami.

This is new to me; wondering if this is the way to go or not.?View attachment 567724

Lol. Well, once dialled in, your bba will die off quickly. I say do it, but I have issues with more than just bba.

Even with slow growers and low light plants, you will be trimming 4x more often. You will have to fertilize more as well. I love the tradeoff. I don't mind trimming. It's actually kind of encouraging me to stop my collectoritis. I'm getting rid of easier low light giant plants every month, and using smaller, more attractive ones. I hate my swords now, they won't stop making spikes. My crypt wendtiI need to be broken up because a couple are as big as my swords, and my wisteria is, literally, a weed. Dont even get me started on the impossibility of eradicating java moss. I'd rather have duckweed and frogbit. At least with those I would have a fighting chance of eradication!

 

So... I am on the verge of buying pressurized co2 for a 75 gal tank.
Mainly to manage bba.

Green plants are nice too.

I'm looking fir opinions if this is the way to go for my tank ?
I dose thrive and mag every water change.

Mostly low light plants- java fern, temple, ludwigia, anubis, crypt and guppy grass.
Pretty well stocked too.

1 c pleco- 1 GBR -cherI shrimp
15 cardinals. 4 sprklers- 1 badis
2 mystery snails. 1 Electric blue goby-
2 nerites.- 10 kuhlI loachs- 18 rasboras
3 sterbaI cories - 2 ghost shrimp -5 sidthmunkI loach -2 african dwarf frog -8 amano shrimp- 2 assassin snails. 5 tetras. 9 p. cories 1 sunset gourami.

This is new to me; wondering if this is the way to go or not.?View attachment 567724

Is this your aquarium or something your wanting to achieve? It's a beautiful planted Aquarium. I would advice you not to keep ghost shrimp with neocaridina's if you had meant to type "cherry". When I first started off with shrimp I too had both and my ghost were extremely aggressive and hunted down and killed all 10 of my cherry shrimp with the exception of one cherry jumping out of the tank. I can only guess the cherry thought it would be safer to get out than share an aquarium with ghost. Stem plants would always appreciate co2 but they can do well without it too but just not as colorful with co2. I really love having an all in one liquid Fertilizer that takes the guessing out of what nutrients you need than dosing multiple different kind of ferts. I have the co2art dual stage regulator and highly recommend it with the accessories if you can purchase it.

 

Wraithen thank you.
Getting rid of bba and trimming full plants seems like a good trade.

I don't mind algae but ...I can't stand the bba.
Your response is an encouragement for co2.

sunnycal thank you.
That is my tank in the picture. Sho that it's what I'm referring to.
Is co2 worth it for n.y plants and tank ?
Or keep fighting bba with excel ?

I haven't had issues with the shrimp getting along. I've Had the cherry since January.

Some times the shrimp thing is a mystery tho. I have seen recent post claiming amono shrimp attacking or eating fish.
I haven't seen that either :/
Hopefully I won't cross that bridge.

I will look into the regulator you suggested, thank you

 

Wraithen thank you.
Getting rid of bba and trimming full plants seems like a good trade.

I don't mind algae but ...I can't stand the bba.
Your response is an encouragement for co2.

sunnycal thank you.
That is my tank in the picture. Sho that it's what I'm referring to.
Is co2 worth it for n.y plants and tank ?
Or keep fighting bba with excel ?

I haven't had issues with the shrimp getting along. I've Had the cherry since January.

Some times the shrimp thing is a mystery tho. I have seen recent post claiming amono shrimp attacking or eating fish.
I haven't seen that either :/
Hopefully I won't cross that bridge.

I will look into the regulator you suggested, thank you

I love your planted tank. It's beautiful. I think having co2 will benefit your stem plants as I mentioned above. I've heard amano shrimp can be aggressive at feeding time by hogging the food but not killing fish/shrimp! On my IG acct there were several other people that had the same thing happen to them with neocaridina's killed from ghost shrimp when I had posted my experience 4ish years back.

 

I love your planted tank. It's beautiful. I think having co2 will benefit your stem plants as I mentioned above. I've heard amano shrimp can be aggressive at feeding time by hogging the food but not killing fish/shrimp! On my IG acct there were several other people that had the same thing happen to them with neocaridina's killed from ghost shrimp when I had posted my experience 4ish years back.

Doing a lot of research on this. Amano will become aggressive as they slowly starve if there isn't enough aufwuchs in the tank. They can't subsist purely on algae, which is why they get mean with food during feeding times. I am adding repashy soilent green on a more regular basis now. Too bad there isn't something similar in a sinking pellet variety. On a positive note, my denison barbs like it a lot also.

Nothing we commonly keep is an algae eater. At best, they are aufwuchs eaters. Feed your pets folks! Especially the good slaves like otos and amanos!

 

CO2 is truly the only way to get rid of the BBA. Once you dial it in, it will turn red and disintegrate.

As Wraithen was saying, many of the plants will become weeds and you will have to add more fertilizer. CO2 IME makes everything easier for me. If you follow a generic Estimative Index fert schedule and just remain consistent with a weekly water change and a 2-3 minute daily dosing session, everything will run smoothly. But yes, you will have to trim quite a bit but I personally love seeing my plants grow with lightning speed so I personally don't mind it, although I know a lot of people don't want to do it.

Once you get used to trimming your scape, it shouldn't take more than 10-15 minutes.

 

sunnycal thank you, I'm very proud of how far the tank has come from where I started.
I will keep an eye out on the shrimp misbehaving.

Wraithen thank you for the information.
I saw on another thread about the shrimp and soylent green.
However... shrimp have not caused trouble for me. It is surprising to me that there have been issues from others that keep them.
Not one shrimp has caused drama for me.

I have plenty of biofilm and food available so maybe that's why I haven't witnessed any aggression ?
I still couldn't purchase something called soylent green just because of what the movie implemented its origin from.

Vishaquatics (Koiman)
Thank you. You have been available and more than helpful in this.
If the major down fall is cutting tops off for more growth and disappearance of bba.
Then I need to go for it !

Thank you for the information and advice.
I need the approval to be confident I'm doing the right thing.

 

sunnycal thank you, I'm very proud of how far the tank has come from where I started.
I will keep an eye out on the shrimp misbehaving.

Wraithen thank you for the information.
I saw on another thread about the shrimp and soylent green.
However... shrimp have not caused trouble for me. It is surprising to me that there have been issues from others that keep them.
Not one shrimp has caused drama for me.

I have plenty of biofilm and food available so maybe that's why I haven't witnessed any aggression ?
I still couldn't purchase something called soylent green just because of what the movie implemented its origin from.

Vishaquatics (Koiman)
Thank you. You have been available and more than helpful in this.
If the major down fall is cutting tops off for more growth and disappearance of bba.
Then I need to go for it !

Thank you for the information and advice.
I need the approval to be confident I'm doing the right thing.

I explained in the PSA that if your shrimp are getting leftovers then they are getting enough protein. It's the people that lightly feed that will run into the most trouble, or people who don't feed at all assuming the algae eaters will survive off of just the algae in the scape.

 

Did it !!!

Proud of self !
Huge water change and substrate vac.
Tank looks awesome, little disappointed they only put in 1000 psi... makes me feel a little ripped off.

 

Did it !!!

Proud of self !
Huge water change and substrate vac.
Tank looks awesome, little disappointed they only put in 1000 psi... makes me feel a little ripped off.

View attachment 571679 View attachment 571680 View attachment 571681

Beautiful! The growth is going to be epic! How is it being diffused?

Most of the time, CO2 tanks are only filled to 1000psI for safety measures. It’s unlikely that any reputable gas dealer will fill your tank above 1000psI as doing so increases the risk of it blowing the safety valve

 

Beautiful! The growth is going to be epic! How is it being diffused?

Most of the time, CO2 tanks are only filled to 1000psI for safety measures. It’s unlikely that any reputable gas dealer will fill your tank above 1000psI as doing so increases the risk of it blowing the safety valve

Thank you !!
Stoked to see the plants take off !!

The tank is rated for 2100 psI I think.
O2 is filled to 2200 so, I was thinking it would be similar.
Good to know I'm not the only that gets it filled to 1000.

I have a diffuser attached behind the rock.
Its going at about 5 bps right now.

 

The tank is rated for 2100 psI I think.
O2 is filled to 2200 so, I was thinking it would be similar.
Good to know I'm not the only that gets it filled to 1000.

CO2 in the tank is both in liquid and gaseous forms... With equilibrium being around 1000psI for the gas... as the pressure drops, the liquid converts to gas keeping it around 1000psi... once all the liquid is used up, then the psI will begin to drop to 0.

This is why technical people like myself chuckle when people call Excel "liquid CO2" because the only true liquid CO2 is found within pressurized tanks running pressurized CO2 systems not in a fancy green and white bottle.

 

It's beautiful. What size is your co2 canister? I don't think I've seen them tall and skinny before.

 

It's beautiful. What size is your co2 canister? I don't think I've seen them tall and skinny before.

Thank you !!
The co2 is a 7 lb canister.
Recertified.

 

Thank you !!
The co2 is a 7 lb canister.
Recertified.

Thanks. I have a 2 pounder and I have a feeling it's going to last a long time for me

 

Vishaquatics was right !
Trimmed twice and gave a freezer bag of plants to a friend for his tank.

Look at these leaves !!
Co2 is def the way to go.

 

The plants look great! Their nice waxy sheen is starting to come in. How's the BBA? I don't see any in the picture

 

The plants look great! Their nice waxy sheen is starting to come in. How's the BBA? I don't see any in the picture

Thank you.
The bba seems to have dissapeared.
There's a small amount on some of the old leaves.

I feel that the co2 helps the plants outcompete the bba.
Looks beautiful, Kinda wish I did this years ago.

 

Thank you.
The bba seems to have dissapeared.
There's a small amount on some of the old leaves.

I feel that the co2 helps the plants outcompete the bba.
Looks beautiful, Kinda wish I did this years ago.

Awesome! Glad to see a success story. A lot of people tend to doubt me when I say that the answer to bba is CO2 plain and simple so I'm glad that you were able to experience the results yourself when you used CO2.

If I may ask, do you think you would've been ready for CO2 (looking back on your fishkeeping journey and the CO2 process) when you were a beginner or intermediate? If not, do you think you would be ready at that point if someone had written a complete guide to making a cheap setup and calibrating it accordingly?

 

Awesome! Glad to see a success story. A lot of people tend to doubt me when I say that the answer to bba is CO2 plain and simple so I'm glad that you were able to experience the results yourself when you used CO2.

If I may ask, do you think you would've been ready for CO2 (looking back on your fishkeeping journey and the CO2 process) when you were a beginner or intermediate? If not, do you think you would be ready at that point if someone had written a complete guide to making a cheap setup and calibrating it accordingly?

Thank you. The co2 has made a huge difference in the appearance of the tank and
Getting rid of that eye sore bba.

To your question. .. tbh I wouldn't be ready for it when I first started.
I wasn't even ready for fish. I bought fish and started the whole thing up in one day.

Also getting your head around injecting co2 is a little bit of a challenge.
Since in my mind at least, I'm using plants to use up co2 and increase 02 in the water.

Intentionally adding co2 seems like a bad idea. Most of my family and friends were saying "why would you do that ?".

Yet I have a friend at work who just recently started with fish and after talking about it a bit with him. He has ordered the exact setup I have in a day.

For myself I may have been ready for it after a few years, if I had a better understanding about co2 and cost layout.

I also think that lighting and ferts was a big learning curve.

Though I also still consider myself intermediate in tank keeping.
I'm unsure when you rank up to advanced ?

 

Thank you. The co2 has made a huge difference in the appearance of the tank and
Getting rid of that eye sore bba.

To your question. .. tbh I wouldn't be ready for it when I first started.
I wasn't even ready for fish. I bought fish and started the whole thing up in one day.

Also getting your head around injecting co2 is a little bit of a challenge.
Since in my mind at least, I'm using plants to use up co2 and increase 02 in the water.

Intentionally adding co2 seems like a bad idea. Most of my family and friends were saying "why would you do that ?".

Yet I have a friend at work who just recently started with fish and after talking about it a bit with him. He has ordered the exact setup I have in a day.

For myself I may have been ready for it after a few years, if I had a better understanding about co2 and cost layout.

I also think that lighting and ferts was a big learning curve.

Though I also still consider myself intermediate in tank keeping.
I'm unsure when you rank up to advanced ?

Thank you for your answer! I understand the need to take it slow and sort of work out the process on your own

I completely relate to the part where your friends and family question why you do it. The way that I explain it is that water in nature has a ton of CO2 whereas tap water doesn't so to replicate the plant's natural habitat, I inject CO2 to make the water similar to how it is in the wild. People seem to like that answer better than what I used to say which was "The plants need more carbon dioxide to photosynthesize and the tap water doesn't have that."

I think once you start growing the tougher plants successfully and can maintain a planted tank without algae, then you are definitely advanced. Having an algae free planted tank with a range of colors automatically qualifies someone as advanced in my eyes.

 

Lovely! Your plants look great.

 

Vishaquatics was right !
Trimmed twice and gave a freezer bag of plants to a friend for his tank.

Look at these leaves !!
Co2 is def the way to go.
View attachment 574480

Hello! Beautiful plants!!What is the plant in front called?

 

Hello! Beautiful plants!!What is the plant in front called?

Thank you !!
The tall plants with a bit of red is ludwigia.

 

Fyi... the 7lbs co2 tank was a pain today.
I ended up exchanging it towards a 20lbs co2 tank...
However this wasted a majority of my day.

Info For anyone who may look into this.