Plant expenses

Does it cost a lot to take car of plants and how much? And will filters work for plants in a aquarium for there co2.

 

im just starting to do plants myself . so far it doesnt seem to cost a lot. I already have an established tank. no plants for 2 years. depending on your substrate i guess. i havent figured out if you need root tabs in soil based substrate. but root tabs dont cost too much and you only need to restock every 3 months or so usually costing maybe 10ish dollars for 10 tabs? i think . plants arent expensive. what do you mean " will filters work for plants in a aquarium for there co2?" you should always have filters running on your tank ..

again. im a plant noob. what do i know

 

im just starting to do plants myself . so far it doesnt seem to cost a lot. I already have an established tank. no plants for 2 years. depending on your substrate i guess. i havent figured out if you need root tabs in soil based substrate. but root tabs dont cost too much and you only need to restock every 3 months or so usually costing maybe 10ish dollars for 10 tabs? i think . plants arent expensive. what do you mean " will filters work for plants in a aquarium for there co2?" you should always have filters running on your tank ..

again. im a plant noob. what do i know

I mean plants need co2 to live so I was wondering if you need a special thing that pumps co2 in the tank or if 2 filters would work.

 

I mean plants need co2 to live so I was wondering if you need a special thing that pumps co2 in the tank or if 2 filters would work.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TBV9P5...colid=XPBKAADWF506&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

something like that? i knew you needed a co2 pump but im just getting into it myself. there are multiple ways i think. someone linked this for me, this looks like a good start.

 

There will always be a background level of CO2 in your aquarium. This will be fine for most ‘beginner plants’. They usually just grow slower without injecting CO2. You need patience

Some plants will require CO2 injection and all plants will benefit from some sort of fertiliser. Liquid or root tabs really depends on the type of plants you want to grow.
The high end CO2 injection is really if you want fast plant growth, but you’ll need to have sufficient lighting and probably dose ferts on a regular basis with good circulation around the entire aquarium.

There are other cheaper ways to get CO2 into your tanks, such as the DIY methods but I’ve never used them so I cannot comment on their effectiveness.

Plants take co2 and photosynthesise it to make oxygen and grow - So there’s a balance that needs to be found between the amount of light, nutrients and CO2 added to avoid getting algae problems.

If you’re looking to get into plants I would do a forum search for beginner plants, to get the fundamenetals you’ll probably find a lot of info on here.

Having two filters on a tank would probably increase the amount of O2 in the tank, and I think I would actually decrease the amount of CO2. But of course this depends on the tank size and the amount of surface agitation.

There’s lots of things to consider when growing plants in an aquarium, sometimes it looks like too much to wrap your head around. But if you start with easy plants you’ll get the hang of it in no time!!

 

The higher end, aquascaped tanks with nice equipment can definitely cost into the thousands. But that isn't necessary for a simple planted tank. Easy plants usually survive with cheaper lighting and some fertilizers, and you'll be good for many plants.

Filters cannot add any extra CO2 into the tank. CO2 exists in equilibrium with water at about 3 ppm. If your plants use the CO2, it'll dip below 3 ppm, and good aeration will bring it back up to 3 ppm. If there's heavy decomposition in the tank or super high bioload, CO2 will go above 3 ppm, and the aeration will bring it back down to 3 ppm. It'll just maintain the equilibrium level, which is adequate for many easy plants.

 

The higher end, aquascaped tanks with nice equipment can definitely cost into the thousands. But that isn't necessary for a simple planted tank. Easy plants usually survive with cheaper lighting and some fertilizers, and you'll be good for many plants.

Filters cannot add any extra CO2 into the tank. CO2 exists in equilibrium with water at about 3 ppm. If your plants use the CO2, it'll dip below 3 ppm, and good aeration will bring it back up to 3 ppm. If there's heavy decomposition in the tank or super high bioload, CO2 will go above 3 ppm, and the aeration will bring it back down to 3 ppm. It'll just maintain the equilibrium level, which is adequate for many easy plants.

How do you get good areation and what is decomposition and how do you get a heavy amount in your tank and what is bioload?

 

How do you get good areation and what is decomposition and how do you get a heavy amount in your tank and what is bioload?

Good aeration comes from gaseous exchange at the surface + good water flow throughout the tank.

Decomposition is organic material rotting... breaking down, etc
Using decomposition for CO2 is usually done with a dirt substrate through the Walstad method, you might want to research that or read her book. However in my opinion using decomposition is impractical and very temporary, once the substrate has decomposed there's no more CO2.

Bioload is how heavily stocked by animals the tank is and how much waste they produce

 

I mean plants need co2 to live so I was wondering if you need a special thing that pumps co2 in the tank or if 2 filters would work.

There is many aquarium plants that will survive and thrive quite well without co2. Some of them might differ in color when using co2 versus not using co2. Many red plants turn green without co2.
Filters Don't put co2 in your aquarium.

How do you get good areation and what is decomposition and how do you get a heavy amount in your tank and what is bioload?

Aeration can be increased with a wavemaker. Powerhead or air stone connected to an air pump.
Decomposition is when organic matter breaks down in your aquarium. It can increase when you don't do enough water changes, fish die, food rotting etc. Bioload is all the waste produced from any livestock (fish, shrimp, snails etc).

If anyone ever says to you need co2 for a planted tank they're lying. I don't use it, I have four thriving planted aquariums. I'd not worry about co2 right now.

 

Does the whole surface of water need to be agitated?

There is many aquarium plants that will survive and thrive quite well without co2. Some of them might differ in color when using co2 versus not using co2. Many red plants turn green without co2.
Filters Don't put co2 in your aquarium.



Aeration can be increased with a wavemaker. Powerhead or air stone connected to an air pump.
Decomposition is when organic matter breaks down in your aquarium. It can increase when you don't do enough water changes, fish die, food rotting etc. Bioload is all the waste produced from any livestock (fish, shrimp, snails etc).

If anyone ever says to you need co2 for a planted tank they're lying. I don't use it, I have four thriving planted aquariums. I'd not worry about co2 right now.

I suggest watching some videos on youtube. He has tons of videos on plants. More than you could watch in a day. I got a lot of valuable information from them.

Does the whole surface of the water need to be agitated?

 

Does the whole surface of the water need to be agitated?

No - any movement on the surface will help with gas exchange, though the more agitation there is, the more quickly it will happen.

The one expense that I HIGHLY recommend is a decent all-in-one fertilizer, like Easy Green or Thrive. I've had several species gradually die off on me, but since adding a decent fert everything is thriving. I hesitated at the price, but it was well worth it to save myself from dying plants and additional months of frustration and disheartening results.

 

No - any movement on the surface will help with gas exchange, though the more agitation there is, the more quickly it will happen.

The one expense that I HIGHLY recommend is a decent all-in-one fertilizer, like Easy Green or Thrive. I've had several species gradually die off on me, but since adding a decent fert everything is thriving. I hesitated at the price, but it was well worth it to save myself from dying plants and additional months of frustration and disheartening results.

Do you want the gas exchange to go fast or does it not matter on the speed.

 

The big cost with plants is initially purchasing them. Long term maintenance and fertilization is relatively cheap.

 

The big cost with plants is initially purchasing them. Long term maintenance and fertilization is relatively cheap.

Ok

Do you want the gas exchange to go fast or does it not matter on the speed.

 

In most setups speed won't matter. Unless you're CRAZY overstocked, just a little surface agitation should be sufficient.

(Also, side note: you don't need to repeat your questions! )