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Re: Aquatic Plants Digest V3 #511

> 

Zxcvbob wrote:

[snip]

> I'm an engineer,  so I obsess over details.

Do these characteristics have to go together?

[snip]
 
> I just added supplimental CO2 today with a yeast bottle tee'd into the airline
> for the sponge filter.  With the high bioload, maybe I'm already getting
> enough CO2 from fish respiration. The water here is quite hard, and the pH was
> off the scale of the indicator paper, so greater than 7.6.

With your current setup (relatively low light, high fishload) you probably
don't need to add CO2.  But for future considerations, keep in mind that
air lifts strip CO2 out of the water.  Right now, adding CO2 to the air
might help keep some of your goldfish-derived CO2 in solution, but
qprobably very little of the yeast-derived CO2 is getting into the water. 
If you want to continue adding CO2 then you probably should find a way to
get the CO2 bubbles in direct contact with the water.  Check the archives
for suggestions. 
 
> I'm trying to design a hood using a single 40W or 50W compact fluorescent
> lamp.  When the stem plants start trying to take over, I'd like to replace
> most of them with somethings more interesting and exotic -- that will coexist
> with goldfish in an unheated tank.
> 
> Any comments or suggestions so far?

Probably the first upgrade I'd consider for your tank is to replace the air 
lift with a power head.  The circulation from a powerhead provides good 
aeration, but it might be less than is needed by your current fish load.

I think a single 40-watt CF with a good reflector would provide as much
light as I'd want on this tank.  Maintenance problems increase when the
light level passes the amount necessary to maintain the plants you want
to keep. 

Goldfish are very hard on plants.  There are those on this list with more
goldfish experience than I have and their input might be different, but
from what I've seen I wouldn't try to keep any delicate or slow-growing
plant along with goldfish. 


Roger Miller