[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Almost ready for DIY CO2 plunge - questions



Title: Almost ready for DIY CO2 plunge - questions

I've got two tanks: 20 gallon high and 26 gallon.  Here's a quick breakdown

20 gallon:

Fish
4 Angels (half dollar size, getting bigger all the time)
2 Corys
1 Dwarf Pleco (originally thought this was an Oto)

Lighting
Dual 24" bulb floro strip light (1 GE Chroma 50, 1 other blueish bulb, can't remember name).  40 watts total.

Filtering
Hydor Renaissance Prime 20 with spray bar, little surface agitation (have just ordered an Eheim 2213 kit)

Plants
3 Amazon Swords, Ludwigia Repens, 2 Cryptocorynes, Sagittaria.  Growth is good on the Sagittaria, but the Repens drops leaves every now and then, and everything else is covered with algae, which I think is slowly dying down.  I'm getting new side plants from the Swords, but new leaves have that washed out look.  I fertialize every day with Kent's micronutrient.

Other
Tank is not sealed with a hood as the dual bulb striplight takes up too much room.  The gravel is medium coarseness.  Not optimal, but I don't know if I should start over with a finer gravel.  This tank just recovered from a green water outbreak which seemed to be cured by doing a 50% water change and adding Seachem Purigen to the filter.

I'm thinking of building a tank cover that I found at this URL http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Hills/2637/canopy.html  This will let me close off the hood.  I've just ordered the raw indregients to make PMDD.  I'm guessing that CO2 (or lack of) is what's causing poor growth and faded leaves.

Well, after typing all of that, I think I'll skip the other tank.  I will say that it has Barclaya Longfolia, which is doing super.  Conditions are similiar, except for the fish, which are more numerous.  I'm using Seachem's florolyte substrate.