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MasRoberts9 · 07-16-2010, 06:17 PM

nice. I loved what co2 did to my tank. I never ran it to my intake, so i don't know how well that works. My fear is that it could mess up the filter motor or the syphoning. I think that most of the in line style set ups that I've seem used a co2 reactor on the return side of the filter. I would try it and see what happens. Also, I thought the bubble counters and solenoids were a waste of money. with a drop checker you can constantly monitor your co2 levels and set the co2 injection such that there aren't high ph swings when leaving the co2 on 24/7. In the morning my checker was green but on the yellow side. At night the checker was green but on the blue side. CO2 opens some doors on what types of plants you can keep, but you'll also need a good fertilizer schedule, and some good algea eaters. Good luck.

Oh I know where to buy good co2 equipment. As far as co2 cylinders (which I hope you plan to use rather than diy) there is a beverage company online that has the best prices i've ever seen on bottles. They are brand new aluminum hydrotested bottles. This was the best deal I ever found for 5lb bottles. I later upgraded to a 20 lb bottle which was cheaper through the place that I got my co2 refilled at. Anyway, here it is
Co2 & Nitrogen Air Tanks | BeverageFactory.com

As far as regulators I used ebay and bought a package with the aquatek regulator, needle valve, bubble counter, and solenoid. The regulator worked great. I never had any end of tank dump issues or any thing else. Since i didn't need the bubble counter or solenoid, I sold those to someone who thought that they needed them (I told them they didn't need them, but they insisted).

I used ebay for the drop checker and 4 dkh solution as well.

The co2 line and check valves i got from here. This place also had decent prices on the reactors. However, a diy reactor would work just as well.
Clippard Check Valve | Green Leaf Aquariums

as far as ferts. i suggest EI (estimative index) dosing.
This is where i got my ferts...
Planted Aquarium Fertilizer - Home

this is the EI dosing schedule...
Welcome To The UK Aquatic Plant Society - The Estimative Index (EI)

What I did was do some math and come up with a mix of dry ferts and distilled water to mix in old prime bottles so that I could dose a capful or 2 each time I needed. What I ended up with was a solution that used 4 cafuls of micros everyother day, 4 capfulls of macros everyother day, and 4 capfulls of GHbooster/ iron chelate once a week in a 55 gallon tank. I labeled each bottle with the recipes so that it was easy to duplicate. The reason prime bottles worked well is because they were handy and they don't let a lot of light in. I forget which solution... macros or micros.. had a tendency to mold if not refridgerated. However, when using the prime bottles i didn't need to refridgerate.

As far as algea eaters, well, with co2 and fertilizing you get a number of different algeas that show up for different reasons. So, it's good to have the right fish for each occasion. I had ottos, bristlenose, and Siamese algea eaters (true SAEs). here's a guide on algeas. Some of the listing mention a fish that eat it, however i think that with the 3 I mentioned above, that you will cover all of your potential algea problems. This is however a great guide.
James' Planted Tank - Algae Guide

Well good luck again. ADMINS feel free to sticky this if you want.

07-16-2010, 06:17 PM	#23 (permalink)
MasRoberts9 Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 34 Location: Los Angeles, CA My location Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 1 Times Said "Thanks" 0 Times Was Thanked 9 Times in 6 Posts	Re: A 29g project nice. I loved what co2 did to my tank. I never ran it to my intake, so i don't know how well that works. My fear is that it could mess up the filter motor or the syphoning. I think that most of the in line style set ups that I've seem used a co2 reactor on the return side of the filter. I would try it and see what happens. Also, I thought the bubble counters and solenoids were a waste of money. with a drop checker you can constantly monitor your co2 levels and set the co2 injection such that there aren't high ph swings when leaving the co2 on 24/7. In the morning my checker was green but on the yellow side. At night the checker was green but on the blue side. CO2 opens some doors on what types of plants you can keep, but you'll also need a good fertilizer schedule, and some good algea eaters. Good luck. Oh I know where to buy good co2 equipment. As far as co2 cylinders (which I hope you plan to use rather than diy) there is a beverage company online that has the best prices i've ever seen on bottles. They are brand new aluminum hydrotested bottles. This was the best deal I ever found for 5lb bottles. I later upgraded to a 20 lb bottle which was cheaper through the place that I got my co2 refilled at. Anyway, here it is Co2 & Nitrogen Air Tanks \| BeverageFactory.com As far as regulators I used ebay and bought a package with the aquatek regulator, needle valve, bubble counter, and solenoid. The regulator worked great. I never had any end of tank dump issues or any thing else. Since i didn't need the bubble counter or solenoid, I sold those to someone who thought that they needed them (I told them they didn't need them, but they insisted). I used ebay for the drop checker and 4 dkh solution as well. The co2 line and check valves i got from here. This place also had decent prices on the reactors. However, a diy reactor would work just as well. Clippard Check Valve \| Green Leaf Aquariums as far as ferts. i suggest EI (estimative index) dosing. This is where i got my ferts... Planted Aquarium Fertilizer - Home this is the EI dosing schedule... Welcome To The UK Aquatic Plant Society - The Estimative Index (EI) What I did was do some math and come up with a mix of dry ferts and distilled water to mix in old prime bottles so that I could dose a capful or 2 each time I needed. What I ended up with was a solution that used 4 cafuls of micros everyother day, 4 capfulls of macros everyother day, and 4 capfulls of GHbooster/ iron chelate once a week in a 55 gallon tank. I labeled each bottle with the recipes so that it was easy to duplicate. The reason prime bottles worked well is because they were handy and they don't let a lot of light in. I forget which solution... macros or micros.. had a tendency to mold if not refridgerated. However, when using the prime bottles i didn't need to refridgerate. As far as algea eaters, well, with co2 and fertilizing you get a number of different algeas that show up for different reasons. So, it's good to have the right fish for each occasion. I had ottos, bristlenose, and Siamese algea eaters (true SAEs). here's a guide on algeas. Some of the listing mention a fish that eat it, however i think that with the 3 I mentioned above, that you will cover all of your potential algea problems. This is however a great guide. James' Planted Tank - Algae Guide Well good luck again. ADMINS feel free to sticky this if you want.