new planted tank help

ollecram

im not sure if i need co2 in my tank. im getting some low light plants like anubias nana. im also getting java fern and java moss. thats all im getting. do i need co2 in there?

Little-Fizz

Yeah!!! I just found some information on it and it said 3-5 watts per gallon, so take your total wattage and divide it by your tank size and thats how much watts per gallon you've got in your tank. So to figure out how much wattage you will need simple take your tank size and multiply it by three (being the minimum) and taaa da! You'll know how much lighting you will need.

I'm glad I did this, I definitely need to upgrade my light I've got a 15 watt bulb on a 28 gallon, and no co2 injection hooked up.. Yet. But my plants seem to thrive? There was only one kind of plant I put in there and it just fell apart and died. But even still, I've noticed a few pieces of that plant that have somehow ended up in places I didn't plant it and it's trying to grow. Plus I like NEVER turn off my air stone... I should probably do that hah.

ollecram

do i need a light with more wattage? i have 17 watts in my 20 long but i heard that this was fine for the plants that i wanted.

Little-Fizz

You should be ok, and if its a 20 long then thats less water the light has to shine through to get to the plants. But.. Like Fish_4_all said, don't expect your plants to grow really fast.

ollecram

do you think i should put a diy co2 in there? do i need one? or would it just make the plants look better? i want to make one.

qpc68

i don't see how it could hurt. You may want to start with a 1 liter bottle and see what kind of flow you get. Too much co2 can be just as bad as not enough.

ollecram

ok thanks for the help. ill get my plants and see how it goes from there.