Do I need co2 in my goldie tank?

Hi Ingrid,

There is plenty of areation in the tanks. Both have a 24" bubble wands
with a Profile "adjustable level" pump. I do not have the flow on full
because there is a lot of water movement then.

I just want a better way to take care of the plants, and I thought
that by adding co2, it would take care of it. I do add plant additives
every week when water changes are done.

The pH is around 8.2. The water is very hard here. Ammonia 0, Nitrites
0, Nitrates 20ppm.

Thanks,
Ed


dr-solo.RemoveThis@wi.rr.xx.com wrote in message news:<4018d518.6837754.RemoveThis@news-server.wi.rr.com>...
> absolutely do not add CO2 to the tank. GF need a lot more oxygen than other fish.
> if you have great aeration there should be plenty of CO2 in the water. what is the
> pH? Ingrid
 >> Stay informed about: Do I need co2 in my goldie tank? 

The brown tips can also be an indicator of low iron. There are good Fe
supplements worth trying. MTL CO2 not a good thing. Should be a fair
amount coming from 'goldy'.
SamB

"Budbudford" <ed DeleteThis @cheapskatecr.com> wrote in message
news:799dba8e.0401272334.5aa00c81@posting.google.com...
> Hello,
>
> I am debating whether or not to add the homemade co2 (2 liter bottle
> yeast mixture) to my 55 and 75 gallon aquariums. I have some amazon
> swords in each that really don't do to well. They tend to stay at
> around 5 stems or so, and have yellow leaves on the tips often. The
> goldfish: ranchu, butterflies, orandas, leave them alone, but how will
> my goldfish react to the co2? Does anyone have any experience with the
> homemade method?
>
> Thanks,
> Ed
 >> Stay informed about: Do I need co2 in my goldie tank? 

Budbudford wrote:

> Hi Ingrid,
>
> There is plenty of areation in the tanks. Both have a 24" bubble wands
> with a Profile "adjustable level" pump. I do not have the flow on full
> because there is a lot of water movement then.
>
> I just want a better way to take care of the plants, and I thought
> that by adding co2, it would take care of it. I do add plant additives
> every week when water changes are done.
>
> The pH is around 8.2. The water is very hard here. Ammonia 0, Nitrites
> 0, Nitrates 20ppm.
>
> Thanks,
> Ed
>
>
> dr-solo.TakeThisOut@wi.rr.xx.com wrote in message news:<4018d518.6837754.TakeThisOut@news-server.wi.rr.com>...
>
>>absolutely do not add CO2 to the tank. GF need a lot more oxygen than other fish.
>>if you have great aeration there should be plenty of CO2 in the water. what is the
>>pH? Ingrid
I have huge amazon swords 18 incehs in height with lots of chutes and
babies and I don't use c02, I just use seachem flourish and seachem
iron, with the right amount of lighting. I have 130 watts compact
florecent over a 55 US gallon tank. Without the CF lights they were dying.
Kay
 >> Stay informed about: Do I need co2 in my goldie tank? 

<dr-solo.DeleteThis@wi.rr.xx.com> wrote in message
news:4019e795.445754@news-server.wi.rr.com...
> you know. GF and nice landscaping are rather mutually exclusive. It can
be done,
> but it is hard on both the GF and the plants. GF are characters. the
fancy ones are
> highly individual and unique, while the commons are just plain friendly as
all hell.
> they interact with people unlike other fish. frankly, mine are more
interactive than
> my finches or other people's cats. The best tank for them is bare bottom
or just a
> bit of glass slag for them to push around, plenty of aeration and one or
two friends.
> Ingrid

Better go tell my fish that- the two commons are kind of aloof, while the
two fancies always want to know what my hands are doing in the tank and
nuzzle at them! Course the commons were born in a pond and had nothing to do
with humans til we brought them home.. but they were just tiny little brown
things then... takes all kinds, I guess! :-)

--
Laurie, Dark Phoenix
dark_phoenix.DeleteThis@netw.com
"Every dog has it's day, but nights are reserved for cats." -
 >> Stay informed about: Do I need co2 in my goldie tank? 

On Wed, 28 Jan 2004 06:49:03 -0800, Donald Kerns
<kernsdSPAMLIGHTNINGROD.TakeThisOut@aol.com> wrote:

>> I am debating whether or not to add the homemade co2 (2 liter bottle
>> yeast mixture) to my 55 and 75 gallon aquariums. I have some amazon
>> swords in each that really don't do to well. They tend to stay at
>> around 5 stems or so, and have yellow leaves on the tips often. The
>> goldfish: ranchu, butterflies, orandas, leave them alone, but how will
>> my goldfish react to the co2? Does anyone have any experience with the
>> homemade method?
>
>It works. Sorta. Marginally.
>
>You want to be careful adding the CO2, because it can/will change the
>pH. Take measurements, take it slow. DIY CO2 is less dangerous that way
>than injection.

CO2 bubbled through water will produce carbonic acid and that will of
course lower the pH.

Being a homebrewer, I'm very familiar with co2 production. Your
method, while it work, isn't very efficient or consistent. You will
have huge co2 production when sugar is added that will fall off
sharply as the yeast colony builds and uses the sugar up. It's very
difficult to regulate a steady flow of co2 this way with out
monitoring sugar content, warmth, yeast population, ect.

Along with co2, you'll also be producing esters and probably fusel
alcohols along with the regular ethanol. A lot of the esters will be
air borne, the alcohols will fractionally be airborne. You will end
up blowing this stuff in to your tank where much of will be filtered
into the water.

I've tasted the water that I've had fermenter blow off bubbling
through. It's fugging nasty, certainly not something I'd consider for
a fish tank.

-----------

Are you using any aeration now? I got to think that regular atmosphere
contains enough co2 to be able to provide for the plant's co2
requirement. That and what the fish give off. Plants typically don't
respond to enriched co2 environments any better than normal co2
concentrations.

Cheers,
Jason Henning
 >> Stay informed about: Do I need co2 in my goldie tank? 

Regarding CO2, both DIY and fancy injection...

I have never tried this. I have thought about it, because we do have
lots of plants in the tanks, and theoretically you can have lots of CO2
in the water for the plants and still have lots of O2 for the fish.

When reading up on this, I subscribed to a planted-tank mailing list.
Every four to six, it seemed, someone would post that their DIY setup
misbehaved in some way, killing the fish.

I have plants in my tanks for the amusement (and Salad Bar) of the fish;
for me, risking my fish even a little for the sake of the plants just
doesn't add up. For some of the serious plant-tank enthusiasts, whose
fish are there to groom and add visual interest to the plants, it makes
plenty of sense.


-----------------------------------------
Only know that there is no spork.
 >> Stay informed about: Do I need co2 in my goldie tank?