CO2 system for 10 gallon tank

[BriFran9]

Ok so I've had a 10 gallon tank set up in my bedroom for about 5 months now. When i first got the tank I had Live plants in the tank but over time they all died. I kept buying more and they all just kept dying, I bought liquid fertilizer and it did not help the plants still died. I know you have to give Live plants alot of light, I have 2 15 watt lights in my tank and i would usually keep them on for around 6-8 hours a day. after doing some reasearch it seems to me that having a CO2 system in your tank greatly helps plant growth. the problem is i really dont know anything about CO2 systems. I have came across two system that i think would be good for my tank but i'm really not sure so im asking for some help in deciding. here are links to the systems

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=6318&N=2004+113779

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=8981&N=2004+113779

[octony]

I would like some info on this as well as my amzon swords aren't doing very well either.

[William]

Have you considered the option of building your own Co2 system. Works very well in small tanks, is easy to build.

Most 10 gallon tanks, well most tanks, does however not need Co2 systems unless you are going to keep sensetive plants such as some rotala species.

You should not need Co2 systems for swordplants but it does of course not hurt ;-)

[BriFran9]

i have saw some info about building your own CO2 tank, but im really not interested in doing that i would rather buy a system like the ones in the links i have provided

[octony]

Do you (William) think liquid Co2 would work for my amazon sword problem?

[William]

BriFran9: I think I would go for the CO2 System for Live Plants system which seems to be cheaper in the long run unless you are going to keep very sensetive plants. You want need anything more advanced.

Octony: I don't think your problem is Co2 but rather something else and that finding this factor would help your amazon swrodplants more than co2. Do you use any fertalizer. how deep is the sand they are planted in, how long since you bought them, what are the symptoms of the plant problems?

[octony]

I've never added anything.

They are in about 3/4 inch deep.

Dead/ Brown leaves, no new leaves growing, holes in leaves, just not looking how they did for 4 months.

I bought them in April.

My water trumpets and elodia are thriving though. Maybe I should add a fertilizer, like Tetra Plant?

You can see more symptoms in this video:

http://s114.photobucket.com/albums/n275/octony/?action=view&current=tanks8-13-06013.flv&refPage=&imgAnch=imgAnch1

This is when I first set the tank up:

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n275/octony/aquarium006.jpg

More Pictures:

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n275/octony/tanks8-26-06006.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n275/octony/tanks8-26-06005.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n275/octony/tanks8-26-06004.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n275/octony/tanks8-26-06007.jpg

[William]

3/4 inch might be a little for swordplants to thrive.

what is the temp in the tank?
Elodea grows in lower temps than swordplants.

[octony]

Temp is at 76 F

You think I should add more gravel?

I was also thinking of buying some liquid fertilizer for aquariums? Would that work and how much would it cost?

[William]

Some more gravel might help. I also think some extra iron might be beneficial. your leafes seems to turn yellow before they die which might be due to too little iron in the water.

[octony]

OK. Next time I go to my LFS I'll pick up some more gravel and fertilizer with Iron.

Thanks for thr help.

[William]

hope it helps.

[NorthernBoy]

If you add a CO2 system too that small of a tank I think you should be prepared to have a HUGE algae bloom. Try adding CO2 tablets first. Adding CO2 will also affect the chemistry of your tank so be careful. Intuducing CO2 may deprive your fish of necessary oxygen. By adding CO2 to the tank your pH will drop as well.

When injecting CO2 into a planted tank, it is useful to know how much CO2 is actually getting dissolved into the water. Lucky for us, there is a simple way to calculate the CO2 level, based on the pH, and KH of the tank water. There is a fixed relationship between the pH, KH, and CO2 level. As you increase the amount of CO2 that is dissolved into the water, the pH will drop. And if you then stop adding CO2, the pH will climb as that extra CO2 is released from the water.

pH is a measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions [H+] in solution. pH is actually a logarithmic measure (-log[H+]). This formula has two implications. First, it means that the hydrogen ion concentration increases (thus the solution becomes more acidic) as the pH number decreases. Second, each time the pH is reduced by 1, the concentration of hydrogen ions increases by a factor of 10.

In more simple terms, the pH is simply a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. pH values from 0 to 7 are considered acids, and pH values from 7-14 are considered bases. 7 is neutral, neither an acid nor base.

As we add CO2 to water, it forms carbonic acid, which lowers the pH. The more CO2 that gets dissolved into the water, the lower the pH.

Working to raise the pH of the water is the KH. While KH refers to Carbonate Hardness, what is really measured by a standard KH test kit is really the buffering capacity. In "most" water sources, the buffering is provided by Carbonate. In that case, buffering capacity and KH are the same thing. Assuming a constant amount of CO2, a higher KH, will result in a higher pH.

[BriFran9]

ok after reading everyone suggestions ice decided just to go with some new lighting, but im not sure what type i need to get. i came across one light corallife colormax would that be a good light? my other question is if i leave the lights on for 12 hours will it melt my plastic hood top?

heres the link to the light i found

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=9870&N=2004+113346