apctt77

Hey Guys

I've never done this before and have only just started researching it so if what I'm trying to do is laughable please be gentle

Everything below is to go into a 1200uk gallon low light planted fish tank

I'm thinking of making a DIY Co2 gas cylinder made from one of those 5 gallon water bottles you get in offices and filling it with the right ammount of sugar, yeast and water. (A guy on another forum said I would need 25 of these 5 gallon bottles to get enough Co2 into the 1200g tank)

OK so I'm getting way ahead of myself here but I've read about a hagen bubble ladder in which the bubbles from your Co2 gas cylinder travel up the ladder going back and forth and in doing so they spend more time in contact with the water. I cannot find it anywhere for sale in the UK but I thought maybe it would be a better idea to make a huge 4ft+ DIY version of it for the 1200g tank. (It could be in clear tubing and hidden somewhere) PLEASE SEE THE PICTURE ATTACHMENT (and no it's not a screen grab of DONKEY KONG )


What do you think?

I'm also researching DIY Co2 Reactors which chop the Co2 bubbles up inside them making more surface area available to be in contact with the water. I'd have to either build a huge version of what this guy below has done or build a few fairly big ones.

YouTube Video

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Which would be the better route to take if any, the DIY 4ft ladder, a couple of large Co2 reactors or both?

Or am I just notr going to get close with these methods for a tank this size?

Thanks in advance for your time and expertise

Seattle_Aquarist

Hi apctt77,

I did DIY CO2 for my 45 gallon when I first started. I ran two bottles 1 liter in size and changed one bottle out every three days. Your 1200 UK (about 1450 U.S.) gallon seems to be way to big for DIY CO2. Even if you were able to get enough of the 5 gallon bottles to generate enough gas, and had enough cash to buy the quantities of yeast and sugar required, the time to mix up the your solutions would be substantial. I eventually changed from DIY CO2 to pressurized because I wanted to spend more time with the aquariums and less time doing maintenance.

ghengis

Ummm...no offence, but you are kidding, right?

You're gonna need ALOT more than a 5gal container of sugar and yeast for such a tank.

niko

Well, for such a big tank we all can recommend reactors that you can make yourself for less than $20 (US) that are small and you will never notice them.

Basically take any powerhead and put the end of the CO2 tubing under the suction. You can wedge it in the strainer, tie it with plastic zip ties or whatever. The idea is simple - the bubble gets sucked in the impeller, gets chopped up and spat out as tiny bubbles. MUCH more efficient than this "ladder" toy. MUCH more easier to check/maintain than an external reactor.

But I too digress. For a tank that big I'd think 100 times before I set everything up. Your safest bet, the approach that you will be grateful you selected, is no CO2 AND plants that do well without. Also plants that need very little (if any, in the case of mosses) light. Mosses, Bolbitis, Suswassertang, Hornworth, maybe even Java Fern. When the tank matures (6 mo. or more) you can successfully add crypts. If you think that a tank with such plants will not look too good think again.

The headaches that you can get with such a big tank are enourmous. It may end up running your daily schedule. Make sure you make the right decisions.

Moss only:
http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.or...8/View/525.jpg

Moss/bolbitis:
http://bhushandalvi.files.wordpress....2008-212-1.jpg

Fern/moss:
http://www.adana-usa.com/images/gallery02/7.jpg

--Nikolay

niko

Another thing - the plants that I mentioned greatly benefit from tiny amounts of CO2 in the water. Your DIY CO2- making contraption will not be enough to sustain a planted tank with plants that have high CO2 demands. But it will be enough to boost the growth and health of the plants I suggest without being forced to add more yeast reactors and without the risk of causing algae to spread.

So you can start with whatever volume of the DIY CO2 yeast reactor you want. If you find that taking care of the yeast is not a chore for you you can add another reactor. Or you can decide to save money for a pressurized system. In any case the plants that I suggested will only benefit from the low or higher CO2 you are giving them.

--Nikolay

mulita

As the guys already mentioned here. No offense, but a DIY CO2 for a tank this size is already out of a reasonable cost-benefit project. Even if you are able to produce sufficient Gas out of suggar, the cost involved in short term will be that high that an investment in a pressurized CO2 system will pay off for sure (I certainly believe that even in a smaller tank will do). Also, using sugar will be so demanding that you will end up giving up unless you keep this tank with very low demanding plants on it as Niko already gave examples.

apctt77

Thanks for the advise and links mate, I love the look of thoses planted tanks that's the look I was after. I've seen a planted tank where someone placed bog wood in with moss on the ends of the branches to make it look like real tree's. looked amazing.

I think I'll just stick to these kinds of plants, one thing I will ask though is how much light watts per gallon do you suggest for the plants you've suggested?

Thanks again

apctt77

I've just found this tank, it's 2 ft longer than the one I have planned

Take a look
http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.u...ad.php?t=40732

BryceM

I agree with what the others have posted above. I cannot even begin to emphasize enough that you need to do a TON of research if you're thinking about setting up a planted tank of that size. Most importantly, you need to figure out what you want your end product to look like.

Like Niko, I'd strongly recommend lower-light species. Once you know what you're trying to accomplish you can set about looking at equipment. There is no earthly way to maintain a high-tech tank of that size without an enormous commitment of time & money. Forget about stem plants. You'd spend all of your time trimming.

A CO2 ladder is cute, but horribly inefective, except for maybe the smallest of aquariums. I wouldn't recommend DIY CO2 for anything over maybe 20 or 30 gallons. If you're talking about a 1000g plus system I'd either do pressurized CO2 or nothing.

You'll need to give careful consideration about how to achieve good filtration, flow, and mixing in a tank that size. You'll probably want to turn the water over 5-10 times per hour. Getting 5000 gallons/hour of flow requires a pretty big pump and some serious plumbing.

At that size I'd recommend MH lighting. Even if the total watts/gallon isn't that high you'll have a nice visual effect and at that scale it can be cost effective. With 250W bulbs you could get away with maybe 4-6 fixtures. That would put you at around 1 watt/gallon which would be fine for the slow growers. Even less light could still be OK for a tank that big.

I hope you have a serious quantity of disposable income. Even for a lower-tech tank, I'd guess you'll be looking at a minimum of 8-10 thousand USD setup, minimum and a thousand or two per year for upkeep.

Oh, and BTW. If you actually do go forward with a tank this big we'll hunt you down and destroy you if you don't post photos!!!!

TAB

250 watt halides and good reflectros will cover about a 2x2 foot square and will pentrate up to about 2' down well, after that they get dark fast. 400 watters will get you down to about 32" or so. after that things get expensive fast.