Tex_T

Hello Everyone,
Yep I'm a newbie to planted tanks. I have always had some kind of fish tank but in the last month I really became interested in planted tanks, and yes I have a ton questions. Been watching a lot of YouTube vids.
I just purchased a 12 gallon long narrow tank today, and in the next few days I'm going to start the initial set up.
My plan is to add shrimp once the tank is established, AND I don't want to start a war wright off the bat but one question I have, is to CO-2 or not to CO-2? I would appreciate some feed back on this topic if it's not already out there..

Thanks,
Trey

hoppycalif

Welcome to APC! Like most questions about planted aquariums, yours doesn't have a single answer. It depends on what your goals are, and how much time and energy you are willing to devote to meeting those goals. The question is also best seen as "how much light should I use on my tank?" The more light you use, the more you need to add CO2. The more difficult plants or more demanding plants require more light than the "easy" plants. So, I suggest you start with https://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...step-step.html to see if that relatively low maintenance method fits your needs. But, I also know when I started with planted aquariums I wanted to use everything, and work with my tank every day, so I wanted as much light as I could get, etc. Enjoy your research!!

mistergreen

All plants need CO2 but some can do with ambient CO2 from the air & fish while others will need extra CO2. You'll need to add what kind of plants you want.

UsAndThem

Welcome ! and happy posting.