chaz wrote:
Hi, I am new here, and have a question about planting my tank:

I have an 80 galon freshwater thats been going on for about 4 years. I am
trying some plants but have never been real successful.

I have a twin tube floro light with plant bulbs.

If I was going to install a co2 system without breaking the bank, which one
would you suggest? I recall making one from a soda bottle years ago but it
didnt seem to make a diffference.

I am not opposed to DIY at all.

I have also seen a product called carbo plus, but dont know enough about the
"science" to know if it's snake oil or not.

Thanks

chaz




There's good plant information on the krib website:
http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/ .

Two fluorescent tubes would be 80 watts maximum, unless you have
something special. General wisdom is, to use 1.5 or more watts per
gallon of light; I have 5 tubes (200 watts) on a 90 gallon and it works
quite well. No CO2 yet - bought a carbo-plus but took it back after
googling groups on this item.

Besides adding more light, you'll want to plant LOTS of cheap bunch
plants etc at first. You'll also likely want to dose potassium nitrate,
available from hydroponics stores and now also the aquarium store. Big
Al's stores in Canada carry a N-P-K liquid that seems promising - but
I'm still using home-brew. Please also see the krib for fertilizer
information.

Good luck! Plants make the aquarium more like a real aquatic world, imo.