Ben C
Member
Evening all,
I need your help. My tank is not happy.. plants are just existing and really thriving. I'm convinced this is down to CO2 distribution and want to sort it out once and for all.
A few specs for you:
Tank: TMC Signature 60cm x 45cm x 30cm (81l)
Filter: Eheim Professionel III (50% media capacity). 1250lph
Pipework: gUSH lily pipe outlet.
Lighting: 2x 24w T5 luminaire, 6hrs per day.
Dosing: EI method. 50% water change per week.
CO2: Sodastream - achieving lime green dc in most areas.
My layout is much like George's Hillside but where he has sand, I would like to achieve an MC carpet. At the moment, I just don't think the CO2 is getting down to the substrate level. I believe that most CO2 is circulating as per this very rough diagram below, so what is the best solution to this? I need to keep the inlet and outlets where they are, as I've cut holes into the side of the cabinet, immediately below where they come in/go out.
You'll see that the moss is also just grey/brown and dull
Ignore the straggly MC - it came like that from AE, so I decided to get the root systems settled before trimming it down closer to the substrate. (Ignore also the floating MC - was going to trim everything this morning but decided to post this instead!)
Would it be better to have a spraybar along the back length of the tank (and if so, the full length?) or along the righthand side (30cm)? Or is there an alternative solution?
My question about using a spraybar is how do you get CO2 down to the area immediately beneath the spraybar, if the jets of water are shooting straight out in front of it?
Thanks all for your help on this. I'd love to crack this.
If you think it could be something else (the lighting perhaps?) please let me know.
Many thanks,
Ben
I need your help. My tank is not happy.. plants are just existing and really thriving. I'm convinced this is down to CO2 distribution and want to sort it out once and for all.
A few specs for you:
Tank: TMC Signature 60cm x 45cm x 30cm (81l)
Filter: Eheim Professionel III (50% media capacity). 1250lph
Pipework: gUSH lily pipe outlet.
Lighting: 2x 24w T5 luminaire, 6hrs per day.
Dosing: EI method. 50% water change per week.
CO2: Sodastream - achieving lime green dc in most areas.
My layout is much like George's Hillside but where he has sand, I would like to achieve an MC carpet. At the moment, I just don't think the CO2 is getting down to the substrate level. I believe that most CO2 is circulating as per this very rough diagram below, so what is the best solution to this? I need to keep the inlet and outlets where they are, as I've cut holes into the side of the cabinet, immediately below where they come in/go out.
You'll see that the moss is also just grey/brown and dull
Ignore the straggly MC - it came like that from AE, so I decided to get the root systems settled before trimming it down closer to the substrate. (Ignore also the floating MC - was going to trim everything this morning but decided to post this instead!)
Would it be better to have a spraybar along the back length of the tank (and if so, the full length?) or along the righthand side (30cm)? Or is there an alternative solution?
My question about using a spraybar is how do you get CO2 down to the area immediately beneath the spraybar, if the jets of water are shooting straight out in front of it?
Thanks all for your help on this. I'd love to crack this.
If you think it could be something else (the lighting perhaps?) please let me know.
Many thanks,
Ben