# Co2 for your invertebrate tank or no?



## Piscesgirl (Feb 25, 2004)

I run pressurized co2 on my shrimp tank now, although for a long time it was very successful with DIY co2. Do you use Co2 on your invertebrate tank? If no, why not? How much light?


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## gnatster (Mar 6, 2004)

6 Shrimp only tanks with no CO2. Plants are all mosses and some have some Frogbit too. Filtration is by air driven sponge filters. Lighting is by twin 48 NO Florecent over a bank of 5 tanks. Mosses grow well, Frogbit does well and multiplies. No fert dosing and weekly 50% water changes.


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## shalu (Oct 1, 2004)

No CO2. Had Excel for a while, but stopped. Don't want the possibility of any accidents wiping out the shrimp population. 2x15w CF on 10 gallon, works well, might try 2x23W. Many plants grow very well, H. micranthemum,stargrass, ludwigia arcuata, lagarosiphon madagascariensis, glosso, weeping moss, mermaid weed, anubias, potamogeton gayi... Very little algae, is it possible to have an algae infested shrimp tank?


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## Piscesgirl (Feb 25, 2004)

Shalu -- those plants are all doing well without co2? :shock: 

No algae per se in my shrimp tank either, except a little tuff here and again of cladaphora (from errant algae balls now removed) which the shrimp don't seem to like to eat....


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## shalu (Oct 1, 2004)

Piscesgirl said:


> Shalu -- those plants are all doing well without co2? :shock:


yes, most of the plants have been in the tank for 6 months and are proven performers. The plants could have done even better, but I was dosing NO3 conservatively, often waiting for signs of nitrate deficiency to dose more. A few rotala species did not grow that well, due to NO3 stunting and possibly not enough light for them.

The tank was too clean at one point, that I was concerned the shrimps weren't getting enough algae, so I lengthened photoperiod to 12 hours for more algae production, now I see a little bit of green spots on some plant leaves.


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

I run DIY C02 with 65 watts of PC lighting. This tank is very heavily planted with a variety of plants. It is so overgrown at this point the bottom half of the tank is dark, purning this weekend. I also dose ferts in this tank the same as my other tanks.


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