parrdog Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 G'day All, I'm in the process of setting up a planted tank. The octagonal tank is 64 cm high and 18 inches in diameter. It will have 72 watts of lighting (half 6500K, half 10000K). The gravel has a layer of Aqua Medic Terralit. The tank holds 108 litres. My question concerns CO2. I am considering the Dupla setup which consists of simply a bottle of liquid and a pump and an airline, costs about $80. My second option I am considering is a little unit made by Sera. It consists of a submerged plastic container and tablets that are put into the plastic container and dissolve releasing CO2, costs about $70. Which one do you recommend? Also, should I get a CO2 indicator, with this in mind would the tablet model be more dificult to adjust CO2 levels than the Dupla model. The Dupla model works by releasing bubbles which can be controlled whereas the tablets simply dissolve in the water. Sorry for being a bit all over the shop, thanks for your help, Jamie. PS If you recommend one model I would like it if you could state why you like it more than the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vwboy53 Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 I have never actually used the sera one, but by the sounds of it, the dupla one sounds better. Namely because if/when you choose to make your own diy mixture, you can customize the recipe to match your desired co2 output, in terms of bubbles per minute and length of the batch. The sera one may be good, but it would get costly after a while,the same goes for the dupla refill packs. But when compared to diy, it would only cost about $5 for 3 months ($2 for sugar, $3 for yeast). For a Co2 indicator, I would not bother, you can roughly calculate your Co2 levels by using a online calculator at Chuck's Planted Aquarium Pages. Seriously though, you could just make a bottle (reactor) from an old soft drink container, and use some airline and buy a diffuser (or diy if you want!). It would cost you next to nothing, and these work exactly the same! If you dont want diy, just by a cheap startup kit like from nutrafin, of JBL for around $30. Then when the mixture finishes, just use your own recipe. Oh and I would not bother adjusting your co2 levels, because they usually do not reach dangerous levels. Hope this helps, Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrdog Posted January 16, 2006 Author Share Posted January 16, 2006 Thanks Rob, Where can I get the kit that you mentioned? Does it come with airline and a diffuser like the Dupla one? Thanks again, Jamie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D6C1 Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 DIY Have a read here: http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/CO2/co2-narten.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve24cro Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 i have used the sera one, for me it was crap, did absolutely nothing. I wouldnt waste your money, much better off getting a CO2 bottle and regulator and the whole setup, will save you money in the long run and work 1000 time better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrdog Posted January 16, 2006 Author Share Posted January 16, 2006 Thanks for the tips toufic and steve . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foai Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 If it is a small setup I would make your own. I have used the Dupla set up and it was a turkey. It comes with a very very small powerhead that theoretical diffuses the CO2 but all it succeeded in doing for me was create a back pressure that sucked water into the line. Otherwise the setup is a plastic bottle with starter reagent - mostly sugar. Not worth $80. Make your own - it is more satisfying and substantially cheaper. Otherwise spend up big and get a gas bottle and regulator - the cheap co2 products don't do the job. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[RK] Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 I'm with everyone else here. If youre going for teh yeast+sugar method. Just make a DIY one. Its not that hard. Just keep in mind that it wont be very accurate. The bubble rate is very dependant on the room temperature. So sometimes it will be quick, sometimes slow. I'd try and go pressurised from the start. You wont regret it. I went for the Hagen sugar+yeast kit.. then bought another one so i could have more Co2. And in the end i just got rid of both and bought a Dupla pressurised setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vwboy53 Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 Thanks Rob, Where can I get the kit that you mentioned? Does it come with airline and a diffuser like the Dupla one? Thanks again, Jamie. ← Jamie, do you know Strictly Aquariums? They have the JBL one for about $30 but it does not have a diffusor, I acutally have the JBL bottles, and a nutrafin diffusor. The nutrafin kit has the bottle and diffusor for $49.45 . You can get it at Aquatic Life Aquariums, and they do have online orders. You can get the diffusor (called the nutrafin bubble counter) for $22.50 there also, so you could make your own bottle and use the diffusor. It does a fairly good job. I would recommend you do DIY co2 first to see if you really like the planted tank and then when your ready to advance, then get the pressurised co2. Because $200 is a big investment (for me at least ), and you don't want to spend that much only to give up planted tanks afterwards. Cheers Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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