# is CO2 really necessary



## Rhombo (Aug 26, 2003)

i have a 20 gal. tank with some newly purchased plants. (4 to be exact) i'd rather not spend a lot on CO2, so is it possible to get by without it?? or are there any cheap ways of doing this??

Is anyone out there having good luck without CO2 injectors?


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## perrogoma (Oct 1, 2003)

in my old tank my plants lived fine without any additives.


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## Datman (Jul 7, 2003)

No you do not absolutely need CO2. However, if you do decide to use it it will benefit the plants that you have purchased. There are a number of ways you can introduce CO2 into an aquarium. There are two methods that are very popular however. Those two methods are DIY yeast CO2 injection and pressurized CO2 injection. The pressurized method is a bit more expensive than the yeast method but it does prove to be much easier because you dont have to remix a yeast mixture every month and you dont have to worry about your yeast container blowing up or spewing yeast into your fish tank. There are a bunch of DIY yeast CO2 articles on the net that you can find and the same goes with pressurized CO2.


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## v4p0r (Aug 14, 2003)

ado the pressurized ones use c02 canisters like paintball guns??


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## Datman (Jul 7, 2003)

Yes they do. However, the minimum size tank most people use for a planted tank setup is at least 2.5 lbs. A tank this size will last you, depending on your water conditions, around 6 months or more.


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## v4p0r (Aug 14, 2003)

Kickass im thinking of planting my tanks. i was wondering if i would have to be changin em every day or something


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## Datman (Jul 7, 2003)

v4p0r said:


> Kickass im thinking of planting my tanks. i was wondering if i would have to be changin em every day or something


 Changing what?


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## v4p0r (Aug 14, 2003)

Datman said:


> v4p0r said:
> 
> 
> > Kickass im thinking of planting my tanks. i was wondering if i would have to be changin em every day or something
> ...


 changing the c02 canisters


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## Void (Aug 24, 2003)

they are damn expensive though arnt they even some of the tanks used for paintball get up there in price


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## Datman (Jul 7, 2003)

I bought my 2.5 lbs. CO2 aluminum tank for about $50. The rest of the equipment you need for pressurized CO2 I bought for around $100.


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