# Plant only Tank Question



## Rockhoe14er (Jan 19, 2011)

I've seen people do this I'd suggest that you put in a couple of powerheads to get some surface movement and help gas exchange in the tank and stick to low lighting and you should be good to go.


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## JL15219 (Nov 10, 2008)

Oh yeah I was going to use a powerhead to circulate the CO2.....why do you say stick to low light plants?


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## Rockhoe14er (Jan 19, 2011)

i guess if your going with co2 then just ignore that statement. I assumed you weren't going to use co2.


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## JL15219 (Nov 10, 2008)

Oh yeah I should have mentioned that in the first post my mistake. It will have pressurized co2, EI dosing, not sure what lighting yet need to buy one.


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## Rockhoe14er (Jan 19, 2011)

sounds like you know what you want. the only other thing i can think of is build up of organic debris. This can happen too so until your tank stabilizes you might have to increase your waterchanges to account for this.


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## JL15219 (Nov 10, 2008)

Yeah I have had a planted tank before but switched to discus and had to get rid of them all....but I really miss it so am thinking about doing a plant only tank in my empty 29 gal tank......Well the organic debris shouldnt to bad since I will only have plants and no fish and no food.....I know that I will some decaying plant matter....was planning on doing a 50% or more water change once a week....hmmm


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## Rockhoe14er (Jan 19, 2011)

if you just do it once a week you should be fine.


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## JL15219 (Nov 10, 2008)

I do have a filter but its an emperor 400 and since I will be using co2 was kind of worried that the filter will dissipate the co2 too quickly


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

You need some sort of water circulation, but that's about it. No filter needed. You can run the CO2 a little higher than 30ppm if you want too since you don't have to worry about hurting fish.

And you can get away with not doing weekly water changes, just when you feel like it and to clean up the tank.

Post pictures!


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## Rockhoe14er (Jan 19, 2011)

actually i like surface agitation because if you have good surface agitation you can run your co2 levels higher in your tank because you increase your 02 levels so inverts and shrimp can deal with a higher ppm of co2. However if you don't have any animals then you can just crank up the co2 full force and not have to worry about it.


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## JL15219 (Nov 10, 2008)

You know what I do remember having a good amount of surface agitation before when I had the planted tank....its been a while


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

Rockhoe14er said:


> actually i like surface agitation because if you have good surface agitation you can run your co2 levels higher in your tank because you increase your 02 levels so inverts and shrimp can deal with a higher ppm of co2. However if you don't have any animals then you can just crank up the co2 full force and not have to worry about it.


Full force would be a waste of CO2.. 30ppm-50pmm would be fine.
One problem you might run into with no surface movement or fish is surface scum but you won't know until you have the tank up and running.


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## JL15219 (Nov 10, 2008)

mistergreen said:


> You need some sort of water circulation, but that's about it. No filter needed. You can run the CO2 a little higher than 30ppm if you want too since you don't have to worry about hurting fish.
> 
> And you can get away with not doing weekly water changes, just when you feel like it and to clean up the tank.
> 
> Post pictures!


Really no weekly water changes that sounds nice....but when EI dosing isnt weekly water changes required to reset nutrient levels?


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

JL15219 said:


> Really no weekly water changes that sounds nice....but when EI dosing isnt weekly water changes required to reset nutrient levels?


Nobody really know what 'reset nutrient levels' means ... To reduce the nutrients, yes. The water changes are really for the fishes.

You can reduce your EI routine a little and reduce your need to do water changes.

You might want to add GH boosters though since frequent water changes add Ca and Mg and other super micro nutrients into the system.


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## JL15219 (Nov 10, 2008)

I have really hard water with high GH so a GH booster is not really necessary right? And thats what I meant to reduce the nutrients :icon_mrgr


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## JL15219 (Nov 10, 2008)

Okay what if I use my emperor 400 for circulation instead of a powerhead and use a CO2 diffuser would that work or would the CO2 be degassed too quickly?


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

Don't know, up to you... I'd use a simple powerhead. Those HOB filters collect hard water crud all over, over time.


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## JL15219 (Nov 10, 2008)

mistergreen said:


> Don't know, up to you... I'd use a simple powerhead. Those HOB filters collect hard water crud all over, over time.


True true it does gather hard water crud and it is super hard to take off.....I could also use the powerhead to disperse the CO2 by putting the CO2 tube into the intake of the powerhead....I did that before but didnt really like the seltzer water look hmmm


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## Zareth (Dec 13, 2010)

JL15219 said:


> True true it does gather hard water crud and it is super hard to take off.....I could also use the powerhead to disperse the CO2 by putting the CO2 tube into the intake of the powerhead....I did that before but didnt really like the seltzer water look hmmm


I'd say diffuser and a powerhead, no filter.
Or you could go with a DIY reactor but youd need a water pump too.
You're gonna get surface scum, but if you had a good piece of driftwood with a submerged plant with roots going down into the tank you could prevent a lot of it, i would imagine.


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## JL15219 (Nov 10, 2008)

Zareth said:


> I'd say diffuser and a powerhead, no filter.
> Or you could go with a DIY reactor but youd need a water pump too.
> You're gonna get surface scum, but if you had a good piece of driftwood with a submerged plant with roots going down into the tank you could prevent a lot of it, i would imagine.


I have never used a diffuser I have used a diy reactor that I made worked great hooked up to my canister filter......but the diffuser, does it make your water look like seltzer water?


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

ohhh, that'll be an issue if you don't like the fizz.
You can hack the powerhead and attach a DIY reactor to it.


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## Zareth (Dec 13, 2010)

JL15219 said:


> I have never used a diffuser I have used a diy reactor that I made worked great hooked up to my canister filter......but the diffuser, does it make your water look like seltzer water?


Yeah a diffuser makes seltzer water haha
I don't know how to hack a powerhead to make it power a reactor, but you could definitely get a cheap water pump and use that instead of the powerhead and have the reactor inline with it.


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## JL15219 (Nov 10, 2008)

hmmm.....how would you hack a powerhead to attach the DIY reactor?


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

Yeah, a good pump is better actually but a powerhead is basically a pump. The pump has easy hose attachment. A good pump is $40-$50. Still cheaper than a filter?


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## JL15219 (Nov 10, 2008)

Just want to make sure if I only have plants the tank doesnt need to be cycled correct?


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## razalas5 (Feb 1, 2011)

JL15219 said:


> Just want to make sure if I only have plants the tank doesnt need to be cycled correct?


Nope. The plants will be fine in a new tank.


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## JL15219 (Nov 10, 2008)

razalas5 said:


> Nope. The plants will be fine in a new tank.


Ok thats what I figured just wanted to make sure.


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## ukigumo11 (Sep 26, 2010)

I have a plants only tanks and use diffusers and powerheads to disperse CO2. I prefer running the CO2 into a jar which goes into the intake of the powerhead. I can either get most of the CO2 to dissolve in the water (no visible bubbles) or a fine spray of bubbles. 

Although, not cycling per se, even without fish, my tanks have gone through adjustment periods when I've set them up -- such as brown algae. But this might be of my own doing, and not inherent with setting up a newly planted tank; I'm not sure. It also may because of the different substrates I've used. One tank has a soil base, and I understand there are numerous biochemical process that occur in at least the first few months. 

One tank has a few fish in it and runs without a filter. I consider my plants the filter for the tank.


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## JL15219 (Nov 10, 2008)

ukigumo11 said:


> I have a plants only tanks and use diffusers and powerheads to disperse CO2. I prefer running the CO2 into a jar which goes into the intake of the powerhead. I can either get most of the CO2 to dissolve in the water (no visible bubbles) or a fine spray of bubbles.
> 
> Although, not cycling per se, even without fish, my tanks have gone through adjustment periods when I've set them up -- such as brown algae. But this might be of my own doing, and not inherent with setting up a newly planted tank; I'm not sure. It also may because of the different substrates I've used. One tank has a soil base, and I understand there are numerous biochemical process that occur in at least the first few months.
> 
> One tank has a few fish in it and runs without a filter. I consider my plants the filter for the tank.


Could you explain the part where the CO2 goes into a jar a little more plz :icon_bigg


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## ukigumo11 (Sep 26, 2010)

Probably not the greatest design, but on one tank I have my CO2 going directly into the input of a powerhead. When the CO2 bubbles, I get a spray of very fine bubbles out the exhaust of the powerhead. The powerhead chops the CO2 bubbles into finer bubbles... If I want to increase the contact time with water, I have added a tube onto the exhaust of the powerhead, so I get fewer or no visible bubbles out the exhaust.

Another way I've done it though is to run the CO2 into a jar with the powerhead stuck to one end of the jar, pretty much like a small internal filter on the cheap. In fact, I have placed filter material into the jar. I'm sure there are better designs, but it was cheap and easy, I can see how many BPS I am dosing (still haven't bought a bubble counter yet) and my drop checker stays yellow/greenish.


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