Got another idea for you. Look up Trough Rocks. The are advertised as Australian paramagnetic rocks that are safe for animals and pond fish that inhibit algae.
Great video awesome experiment. Another UA-cam MD fish tanks just did a dirted tank you may want to watch his. He didn't do a comparison like you are getting ready to I really enjoy your videos. I watch all aquascape videos I can find. And honestly you are one of the best. If you get a chance watch serpadesign that man is at another level.
Great experiment! If you do the liquid carbon experiment, I would suggest that you do de liquid carbon vs no CO2, because we already know the great advantage of normal CO2, but I couldn't find any video putting liquid against no CO2
Hopefully I didn't miss and that there's a video on it, but I think the best comparison would be the tanks used for the substrate comparison, that way the no co2+co2 can be "controls", and there's different liquid carbon products that claim other things beside introducing carbon, so might be a good use for the tanks
Hi MJ: I have the perfect wall in the living room that will showcase a beautiful environment. My goal is set up a 55 or a 75 gallon tank. I have been a bit shy to go that large All your tips and tricks have taught me alot. Especially the CO2 non CO2 affects. You have given me the confidence to jump in with both feet. Thanks for your posts and for your super channel. It’s great to see all the comments as well. Good stuff 🏄🏼♂️
Father fish is a great resource for a deep sand bed capping soil. Even ran his fish store in Florida with all his tanks set up like this. Would pull plants and fish out of these natural set ups and add to keep everything balanced. Really excited to see you try it out!
Dustin's Fishtanks has one of the greatest Dirted / cheap aquarium vids of all time on here. That vid got me back into aquariums. For everyone asking for Liquid C02 (Like Flourish Excel) vs CO2 or no CO2, I don't actually believe Liquid Carbon works quite how it is advertised. What I find is that, the Liquid Carbon doesn't really help with actual CO2 supply, but when dosed evenly and daily / semi-daily it eradicates any algae buildup on the leaves of the plants which allows them to photosynthesize at peak efficiency. Not the visible algae only. The microscopic things we can't see with the naked eye. This is why some scapers still use excel even if they have a CO2 system running. You get the benefits of CO2 with the additional benefits of peak energy consumption -> growth output. As far as dirt goes, I love dirt. My first scaped tank back in the game was organic potting soil, sifted, baked, and mixed with a little bit of quartz so it wouldn't compact. That tank ran for 15 months before I tore it down. Clean as a whistle without any nutrient spikes. Just make sure you cap it heavily.
SUPER REMEDY FOR PROBLEMS. So that there is no plaque in the aquarium, you need NERETINA SNAIL 1 piece per 10 liters of water. Snail THEODOXUS 1 piece per 1 liter of water. And your aquarium will shine.
The results of this experiment really aren't that surprising, given that the only variable was CO2. As you all know, robust plant growth that can outcompete algae depends on balance. A balance of available nutrients, CO2, and light. Given the bright light, and rich aquasoil, it comes as no surprise that the Carbon limited tank would have excess light and/or nutrients. This experiment would be more interesting with a lower light level in the no CO2 tank. Obviously growth won't be as quick in the carbon limited tank, but you'd be surprised at how much growth you can get, with very little algae.
For the dirt experiment make sure you get some soil with actual dirt in it, where I am a lot of what's labeled as potting soil has very little actual soil in it and is about 60 percent plant matter, like bark mulch or wood chips or peat moss, stuff that will just end up rotting away and probably releasing a ton of unwanted nutrients into the water. Oh also I loved watching this experiment, its gone a long way to convincing me to try some co2 in my tanks.
I know father fish personally and he has great success with the dirted tank capped with sand. He would have a wealth of knowledge for setting it up. I love your channel
I got non co2 tank and yeah sure you get some algae along, but not much. My method is huge box filter, low bio load and easycarbo. I do water changes usualy every 2 months more or less with regular top off of water (6:1 in favour of RO water). With usualy "cleanup crew" I got no major issues apart of weird moments realising that some plants you expected to thrive well in these conditions, do not and ones you bought since you like them actualy love your tank. I don't complain tbh. All in all, my tips are some for of easy carbo lowers algae growth (I got decent sunlight on my tank which is not avoidable) and don't overstock. Amano shrimps are a must. They are hardy and work around o'clock. Bonus is cash saving on CO2 a but do expect more often chemistry monitor for ammonia spikes.
I've really loved this video series, this is especially good for people new to planted aquariums. It very clearly show just how much difference CO2 makes. Thank you for sharing 👍✌️
A very good idea, done correctly! I am one of those people that start a new hobby by becoming totally immersed (pun intended) in the subject. The CO2/Non-CO2 idea has always intrigued me and I have been in two minds. To actually see the difference in front of my eyes is invaluable data. Should I high tech or low tech? You put forward an impartial view of the tanks and left it up to the viewer to decide what was working and what wasn't. I really appreciate this kind of unbiased - science based - attitude. Personally, I now can see that I will take the jump (dive?) into a CO2 setup (the development of the 'Monte Carlo' was the clincher). Much appreciated!!
I hit the like button! 🤣 It was a fun experiment to watch, I can’t believe it’s been 65 days. You talked me into getting some rotala orange juice… they’re on their way to being planted!
Great experiment. The daily changes in the plants with CO2 are impressive. I use pressurized CO2 in a paintball tank but I don’t get results nearly as quickly as what it looks like you’re getting with the DIY.
I set up a 100 gallon tank with a dirted substrate capped with gravel. I would have preferred to use some sort of aquasoil but due to my location it was prohibitively expensive. I have pressurised CO2 injection and Fluval 3.0 planted lights, Fluval 406 canister filter and also additional power head just for circulation. All of my plants are relatively easy plants, Amazon Swords, Anubias, Java fern, mosses and three varieties of Crypts, a few stems and floaters. I use liquid fertiliser sporadically. The plant growth has been awesome, some more than others. The Java fern has only increased slightly in a year whereas the Amazon Swords and Crypts have increased by a huge margin - and herein lies the problem. The Crypys have increased and expanded towards the front of the tank and now fill all of the space; they have formed a crypt carpet. It is virtually impossible to pull them out because the roots are so well developed they want to come out as a complete mat. On the odd occasion where I do manage to pull one out the roots bring all the dirt with them and it gets spread all round the tank.
cheers thanks for your efforts to do a comparison of the diff of with co2 and with no co2 its really cool to follow your progress, and all your nano scape tanks are super good works as well, thanks for the share and also super nice channel as well
Your channel made me start adding CO2 in my tanks and I loved it. Sadly, diy CO2 is quite troublesome: everytime I refill mine, I have to deal with a different problem. Sometimes it doesn't want to start up, or the pressure doesn't build up, or does it too much and the CO2 rate skyrockets. I haven't added any fauna to the aquarium in fear of these problems causing any damage to them. So now I'm saving some money to buy a proper pressurized CO2 system. It's expensive, but at least it seems safer to use with fish!
I can recommend the reactor kit shown in this video as a cheap but reliable and safe alternative. You add baking soda, citric acid and water which reacts and produces pressurized CO2. It comes with a solenoid on the bubble counter which can be controlled to come on and off via a timer. I've just refilled mine for the second time. The cost for the baking soda (350g) and citric acid (400g) was about 5 euros and the gauge is showing 36kg of pressurized CO2! Which will last about 4 months at the rate I'm injecting it. This system isn't super advanced by any means but provides CO2 for a very reasonable cost when you consider the full kit costs about 100 euros. Mark has a video on his channel about the kit.
@@Outlander929 This is the diy one I have, although whenever I refill it, a new problem arises. After some time messing with it I usually find a solution, but from time to time the CO2 rate goes all the way up or just suddenly stop without the solution being done. That's why I'm seriously considering the pressurized one.
@@arthurheine5631 When you said DIY CO2 I thought you were using soda bottles with sugar and yeast. My mistake.. You could have a leak somewhere or perhaps a blockage. I've read the silica beads in the filter can become sticky and clog, stopping CO2 from passing. Seems strange though. Hope you get it sorted.
Great videos nice to see experiments and different content from just builds. I have read and seen online about the surface agitation and ideas that too much causes off gasing of the c02 you inject. But horticulturists disagree and you can see why, the atmosphere contains 400ppm co2 and surface agitation adds not only o2 , so maybe a side by side one with co2 low surface and one with high surface agitation, even non c02 high surface agitation
The major tip for the dirted tank is using fast growing plants . Plants like water Wisteria will do the best in the tank because they are very heavy root feeders . If you don't plant a lot of plants at the start the algae will be a huge problem ! So get some heavy heavy root feeders and some decent water column feeders as well and you should be good to go! Plant suggestions would be echinodorus tenellarus (Carpetting plant that has a pinkish hue in my tank without CO2) , Water Wisteria , Hygrophila , Micro Sword . You have to keep some floating plants in the tank , they are going to help a lot! Salvinia , red root floaters whatever it is just keep them !
Great experiment Mark. I’m ready for the next one it should be interesting. I myself have never done a dirted tank either so I have no business giving you tips! Can’t wait to see it
Nice brother been waiting for this update 🙌🏼 Amazing what a difference C02 makes Edit: I used potting soil but was paranoid about it affecting the fish. So I bought soil that was meant for pond plants. Had to cap it, To stop it leaching into the tank but worked great 👌🏼
CO2 definitely turbo-charges plant growth. I think this experiment demonstrated how powerful it can be. However, I worry that beginners will see this and think you can't have nice plants without CO2 and that you'll be mired in algae all the time. To give a NO-CO2 setup the best chance the other parameters need to be optimized for it. In practice I think that means good air exchange with an airstone, lower nutrients from the soil, a lot of fish to produce CO2 and nutrients for the plants, and lower lighting to keep algae growth down especially at the beginning. Once algae begins to grow on the leaves of the plants they are in a lot of trouble because they have no way to clean it off and they get starved of light. I think a really beautiful, well-balanced NO-CO2 planted tank can be achieved. It just takes a lot of patience and experience to learn about how to keep the parameters optimized for slower plant growth.
What happens if you decide to stop using CO2 after long term use? Will the acclimated plants all melt back and have to regrow, or do they just slow down in growth?
@@henrikmadsen2176 Yeah I’ve done it a few times now! In general it works quite well, basically the plant growth just slows down and nothing else changes. Of course it depends on the plants as well. I wouldn’t try it with very demanding plants.
In my experience, it's floaters , co2 and strong light My largest tank has a mix of salvinia, duckweed, water lettuce and frogbit, co2 injection and a 30w spotlight for lighting, I've neglected it for the past month other than feeding (quite liberally), taking out floaters and occasional fertilizing, tested yesterday and had 0 nitrite and nitrate 150 liters planted with co2, fluval 206 filter, 20 cardinals, 10 chili rasboras, 11 siamese algae eaters and 10 amano shrimp Believe it's considered overstocked, but water parameters are doing pretty good based on tests
My first aquarium as an adult was one with the Walstad method. It worked, but after a few months I decided to add some nutritions caps and the plants appreciated. But, I still have some doubts about that method.
I stopped using CO2, I combined it with easycarbo and the plants just grew to hard haha. But After a while without CO2 and Easycarbo I got algea outbrakes. And since a few weeks I'm using Easycarbo again and that makes a huge difference. The plants do grow now again but not that extreme and they look perfect. The stemplants now have very fine leaves and look better then when I used CO2. And the montecarlo needs some more time but you can now see a lot of roots coming out so that will take of aswell. And also most of the algea is gone now. So having a planted tank without CO2 is possible, but adding something like easycarbo will help bigtime.
I struggle with plants deteriorating or getting algae on the lower portions, I keep on topping them off, getting rid of the roots, and replanting the tips. Any tips would be appreciated. Ty
Definitely you need to try Diana Walstad method, I want to see what plants are choose and some technical method such as lightning duration and so on. Maybe you can use pond soil to start Diana Walstad method.
Pond soil works a treat but works better with injected CO2, done it many times over the last decade or two or more...but in hardwater the light needs to be intense.
I'm so grateful for this experiment...for me it was more like seeing if my Co2 injection was distributed properly. Afterall, if not distributed properly, Co2 injection doesn't do much...Hence, if a tank looks more or less like the no Co2 tank even after injecting Co2, probably it means Co2 is not getting around it... Dirt tank would also going to be a new concept for me 😁😊🙏
Be careful about co2 fluctuating with the diy system as i noticed lots of algae start to grow when you dont give enough co2 in the tank .... You should replace the mix now to continue giving optimal co2
liquid co2 vs co2 im pretty sure there will be a big noticeable difference. either a 3 tank setup, no co2, liquid co2 and co2 to really see how different it is. Or 2 tank setup no co2 vs liquid co2. i think that will be more interesting than co2 vs liquid co2
I'd like to see liquid carbon vs no liquid carbon, as opposed to liquid carbon vs injected CO2. It would be interesting to see if, and how, it actually impacts plant growth with a control tank to reference.
We all know that liquid carbon is not actually carbon. All experienced aquarists state that liquid carbon cannot be an alternative to Co2. No need for such kind of experiment.
@@Habits1986 Liquid carbon could improve plant growth and health by acting like an algaecide. I’d just like to see if it makes a visible difference against a control.
Walstad method (dirted tanks), if set up properly will turn into a zero maintenance scape after a few months. It's really good for people who don't stay at home often. I have 2 dirted tanks and have done no maintenance except topping up the water for more than 6 months.
Nice new upcoming experiment Mark. Based on the soil vs potting soil a question popped up: Aquarium fertilizer vs plant fertilizer (pokon), would it work? Or would it create an algea soup? NPK values that I see don't differ that much (NPK 8-3-7 vs 7-1-8 for aquarium. Do you have any thoughts about it? Would not dare to try this at home with living creatures .
A dirted tank with diy co2 and using only all in one fertilizer and in this you must really focus on different types of plants like 3 different types of carpet plants of 3 difficulty levels and midground plant and back ground plant and mosss and different color plants
Hi, For my 125 litre fish tank i used tetra active substrate i dose fertilizer do weekly water changes and use diy co2 and im not getting any results in plant growth
i would suggest the dirted tank to be without co2 as the dirt help in providing co2 to the tank, taking into consideration that non co2 tank needs anything that might help in providing co2 as stocking fish's that consume oxygen and producing co2, also the light is another factor in consuming the co2 as well as the water source kh parameter, thanks alot for your effort, this is my opinion in non co2 tank
Dirted (potting compost under a layer of gravel) tanks and tanks with aqua soil are really in my experience not that biological different. They both use soil for macro and micro nutrients and both benefit from a small amount of CO2 generated by decomposition - adding perhaps 5 ppm to the water (that figure is a guesstimate I concede). In very hard water my experience is also that for an algae free tank with a good range of plants, injected CO2 is absolutely essential. In both dirted, with aqua soil or even tanks with sand or gravel with injected CO2 plants grow well. With sand or gravel water column fertilisation can largely compensate for a neutral and inert and inorganic substrate. Decomposition in dirted tanks, i.e. soil capped with gravel, generates only modest amounts of CO2 (even Walstad admits that in her book) but this is enough in soft and moderately hard water for a range of easier to grow true marginals, Vallis, Hornwort, Egeria, take a look at Foo the Flowerhead's dirted tank and how Hornwort became dominant relatively quickly. You will also be able to grow Duckweed since it takes CO2 from the atmosphere. Hard water tanks, dirted or not, regardless of CO2 also need high light levels if a range of plants are to be successfully grown. Live stock (fish, snails and shrimps) do not generate meaningful amounts of CO2 in terms of meeting the needs of plant photosynthesis (but they dump plenty of macro nutrients in the water), the living bacteria in the filter and in the substrate do generate meaningful amounts of CO2 but not enough for the luscious style of ornamental tank we normally aspire to. In a natural pond the deep mud in the middle where the water is deep and there are no plants, CO2 is created by bacteria to feed the aquatic plants in the shallows with CO2, this is where rooted plants can grow to reach the light, few aquatic plants can grow much more than two metres in height, but many can spread far wider than than once they hit the surface. Best wishes, keep enjoying the hobby.
Try using pound soil. Iv had great success with just clay based soil from my yard, capped off with a inch layer of aqua gravel. I’m excited to see what you go with.
First :D ... UA-camr MD Fish Tanks did an aquarium with pond compost and he seem to think it gave really good result. Look forward to see what your results will be. Keep up the good work
Make sure you sterilize the dirt, with heat or whatever. Otherwise, your dirt is gonna start to acumulate gas bubbles (from bacteria) and also from plants roots because dirt is gonna turn into mud and there is no way for the gases to go up. This is why professional soil is in spheric form. I dont want to describe my experience with this, coming home to an 100 l aquarium who "exploded", having a brown stuff instead of water and a mix of plants, wood, fish, snails and leaves wondering around on top. The fish were fine but the tank...nope, started from scratch.
Having equal lighting i think taints the results for people deciding what to go for (i understand v1 needs everything equal, but v2 idea for people deciding what to go for). Lights should be set to the tank, so less light for the non co2 tank as that is what you would actually do. I think adjusting for real lighting implementation if you were to actually have these tanks would be a cool v2 (i.e., not full brightness for non co2)
I love ur videos ....today i started my diy co2 system first day went very good let see how much the co2 will last ...i used 200 gr sugar in 500 ml water and half tea spoon yeast for the tubing i used an iv infusion set it has a flow adjustment system so i turned it off during the night ... Let s hope the bottle can handle the pressure well 😂
I still don't get this co2 stuff. Why does everything has to go faster, bigger? My aquarium doesn't have co2 but the plants are great. I have to trim them at least every month. I prefer the natural way. Life is so fast and now we are "dumping" our stress also into our hobby. Better go natural... So definitely NO CO2 for me!
Liquid carbon is a good idea. I would do both without injected co2, but one with liquid carbon, that would really test effectivity of easy carbo or excel…
Another cool experiment is to see what happens when you scroll back up and click that like button!
Got another idea for you. Look up Trough Rocks. The are advertised as Australian paramagnetic rocks that are safe for animals and pond fish that inhibit algae.
Ha ha . Try co2 vs liquid carbon like excel flourish
MD has had good results with pond fertilizer
Great video awesome experiment. Another UA-cam MD fish tanks just did a dirted tank you may want to watch his. He didn't do a comparison like you are getting ready to I really enjoy your videos. I watch all aquascape videos I can find. And honestly you are one of the best. If you get a chance watch serpadesign that man is at another level.
hehehe.
Great experiment! If you do the liquid carbon experiment, I would suggest that you do de liquid carbon vs no CO2, because we already know the great advantage of normal CO2, but I couldn't find any video putting liquid against no CO2
Great point!
Totally agree with you
Hopefully I didn't miss and that there's a video on it, but I think the best comparison would be the tanks used for the substrate comparison, that way the no co2+co2 can be "controls", and there's different liquid carbon products that claim other things beside introducing carbon, so might be a good use for the tanks
@@MJAquascaping • Has this comparison been made ?? 🤷♂️
I'd like to see thise twin planted tanks with RO vs Tap water setup.
Yes!
That’s extremely inconsistent because everybody’s tapwater is different I am on a well and My water grows plants extremely well
Has this been made by now ?? 🤷♂️
Hi MJ: I have the perfect wall in the living room that will showcase a beautiful environment. My goal is set up a 55 or a 75 gallon tank. I have been a bit shy to go that large All your tips and tricks have taught me alot. Especially the CO2 non CO2 affects. You have given me the confidence to jump in with both feet.
Thanks for your posts and for your super channel. It’s great to see all the comments as well. Good stuff 🏄🏼♂️
Father fish is a great resource for a deep sand bed capping soil. Even ran his fish store in Florida with all his tanks set up like this. Would pull plants and fish out of these natural set ups and add to keep everything balanced. Really excited to see you try it out!
Dustin's Fishtanks has one of the greatest Dirted / cheap aquarium vids of all time on here. That vid got me back into aquariums.
For everyone asking for Liquid C02 (Like Flourish Excel) vs CO2 or no CO2, I don't actually believe Liquid Carbon works quite how it is advertised. What I find is that, the Liquid Carbon doesn't really help with actual CO2 supply, but when dosed evenly and daily / semi-daily it eradicates any algae buildup on the leaves of the plants which allows them to photosynthesize at peak efficiency. Not the visible algae only. The microscopic things we can't see with the naked eye.
This is why some scapers still use excel even if they have a CO2 system running. You get the benefits of CO2 with the additional benefits of peak energy consumption -> growth output.
As far as dirt goes, I love dirt. My first scaped tank back in the game was organic potting soil, sifted, baked, and mixed with a little bit of quartz so it wouldn't compact. That tank ran for 15 months before I tore it down. Clean as a whistle without any nutrient spikes. Just make sure you cap it heavily.
Clear results. Looking forwards to your next experiments.
Congratulations. It was great to follow this experiment. It will definitely help many aquarists' decisions. Thanks. Jorge Luiz, RJ-Brasil
We can also use livestock in one tank and CO2 in the other.....and see if the fish can provide enough CO2 for the plants to grow
SUPER REMEDY FOR PROBLEMS. So that there is no plaque in the aquarium, you need NERETINA SNAIL 1 piece per 10 liters of water. Snail THEODOXUS 1 piece per 1 liter of water. And your aquarium will shine.
The results of this experiment really aren't that surprising, given that the only variable was CO2. As you all know, robust plant growth that can outcompete algae depends on balance. A balance of available nutrients, CO2, and light. Given the bright light, and rich aquasoil, it comes as no surprise that the Carbon limited tank would have excess light and/or nutrients. This experiment would be more interesting with a lower light level in the no CO2 tank. Obviously growth won't be as quick in the carbon limited tank, but you'd be surprised at how much growth you can get, with very little algae.
For the dirt experiment make sure you get some soil with actual dirt in it, where I am a lot of what's labeled as potting soil has very little actual soil in it and is about 60 percent plant matter, like bark mulch or wood chips or peat moss, stuff that will just end up rotting away and probably releasing a ton of unwanted nutrients into the water. Oh also I loved watching this experiment, its gone a long way to convincing me to try some co2 in my tanks.
I know father fish personally and he has great success with the dirted tank capped with sand. He would have a wealth of knowledge for setting it up. I love your channel
I got non co2 tank and yeah sure you get some algae along, but not much. My method is huge box filter, low bio load and easycarbo. I do water changes usualy every 2 months more or less with regular top off of water (6:1 in favour of RO water). With usualy "cleanup crew" I got no major issues apart of weird moments realising that some plants you expected to thrive well in these conditions, do not and ones you bought since you like them actualy love your tank. I don't complain tbh. All in all, my tips are some for of easy carbo lowers algae growth (I got decent sunlight on my tank which is not avoidable) and don't overstock. Amano shrimps are a must. They are hardy and work around o'clock. Bonus is cash saving on CO2 a but do expect more often chemistry monitor for ammonia spikes.
Been a great experiment, enjoyed the updates 🤙🏻🤙🏻
Nice to see how much your channel has grown in the past year.
I've really loved this video series, this is especially good for people new to planted aquariums. It very clearly show just how much difference CO2 makes. Thank you for sharing 👍✌️
A very good idea, done correctly! I am one of those people that start a new hobby by becoming totally immersed (pun intended) in the subject. The CO2/Non-CO2 idea has always intrigued me and I have been in two minds. To actually see the difference in front of my eyes is invaluable data. Should I high tech or low tech? You put forward an impartial view of the tanks and left it up to the viewer to decide what was working and what wasn't. I really appreciate this kind of unbiased - science based - attitude. Personally, I now can see that I will take the jump (dive?) into a CO2 setup (the development of the 'Monte Carlo' was the clincher). Much appreciated!!
I hit the like button! 🤣
It was a fun experiment to watch, I can’t believe it’s been 65 days. You talked me into getting some rotala orange juice… they’re on their way to being planted!
8:22 snail got sent lmao
Good to see fellow dutchmen who mastered the dark art of english. Instant sub!
As a romanian living in uk i just subscribed .😊
Great experiment. The daily changes in the plants with CO2 are impressive. I use pressurized CO2 in a paintball tank but I don’t get results nearly as quickly as what it looks like you’re getting with the DIY.
I set up a 100 gallon tank with a dirted substrate capped with gravel. I would have preferred to use some sort of aquasoil but due to my location it was prohibitively expensive. I have pressurised CO2 injection and Fluval 3.0 planted lights, Fluval 406 canister filter and also additional power head just for circulation. All of my plants are relatively easy plants, Amazon Swords, Anubias, Java fern, mosses and three varieties of Crypts, a few stems and floaters. I use liquid fertiliser sporadically.
The plant growth has been awesome, some more than others. The Java fern has only increased slightly in a year whereas the Amazon Swords and Crypts have increased by a huge margin - and herein lies the problem. The Crypys have increased and expanded towards the front of the tank and now fill all of the space; they have formed a crypt carpet. It is virtually impossible to pull them out because the roots are so well developed they want to come out as a complete mat. On the odd occasion where I do manage to pull one out the roots bring all the dirt with them and it gets spread all round the tank.
I'm really curious about the next experiment. I've been wanting to do a tank using only materials collected from nature.
If you want to use soils, be sure to use pond soil and not soil for indoor plants. Should be alot better for your water quality
cheers thanks for your efforts to do a comparison of the diff of with co2 and with no co2 its really cool to follow your progress, and all your nano scape tanks are super good works as well, thanks for the share and also super nice channel as well
Great experiment! Anticipating next experiment.
Your channel made me start adding CO2 in my tanks and I loved it. Sadly, diy CO2 is quite troublesome: everytime I refill mine, I have to deal with a different problem. Sometimes it doesn't want to start up, or the pressure doesn't build up, or does it too much and the CO2 rate skyrockets. I haven't added any fauna to the aquarium in fear of these problems causing any damage to them.
So now I'm saving some money to buy a proper pressurized CO2 system. It's expensive, but at least it seems safer to use with fish!
I can recommend the reactor kit shown in this video as a cheap but reliable and safe alternative. You add baking soda, citric acid and water which reacts and produces pressurized CO2. It comes with a solenoid on the bubble counter which can be controlled to come on and off via a timer.
I've just refilled mine for the second time. The cost for the baking soda (350g) and citric acid (400g) was about 5 euros and the gauge is showing 36kg of pressurized CO2! Which will last about 4 months at the rate I'm injecting it. This system isn't super advanced by any means but provides CO2 for a very reasonable cost when you consider the full kit costs about 100 euros. Mark has a video on his channel about the kit.
@@Outlander929 This is the diy one I have, although whenever I refill it, a new problem arises. After some time messing with it I usually find a solution, but from time to time the CO2 rate goes all the way up or just suddenly stop without the solution being done.
That's why I'm seriously considering the pressurized one.
@@arthurheine5631 When you said DIY CO2 I thought you were using soda bottles with sugar and yeast. My mistake.. You could have a leak somewhere or perhaps a blockage. I've read the silica beads in the filter can become sticky and clog, stopping CO2 from passing. Seems strange though. Hope you get it sorted.
Great videos nice to see experiments and different content from just builds. I have read and seen online about the surface agitation and ideas that too much causes off gasing of the c02 you inject. But horticulturists disagree and you can see why, the atmosphere contains 400ppm co2 and surface agitation adds not only o2 , so maybe a side by side one with co2 low surface and one with high surface agitation, even non c02 high surface agitation
The major tip for the dirted tank is using fast growing plants . Plants like water Wisteria will do the best in the tank because they are very heavy root feeders . If you don't plant a lot of plants at the start the algae will be a huge problem ! So get some heavy heavy root feeders and some decent water column feeders as well and you should be good to go! Plant suggestions would be echinodorus tenellarus (Carpetting plant that has a pinkish hue in my tank without CO2) , Water Wisteria , Hygrophila , Micro Sword . You have to keep some floating plants in the tank , they are going to help a lot! Salvinia , red root floaters whatever it is just keep them !
Awesome! This is really helpful
Great experiment Mark. I’m ready for the next one it should be interesting. I myself have never done a dirted tank either so I have no business giving you tips! Can’t wait to see it
Informative and interesting. I knew that carbon dioxide is needed for plant growth, but this is the first time I hear about nitrogen.
hey man, thanks for this channel, i went out and bought co2 because of your videos! wish me luck!
Nice brother been waiting for this update 🙌🏼
Amazing what a difference C02 makes
Edit: I used potting soil but was paranoid about it affecting the fish. So I bought soil that was meant for pond plants. Had to cap it, To stop it leaching into the tank but worked great 👌🏼
Nice 👍 Thanks for sharing!
CO2 definitely turbo-charges plant growth. I think this experiment demonstrated how powerful it can be. However, I worry that beginners will see this and think you can't have nice plants without CO2 and that you'll be mired in algae all the time. To give a NO-CO2 setup the best chance the other parameters need to be optimized for it. In practice I think that means good air exchange with an airstone, lower nutrients from the soil, a lot of fish to produce CO2 and nutrients for the plants, and lower lighting to keep algae growth down especially at the beginning. Once algae begins to grow on the leaves of the plants they are in a lot of trouble because they have no way to clean it off and they get starved of light.
I think a really beautiful, well-balanced NO-CO2 planted tank can be achieved. It just takes a lot of patience and experience to learn about how to keep the parameters optimized for slower plant growth.
Check out MD fish tanks on youtube. He also did this at some point... worked a treat!
I loved your experiment. Hope to see the Co2 vs liquid Co2 experiment soon 😁
There is I am afraid no liquid CO2 at normal atmospheric pressure.
awesome stuff, I am a massive fan, I would put the soil at the bottom then inert sand on top to prevent leaching.
What happens if you decide to stop using CO2 after long term use? Will the acclimated plants all melt back and have to regrow, or do they just slow down in growth?
I think we need to test this! I think they will slow down, but I never tried this.
This happened to me , everything melted back but its still recovering
@@MJAquascaping • Have you made this test ?? 🤷♂️🙏🙂
@@henrikmadsen2176 Yeah I’ve done it a few times now! In general it works quite well, basically the plant growth just slows down and nothing else changes. Of course it depends on the plants as well. I wouldn’t try it with very demanding plants.
I would love to see an experiment about what gets nitrates down quicker!
In my experience, it's floaters , co2 and strong light
My largest tank has a mix of salvinia, duckweed, water lettuce and frogbit, co2 injection and a 30w spotlight for lighting, I've neglected it for the past month other than feeding (quite liberally), taking out floaters and occasional fertilizing, tested yesterday and had 0 nitrite and nitrate
150 liters planted with co2, fluval 206 filter, 20 cardinals, 10 chili rasboras, 11 siamese algae eaters and 10 amano shrimp
Believe it's considered overstocked, but water parameters are doing pretty good based on tests
My first aquarium as an adult was one with the Walstad method. It worked, but after a few months I decided to add some nutritions caps and the plants appreciated. But, I still have some doubts about that method.
I stopped using CO2, I combined it with easycarbo and the plants just grew to hard haha. But After a while without CO2 and Easycarbo I got algea outbrakes. And since a few weeks I'm using Easycarbo again and that makes a huge difference. The plants do grow now again but not that extreme and they look perfect. The stemplants now have very fine leaves and look better then when I used CO2. And the montecarlo needs some more time but you can now see a lot of roots coming out so that will take of aswell. And also most of the algea is gone now. So having a planted tank without CO2 is possible, but adding something like easycarbo will help bigtime.
So in other words you added liquid c02.
Where did you pick up that awesome black metal and wooden shelve system?
Amazing experiment man. Love it. You’re a real guide for a newbie hobbyist like myself. 🤩
Amazing videos you've got me obsessed with your channel
Glad you like them!
TÜRKÇE ALT YAZI İçin tesekkürr ederim.Başarıların devamını dilerim
I struggle with plants deteriorating or getting algae on the lower portions, I keep on topping them off, getting rid of the roots, and replanting the tips. Any tips would be appreciated. Ty
Another nice video and good unbiased experiment... I like the results, very informative for me.
Definitely you need to try Diana Walstad method, I want to see what plants are choose and some technical method such as lightning duration and so on. Maybe you can use pond soil to start Diana Walstad method.
Pond soil works a treat but works better with injected CO2, done it many times over the last decade or two or more...but in hardwater the light needs to be intense.
i love this experiment. tanks growth are amazing. fgreat way to teach. goldy
I'm so grateful for this experiment...for me it was more like seeing if my Co2 injection was distributed properly. Afterall, if not distributed properly, Co2 injection doesn't do much...Hence, if a tank looks more or less like the no Co2 tank even after injecting Co2, probably it means Co2 is not getting around it...
Dirt tank would also going to be a new concept for me 😁😊🙏
Nice experiment! I have a question, what is the bubble count on those dennerle co2 diffusors?
Probably like 1 per 4-5 seconds
@@MJAquascaping okay, thanks!!
Be careful about co2 fluctuating with the diy system as i noticed lots of algae start to grow when you dont give enough co2 in the tank .... You should replace the mix now to continue giving optimal co2
Nice new experiment 👍🏻
liquid co2 vs co2 im pretty sure there will be a big noticeable difference. either a 3 tank setup, no co2, liquid co2 and co2 to really see how different it is. Or 2 tank setup no co2 vs liquid co2. i think that will be more interesting than co2 vs liquid co2
Dukes Aquaristikexperimente did a nice Walstadt tank. Could be a nice experiment
Do you have a link for me?
@@MJAquascaping ua-cam.com/video/N6gaRr4wCy0/v-deo.html
And some more on his channel
@@Necrosias awesome thanks 😊
@@MJAquascaping you are welcome 😉
How many bubble per second were you running in the co2 tank ?
I'd like to see liquid carbon vs no liquid carbon, as opposed to liquid carbon vs injected CO2. It would be interesting to see if, and how, it actually impacts plant growth with a control tank to reference.
We all know that liquid carbon is not actually carbon. All experienced aquarists state that liquid carbon cannot be an alternative to Co2. No need for such kind of experiment.
@@Habits1986 Liquid carbon could improve plant growth and health by acting like an algaecide. I’d just like to see if it makes a visible difference against a control.
Walstad method (dirted tanks), if set up properly will turn into a zero maintenance scape after a few months. It's really good for people who don't stay at home often.
I have 2 dirted tanks and have done no maintenance except topping up the water for more than 6 months.
Nice one!
Nice new upcoming experiment Mark. Based on the soil vs potting soil a question popped up: Aquarium fertilizer vs plant fertilizer (pokon), would it work? Or would it create an algea soup? NPK values that I see don't differ that much (NPK 8-3-7 vs 7-1-8 for aquarium. Do you have any thoughts about it? Would not dare to try this at home with living creatures .
If it's just NPK it should work right?
Try to watch foo the flowerhorn's vids about using an organic soil for substrate. I also tried it before
Nice bro really enjoying these videos
Thank you to translate the video to bahasa Indonesia... Terimakasih banyak coi
Great experiment! Abstract, but I have to ask, where did you get the shelf that the tanks were set up on? I love the style.
Can you do Co2 injector vs. Diy Co2
Great video mate. I think the best experiment would be a liquid carbon tank x no co2 no liquid carbon tank. There are no videos on youtube doing it.
Interesting experiment, thanks!
A dirted tank with diy co2 and using only all in one fertilizer and in this you must really focus on different types of plants like 3 different types of carpet plants of 3 difficulty levels and midground plant and back ground plant and mosss and different color plants
hello frome chechnya, tnx men, yu beste of the beste!!!
When you showed your CO2 system I first though about a CO2 splitter mounted on top but still no. Didn't you already watched it on web? 🙂
What is the name of the moss in the tank?
Hi, For my 125 litre fish tank i used tetra active substrate i dose fertilizer do weekly water changes and use diy co2 and im not getting any results in plant growth
Overtuigd, gister Co2 in mijn tank gezet(draait net een maandje). Ben heel benieuwd komende weken!
Great experiment
This is awesome. I start to use the CO2 recipe with gelatine and have a good pressure. Already have tree weeks running.
Good stuff!
Did you ever gravel the tanks?? Is it really necessary to gravel vac?? Sorry im lazy to gravel vac.. oh and i only keep few fishes in my nano tank
I never gravel vac
very cool video man .. i really gotta throw a co2 on one of my tanks just to check it out
That snail went for a ride at 8:20
Pond soil Vs aqua soil would be interesting
i would suggest the dirted tank to be without co2 as the dirt help in providing co2 to the tank, taking into consideration that non co2 tank needs anything that might help in providing co2 as stocking fish's that consume oxygen and producing co2, also the light is another factor in consuming the co2 as well as the water source kh parameter, thanks alot for your effort, this is my opinion in non co2 tank
Dirted (potting compost under a layer of gravel) tanks and tanks with aqua soil are really in my experience not that biological different. They both use soil for macro and micro nutrients and both benefit from a small amount of CO2 generated by decomposition - adding perhaps 5 ppm to the water (that figure is a guesstimate I concede).
In very hard water my experience is also that for an algae free tank with a good range of plants, injected CO2 is absolutely essential. In both dirted, with aqua soil or even tanks with sand or gravel with injected CO2 plants grow well. With sand or gravel water column fertilisation can largely compensate for a neutral and inert and inorganic substrate.
Decomposition in dirted tanks, i.e. soil capped with gravel, generates only modest amounts of CO2 (even Walstad admits that in her book) but this is enough in soft and moderately hard water for a range of easier to grow true marginals, Vallis, Hornwort, Egeria, take a look at Foo the Flowerhead's dirted tank and how Hornwort became dominant relatively quickly. You will also be able to grow Duckweed since it takes CO2 from the atmosphere.
Hard water tanks, dirted or not, regardless of CO2 also need high light levels if a range of plants are to be successfully grown.
Live stock (fish, snails and shrimps) do not generate meaningful amounts of CO2 in terms of meeting the needs of plant photosynthesis (but they dump plenty of macro nutrients in the water), the living bacteria in the filter and in the substrate do generate meaningful amounts of CO2 but not enough for the luscious style of ornamental tank we normally aspire to.
In a natural pond the deep mud in the middle where the water is deep and there are no plants, CO2 is created by bacteria to feed the aquatic plants in the shallows with CO2, this is where rooted plants can grow to reach the light, few aquatic plants can grow much more than two metres in height, but many can spread far wider than than once they hit the surface.
Best wishes, keep enjoying the hobby.
Great job.
Thanks!
Is that mushroom looking plant on the carpet hydrocotyle verticillata? i love the look of it
No that's marsilea hirsuta!
mineralized topsoil with added worm poop, topped with gravel/sand has worked well for me before
Whatched all the videos so informative great channel
Awesome, thank you!
Try using pound soil. Iv had great success with just clay based soil from my yard, capped off with a inch layer of aqua gravel. I’m excited to see what you go with.
First :D ... UA-camr MD Fish Tanks did an aquarium with pond compost and he seem to think it gave really good result. Look forward to see what your results will be. Keep up the good work
Yeah I just saw he posted a new video! Definitely going to watch that next!
I remember getting this setup in your video
Спасибо, интересный эксперимент!
Another idea is to compare tank with activ soil vs garden soil (with sand cover).
What did you Used for Substrate Please?
Aquario Neo soil
Super interessant merci 👍
Make sure you sterilize the dirt, with heat or whatever. Otherwise, your dirt is gonna start to acumulate gas bubbles (from bacteria) and also from plants roots because dirt is gonna turn into mud and there is no way for the gases to go up. This is why professional soil is in spheric form. I dont want to describe my experience with this, coming home to an 100 l aquarium who "exploded", having a brown stuff instead of water and a mix of plants, wood, fish, snails and leaves wondering around on top. The fish were fine but the tank...nope, started from scratch.
Thanks for the warning!
Having equal lighting i think taints the results for people deciding what to go for (i understand v1 needs everything equal, but v2 idea for people deciding what to go for). Lights should be set to the tank, so less light for the non co2 tank as that is what you would actually do. I think adjusting for real lighting implementation if you were to actually have these tanks would be a cool v2 (i.e., not full brightness for non co2)
That was pretty cool to watch. Can you also try aquasoil vs inert substrate like black diamomd blasting sand?
Was thinking about that as well!
Can you monte carlo in gravel? Without co2
With root tabs yes but not guaranteed
I love ur videos ....today i started my diy co2 system first day went very good let see how much the co2 will last ...i used 200 gr sugar in 500 ml water and half tea spoon yeast for the tubing i used an iv infusion set it has a flow adjustment system so i turned it off during the night ... Let s hope the bottle can handle the pressure well 😂
I would be very interested in seeing a co2 vs. liquid carbon experiment.
I still don't get this co2 stuff. Why does everything has to go faster, bigger?
My aquarium doesn't have co2 but the plants are great. I have to trim them at least every month. I prefer the natural way. Life is so fast and now we are "dumping" our stress also into our hobby.
Better go natural...
So definitely NO CO2 for me!
How many days back u started these tanks?
Ok 2 months back
Actually the next experiment will be more interesting if u will compare aquasoil with sand bro . Good job for this as well
Liquid carbon is a good idea. I would do both without injected co2, but one with liquid carbon, that would really test effectivity of easy carbo or excel…
Bro i can't find video on your filter.. really i want to know is it a DIY??
it's the dennerle scapers flow filter!