Planted Tank

[Viv]

Can a freshwater planted tank be done without a CO2 apparatus, and still be able to have full, lush plants?

[Stang69]

It can work yes however it may turn out to be more of a pain without the CO2. There are some CO2 additives that are fairly inexpensive. Off the top of my head I cant remember the name of them but they hang on the back and are fairly small that you add a tablet every week I believe. I think in the long run you will want a co2 setup if nothing else for the money you will save in the long run.


Jeff

[Viv]

Can you or anyone recommend a good book about freshwater aquariums...something that covers all the bases...I'm interested but would like to do some reading first so I would have an idea of what I might be getting into....

[Wiskey]

Yes it can work, my 10 gallon has been setup without co2 for the last 2 years, I haven't even changed the water lately.

The book you are looking for is written by Diana Walstad, it is called "ecology of the planted aquariam" and will tell you how to setup a planted tank without CO2, ferts, or any other high tech gizmos and still have a great tank. This is easilly the best book I have ever read on the topic and will tell you exactally what you want to know.

My 180 is setup by it's princables, but I use CO2 at very low levels because I already had the system and didn't want to waist it.

Whiskey