# Aqua Medic Aqualine CO2 or Plant Gro system?



## fishandchips (Mar 22, 2006)

Hey there, I'm new to the forums but not completely new to keeping fish. I specialize in reptiles but I have recently acquired a mid-sized (50 gal) aquarium for the purpose of setting up a planted tank. I have set up my fluval 304 and the tank is currently cycling, but I was wondering about the Aqua Medic CO2 reactor. http://www.bigalsonline.ca/catalog/product.xml?product_id=19223;category_id=2873;pcid1=3349;pcid2=

I have a few questions:

Has anyone tried out this product? What is your opinion of it?

Would it be better to go with a single CO2 device or multiple devices such as the Plant Gro system? If multiple devices, how many would you advise for 50 gallons of water? http://www.bigalsonline.ca/catalog/product.xml?product_id=19237;category_id=2873;pcid1=3349;pcid2=

Thanks very much for your help,

Adam


----------



## chompy (Mar 24, 2006)

I would go check out The Menagerie, I hear they are the people tp see regarding planted tanks .


----------



## holocron (Mar 12, 2006)

hey adam,

you might be better off with a DIY co2 setup vs. that hagen setup. I have a 50g tank and used the yeast co2 method for over a year. You will probably need 3 of those to get a good amount of CO2 in your tank.

http://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/diyco2.html

that page is the best diy co2 page out there.


----------



## fishandchips (Mar 22, 2006)

Very much appreciated and the link is great! I think I might give the DIY route a shot. 

Thanks!


----------



## fishandchips (Mar 22, 2006)

lol, I'm weak, I admit I caved when I went to the pet store today. Started gathering parts for the DIY and couldn't find any plastic bulkheads at the hardware store. Then the girlfriend started commenting on how nice and neat the Plant Gro system looked and somehow I ended up buying some of them instead. Ah well, it's working great so far and I'm mezmerized by the CO2 bubbles in the diffusers. I will definitely keep the DIY in mind for a future aquarium.


Thanks again,
Adam


----------



## ranmasatome (Mar 14, 2006)

Its not too bad.. actually you can reuse those plant gro canisters when they go out of gas and just use the DIY co2 recipie in them in replacement...can you not?


----------



## fishandchips (Mar 22, 2006)

I think the DIY mixture should work in the plant gro canisters, but not sure about quantities of each component. They seem to be about a third the size of a 2L pop bottle, so I'm not sure if I would reduce the ingredient quantities by two thirds, or if it is more complicated than that.


----------



## holocron (Mar 12, 2006)

yeah i am not exactly sure why you can't use those with a DIY solution. My guess would be that that system uses some sort of concentrated sugar solution that the yeast feeds off of. The 2l pop bottle needs a lot of water to dissolve 2cups of sugar in. The food that system uses must be able to do the same thing as a pop bottle with much less quantity of food for the yeast. You can always buy those refill packets, but I am certain if you do some digging on the internet you'll find out how or what food source they use so you can make a batch yourself.

ps - i know what its like to cave at the pet store, trust me.


----------



## ranmasatome (Mar 14, 2006)

You could always work everything out in ratio.. it should work.. may not last as long as a 2l pop bottle but it should work nevertheless..


----------



## WaterWorld (May 7, 2006)

Hi Adam, I currently have a 3 plant gro canisters for my 40 gallon tank. On the Plant Gro box it recommends to use 1 canister per 20 gallons and even though I have 3 for 40 gallons, the amount of CO2 being produced does not seem to be affecting my fish. My plants are doing great and growing rapidly. Keep in mind that good lighting is essential if you want your plants to flourish. I have 1 x 96Watt Coralife Freshwater Aqualight and 1 x 42 Watt Coralife Freshwater T-5 Aqualight double Strip lighting for a total of 138 Watts. I do use my own recipe, it's way cheaper than buying the refills. Fill the sugar as per directions then add 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon of active dry yeast (you can buy it at any supermarket), add 1 teaspoon of baking soda, then fill with lukewarm water. Let it sit a minute for the yeast to fall then rise again, then close the top, remembering to give it an extra 1/4 turn after it seems snug. That's all. In addition I do add iron, trace, fertilizer, etc, etc, etc with 50% water change weekly. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.


----------



## fishandchips (Mar 22, 2006)

Thanks everyone for the tips. I will definitely be using the homemade refill formula that WaterWorld provided as well. So far, everything seems to be doing great and I'm quite pleased with how the overall look is coming together. I will try to get pictures in the near future.



Thanks again,
Adam


----------

