CO₂ Requirements Of An Aquarium

This depends on many factors such as intensity of lighting, water movement, whether the water is soft or hard, whether the tank is covered and how many plants there are. However, on average an aquarium of 100 litres will require between 1 and 1.5 grams per day.

Average life span of AQUAPONICS 450 g cylinder

Based on 1- 1.5 g per 100 litres per day.

Aquarium volume Life span

100 litres 300 - 450 days

150 litres 200 - 300 days

200 litres 150 - 225 days

250 litres 120 - 180 days

450 litres (100 gal.) 66 - 100 days

Testing For CO₂

It is easy to test for CO₂ using standard CO₂ test kits but it is even easier to use a Long Term Test Kit for CO₂. Simply place the 'activated' kit in the aquarium and compare the colour of the reagents with a stick on colour chart.

Other Nutrients

The remaining nutrients are taken up from the water surrounding the plant. For entirely submerged plants, this includes through the leaves and shoots. This is different to most terrestrial plants where the vast majority is only taken up by the roots. If you ever get the chance to visit a tropical stream, you will notice how for long distances, there will be a lack of plant life and then, a bit further downstream a sudden mass of growth. This phenomenon can easily be explained when we learn of the existence of nutrient springs. A nutrient spring is seepage of water from surrounding land containing all the essential macro and trace elements the plants require. Aquatic plants are only found in ponds and streams with these nutrient springs.

In the aquarium this nutrient spring seepage is simulated with the use of a Substrate heater cable and a special soil mix called Substore. Used together they provide:

(a) a nutritious substrate, as in nature, so important for plant growth and water balance;

(b) gentle convection currents, circulating nutrients between the aquarium and substrate;

(This also facilitates continual replenishment of the Substore by adding AQUAPONICS Aquatrace 7 to the aquarium water every seven days).

(c) a warmer substrate. If the substrate is too cold the plants become stunted;

(d) an environment within the substrate conducive to an oxygen-free zone. Remember, plants prefer rooting into anaerobic mud. Oxygen has the disadvantage of oxidising the nutrients our plants need and thus rendering them insoluble and useless, as the plants cannot absorb them. Any oxygen the plants require in the roots is obtained from the rest of the plant.

The substrate heater cable is placed on the tank bottom in zigzag loops. The warmth from the cable generates a gentle convection within the substrate circulating and exchanging the water within it every 24 hours. Because of the continuous gentle water movement, the substrate now becomes a biological filter and consumes all excess oxygen being pulled down into the substrate. Using the substrate cable and Substore, the plants will receive the best conditions we can provide and will thrive. Furthermore, given the natural properties of Substore coupled with the AQUAPONICS Substrate Heater Cable, fewer algae growth will occur.

Water Quality

Aquarium fish and plants, although mostly bred or propagated in captivity now, have their origins in the pools, streams and rivers of the tropics. These waters have properties that influence the biological processes of these fish and plants and as such it is prudent to try and emulate these properties in the aquarium. Most of the fish and plants we keep in the aquarium come from waters with a low mineral content or hardness and more often than not a corresponding low pH. Many aquatic plants are quite adaptable and can just cope with less than ideal conditions provided they are given sufficient CO₂, nutrients and Trace elements, but fish on the other hand are more sensitive. It is for this reason we tend to use soft water with a pH value around 6.3 to 6.9. To achieve these conditions we can obtain our water from the following sources: rainwater, de-ioniser (DI) or reverse osmosis (RO).