Decision Making On Co2

[CatfishSoup 11]

hey everyone, its been a while but anyways. here i am .

so ! my tank has been under .. a bit of an attack of black bearded algae, i have had it for a few months, and its hoorrible. Ever since i upgraded my lights, and skipped one water change ( mom made me.. "save water" ) and now here i am.. D:

i have tried shortening the amount of light the tank gets, i have tried buying Siamese fish but they are nowhere near full grown so they arent eating it. and so now my resort is co2. because apparently co2 helps reduce algae.

so, yesterday i went to my lfs and there was tons of discussion on whats the best to do. And what we concluded on, should be the first step is to try on of these two things.

it was to try dosing of Flourish Excel, liquid carbon, cheap, and well its still a good supply. My power filter carbon cartridges are way out, i dont really replace them, due to the collection of BBs. Anyways, so liquid carbon, a cheap alternative to co2.

option 2.

blanket out the tank. so cover it with blankets, for a week, no light, and the algae should die, and hopefully not the plants.

so its one of the two.

I also thought about co2 system. unfortunately, after 40 gallons, it can get a lot more expensive.. and i have a 55 gallon.

fluval has this

http://www.bigalsonline.ca/Fish_Plant-Care_CO2-Systems-Equipment_Mini-Pressurized-20-g-CO2-Kit_11090177_102.html?tc=fish

they have a 88g version, which should treat up to 40 gals though i am short here 15 gallons.. well, add substrate and you got less .

there is also this,

http://www.bigalsonline.ca/Fish_Plant-Care_CO2-Systems-Equipment_CO2-Bio-Generator_8431105_102.html?tc=fish

same issue as the other one.. though refills will cost a lot less. 15 bucks. thr fluval refills are like 60 for 4.

and i can also make my own mix instead of using the red sea refills.

then finally, there is this

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/diy/115850-paintball-co2-injection-diy-setup-tons.html

seems like a great DIY rig. very legit looking, though how much would a 24 oz of co2 last me? this is prob. one of the most expensive rigs out of the three, and the larger set up.

so waht do you guys think? because i was also thinking, if i go lets say for the red sea alternative.. i can use that and flourish excel? .. i duunno.

i really hope i worded this well, and it didnt sound like a big mess.. thanks

[Hidr 4,961]

My 2 cents it leave the co2. But I have used excel. However the best thing I have found it adding more plants and splitting the light time. I do mine 5 on 3 off and 5 more on. Between that my BN's and lots of fast growing plants I have very little problem with a algae.

I do also use excel three times a week but not to control algae I had that under control first. I use it to get more plant growth.

[spillie 63]

If you do use the excel, be careful not to overdose--too much CO2 in the water, I understand, can kill your your fish....