About 8 months back, I purchased the Electronic CO2 Regulator from AquariumPlants.com.  Instead of using a needle valve, this regulator uses an electronic valve that opens and closes in fractions of a second.  You can adjust the bubbles per second, and the size of the bubbles.  It’s accurate from 4 bubbles per second all the way to 1 bubble every 10 seconds.  Since there’s no solenoid in this regulator, you won’t have to replace one when it overheats and fails (which is what happened to my old regulator).  There’s a build in check valve, though I use two of my own (can’t be too careful), and you don’t need a bubble counter, as it has an LED that flashes to indicate bubbles.

This regulator can be used by itself, or with a pH controller.  I have mine on a timer instead of a pH controller.  AquariumPlants.com also has this regulator with an optional LCD 8 digit resettable counter instead of the LED.  The digital counter also has a backup battery, so it won’t lose its count.  They also recently started offering the counter by itself, so you can use your own regulator.

Overall, I’m very happy with this regulator.  It’s super easy to setup and use.  You can see how I have mine set up here.  I plan on getting another one of these regulators in the future, when I get a large aquarium.

Among other things, a planted aquarium needs good lighting to promote plant growth.

I have a dual strip light fixture on my 26 gallon aquarium, giving me 130 watts, which is about 7.5 watts per gallon. The fixture I have is a Satellite Compact Fluorescent Fixture Dual 24″ Dual Daylight 6,700°K/10,000°K and Dual Actinic 420nm/460nm.

This fixture has four electrical plugs. One for each dual bulb, one for the LED moonlight, and one for the cooling fan. I have my lights on a timer that also turns on the cooling fan (which is built in to the fixture). The lights are on for 8 hours a day. When the lights turn off, the LED moonlight turns on.

I need to replace both bulbs soon, but I’m wondering if I should replace the dual actinic with a second dual daylight. If I go with a second dual daylight, I can see if there’s any growth difference.  There’s a lot of talk on the forums I visit about the usefulness of actinic bulbs on a freshwater planted tank.  I’d say it’s about a 50/50 whether or not they are useful.  I think I’ll do my own tests.

My lights turn on one hour after my CO2 turns on, and turn off one hour after my CO2 turns off.

I use a total of three timer power strips for all of my equipment. I’m planning on building a “power center,” which will be made out of plywood with electric outlets built on. I’m going to have a couple outlets for non timer equipment, such as my cannister filter, power head (which I don’t have yet), and heater. I’ll also have and outlets for the timer strips. I’ll consolidate both light strips, cooling fan, and moon light onto one power strip. This will allow better use of the cabinet space under the aquarium.

That’s about it for my lighting setup. What kind of lighting do you use on your aquarium?

My 26 gallon aquarium is classed as a “high tech” aquarium. I run a large amount of light on this aquarium (about 7.5 watts per gallon), so the plants need a good source of CO2. The more light you have, the more CO2 (and nutrients) the plants need.

Equipment:

1. 10 lbs CO2 tank
2. Electronic regulator
3. Glass diffuser

The electronic regulator let’s you adjust how many bubbles of CO2 you want in a certain time frame (4 bubbles per second (240 per minute) down to 1 bubble per 10 seconds). Right now I have it set to about 4 bubbles per second.

The glass difuser has a ceramic disk that turns the CO2 into tiny bubbles to help it disolve into the water better.

I have to refill my CO2 tank about once a year.

I need to get a drop checker so I know I’m getting the right amount of CO2 in the tank. I had a drop checker before I moved in to my house, but I still can’t find it.

I plan on getting a Hydor Koralia Nano power head to help evenly distribute the CO2.

I’ve been using the Fluval 205 for a little over a year now, and I love it.  I have it installed on my 26 gallon planted aquarium.  I use the Fluval foam sponges, Fluval Pre-Filter and the Fluval Bio-Max.  This cannister filter is for aquariums up to 200 litres (40 US gallons), and pumps a hearty 180 gph.  It has a total of 3 media baskets, and holds 4 foam sponges.  I also have a pre-filter sponge on the intake to protect my small fish from accidentally getting stuck to the intake.

Maintenance is a snap.  All you have to do is close the suction/discharge valve, unplug the filter, and disconnect the Aqua-Stop Valve.  I only clean my filter once a month, and I don’t clean the whole thing.  I clean 2 sponges, and one media basket, and I always rotate which baskets and sponges I clean.  That way, I’m not destroying all of the beneficial bacteria that lives in the filter media.  After I clean the filter, I reconnect the Aqua-Stop Valve, open the suction/discharge valve, and the filter automatically fills itself with tank water.  Once all the air is out of the filter, I plug it back in and I’m done.  Very simple.

Each filter comes with: Instant-prime system; single-motion lift-lock clamps; clog-proof intake strainer; dual-layer foam screen; and instructional DVD to ease set-up and use.

Fluval has plenty of other filter media available, including carbon, peat, Zeo-Carb, ammonia remover, nitrate remover, and water polishing pads.  For my planted aquarium, I do just fine with the foam sponges, Pre-Filter, and Bio-Max.

I definitely recommend this product.  Lots of flow, great media, and easy maintenance.

Disclosure: I did not get paid to review this product.  However, the image above does link to my Amazon Affiliate account.