CO2-Pressurized vs DIY?

[gudcop]

Love the look of the new forum here, and since I am thinking of getting into the whole CO2 thing and have a few questions, thought I would ask for some help. I guess this really is a multi-parter:

1. What are the benefits over the long term of using a pressurized system over the DIY?

2. What are the long term costs of each system....in particular, does a pressurized system pay it self off in the long run?

3. Is there anything that someone that is new to this should know that might not be very self evident?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[thegrandpoohbah]

If you are talking LONG term, a pressurized set-up would end up being cheaper. The downside is that the initial cost is much higher.

With a pressurized set-up, you can control the CO2 output via a solenoid hooked up to the same timer as the lights. This lets you turn off the CO2 at night. With a DIY set-up, you will likely want to run an air pump at night as there is no way to turn off the CO2. Plants actually use oxygen at night. Between that and the continuous output of a DIY CO2 set-up, fish may end up suffocating without adequate aeration at night.

How much light do you have and what is the size of the tank? With lots of light and CO2, your plants will really take off but so will your algae. You will likely need to dosee fertilizers to keep everything in balance.

Hope that helps. Good luck!

[gudcop]

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly, I appreciate it. What I have right now is a 20G starter kit. I have some plants in there that I got from MyKiss and have also been adding some liquid fertilizer that he has sold me. (Sad to say, but I really have no idea what is in it, but it has been keeping my plants alive, so I haven't been all that worried about it to this point)

I am looking to upgrade my lighting as I upgrade the CO2. I will probably end up going with the Coralife 1x65W from J&L unless anyone has any other suggestions for me.

Sooo....how long term are we talking about with the payback on the pressurised system? I am thinking longterm here, but cost is also a factor in what I will do, along with the benefits to my aquarium and peace of mind.

Is there anything else I am missing here? Any questions I have not asked that I should be?

[thegrandpoohbah]

Here's a link to a really good article: http://www.canadianaquariumconnection.com/forum/showthread.php?t=252.

The real question here is how much money do you want to spend? It would take a long time before the pressurized set-up ends up being cheaper. However, if I had the money, that's the way I would go.

[gudcop]

Thanks. I will give it a look over.