planted pleco tank

[skfish]

I have a 55 gal planted tank with pressurized CO2 and med lights. I am starting to keep some plecos (L129 and L91). Since plecos come from highly aerated water is there a rule of thumb for surface movement to allow good gas exchange? I don’t want to drive all the CO2 off either. Currently, I have a Hydor circulation pump (750 gph) aimed upwards along the length of the tank and there is good movement (even a small whirlpool over the pump), nobody is gasping and the plecos are active.

Thanks in advance.
Rob

[2wheelsx2]

There are no rules of thumb around that. The general answer is "as much as necessary". If you notice them hanging on the glass or gasping at any point, then it's too much. I went from a higher light setup with lots of CO2 and complex plants to a lower light, less CO2, Java Fern/Anubias/Val tank for that reason.

If you're using pressurized, you're not using much CO2 if it's being distributed efficiently anyway, as long as you're not created any splash. Try to create a nice rolling "boil" along the surface to maximize exchange without off-gassing too much CO2.

[skfish]

I switched to an inline diffuser about 6 months ago and the increased diffusion efficiency has definately decreased the CO2 use.

[Luke78]

With the plecos you mentioned, i would assume sooner or later they might snack on some of your plants.Now if you feed properly and regularly you might get away with it.I went down this route myself with a previous setup,but surely after time the plants got shreaded.Dont know what your keeping plant wise,but with anything tied to driftwood or rockwork will survive compared to something rooted.They do move the substrate to their liking,so good luck with that.Some plant species are delicate,and dont really like to much flow(again depends what your keeping) as well.

[2wheelsx2]

With the plecos you mentioned, i would assume sooner or later they might snack on some of your plants.

You're right about that. I think the L129 and many smaller Hypans will eat plants when not fed enough greens. In my experience though the Leporacanthicus species (L91, L240, L264, etc.) won't touch the plants. But they do like to dig around and mess things up. I've taken to feeding everybody Bok Choy to keep them off my greens.

[Luke78]

Yeah Bok Choy worked for me as well,but eaten here and there.My guys seem to like their zucchini and cucumber, but take all the time in the world to finish it.Gotta stop feeding all the other goodies they get!I do recall seeing my L129 grazing on my plants back in the day.Just this morning i woke to what looked like a bomb dropped from the sky into their setup with the sand moved everywhere.You will be doing alot of housekeeping if you plan on keeping these guys.