scared of co2

[DrFeelgood]

I'm upgrading from a 240l to a 600l tank and i want to plant reasonably extensively. I haven't previously used undergravel fertilizer but i'm planning to us about an inch of it under maybe an inch or two of pea gravel (i hate using sand). However, i've never used CO2 before and it looks like my tank will need it - any advice for what to buy and how to use the thing?

[fish_r]

ur probably better off just using a good substrate like eco complete it has all the minerals u need to grow healthy plants and it's a lot cleaner than having to use fertilizers lateralite peat moss etc, cause if u have to pull any plants for any reason u will pull the ferts/peat moss etc with it and it makes a hell of a mess.
there are many good substartes available in the market these days and it makes things easier.
another good one that i use is red sea flora base, i have a layer of peat below it but i wish i hadnt done it, then i have 3mm polished black pebbles as a top layer.
no need to be scared using Co2, once u get over the initial daunting fact of setting it up it's very simple to do.
in my 5ft i just brought a Co2 reg with bubble counter and solenoid all in one. just attach it to a Co2 bottle then either make or buy an "inline" Co2 reactor "which would be better for ur size tank" run the reactor with a seperate pump like a Ehiem 1250 universal pump or run it inline with a cannister connect ur Co2 hose from ur bubble counter and ur set to go. start off using a little amount of Co2 till u get used to it IE: around 1 Bps. this is pretty cheap to setup too if u buy individual components.
u can also run a Ph controller with it too if u have the money to spend on it which makes it fully automated then it will turn ur Co2 on and off according to ur pH levels which is advised with discus as u wont get pH swings then...
it probably wouldnt hurt doing some reading here so u can get ur head around it a bit better too
http://www.plantgeek.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=17
u can buy complete kits which make it a fair bit easier to set up like the Sera Complete C02 set with Computer Controller but there not cheap...
HTH
Rob...

[DrFeelgood]

Thanks a lot - sounds like a good idea to do it! i'm going to relocate the existing tank tomorrow to make room for the new one (when it arrives) and rehouse the current plec - he's a leopard plec and eats eveything, so he's gotta go :(
I'm really excited about the new tank (i know its quite sad...). It seems from what ive read hear and there some bubbles would probably be good for the discus but bad for the plants - any suggestions for this? I'm planning to understock the tank fish-wise so hopefully my o2 requirements will be slightly less.

Thanks again