Each has varying costs, maintenance requirements, benefits and drawbacks. Your choice of aquarium plants and desired effort are the main factors that will determine if a high or low-tech tank is right for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The most significant difference between the two types of aquariums is the use of artificially injected CO2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Low-tech tanks rely on the natural CO2 levels present in your tap water and from the gas exchange that occurs at the surface of your tank\u2019s water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n High-tech tanks require you to buy a CO2 system which injects pressurized CO2 directly into your tank. These systems usually cost between $200-$300 on average and require maintenance and refills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Plants use CO2, light and macronutrients (such as nitrogen, phosphate, magnesium and calcium) to achieve photosynthesis and grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Generally speaking, larger amounts of these three ingredients will allow plants to grow more quickly and lush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Therefore, a CO2 system helps you grow plants more successfully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Plants require a balanced amount of light, CO2 and macronutrients to grow successfully. Imbalances among these three ingredients will cause algae growth, which is usually not desired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This balancing act is the reason high-tech tanks typically require both a CO2 system and high-intensity lighting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Adding one or the other will likely create aquarium imbalances. But together, they can create a balanced environment that\u2019s ideal for plant growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With low-tech tanks, you can get away with low or medium-intensity lights, no added CO2 and minimal macronutrient supplementation. This makes it a much easier and more cost-effective planted tank method.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some plants, such as rotala macrandra and hemianthus callitrichoides (AKA, dwarf baby tears), demand more CO2 and light than is typically present in an aquarium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It would be difficult for these plants to survive in low-tech systems without added CO2 and light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other plants, such as rotala rotundifolia and helanthium tenellum, do not require added CO2 or light, which means they will grow in low-tech setups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, many of these low-tech plants will appear more luscious and show vibrant colors when planted in a high-tech environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A high-tech aquarium may be important if you desire plants that have specific CO2 and light requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n High-tech tanks will cost more of your time and money due to frequent maintenance and increased resource usage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For starters, you will be required to trim your plants more frequently because of their rapid growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The rapid consumption of macronutrients will also require you to dose liquid fertilizer on a daily basis, increasing your fertilizer costs. Low-tech tanks may only require dosing once per week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your high-tech tank will also require more frequent water changes. This is because rapid plant growth increases ammonium build up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although ammonium is taken care of by beneficial bacteria, it is a catalyst for algae blooms to occur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Generally speaking, a high-tech system will demand a more meticulous attention-to-detail to prevent imbalances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is believed that plants display their beautiful red color as a form of sunscreen to protect against intense light. Therefore, high-intensity lighting is often required to achieve the bright and vibrant red colors you see in many showroom aquariums.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As we know from before, high-intensity lights require CO2 for balance and to protect against algae outbreaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Red coloring is also achieved with iron supplementation, which wouldn’t be considered \u201chigh-tech.\u201d However, you\u2019ll have more success bringing out red colors with light and CO2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The equipment required for a high-tech setup will end up costing you more money than its low-tech alternative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A common CO2 setup will include a pressurized CO2 bottle, regulator, solenoid, bubble counter, diffuser, drop checker and tubing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Altogether this will likely cost between $200-$300 upfront, plus additional costs for CO2 canisters as they need to be replaced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A high-tech setup will likely use the same, or similar, fertilizers as a low-tech setup. This may include both root tabs, such as API Root Tabs, and liquid fertilizers, such as Seachem Excel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But a high-tech setup will require daily dosing, versus weekly low-tech dosing. This means you can expect to pay approximately 7 times as much on plant food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A high-tech setup with CO2 injection will require a lighting setup with approximately 40 lumens per litre (1 watt per litre) or more. This amount of light will be sufficient for plants that demand the highest light requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, a 100-watt light (4,000 lumens) would provide adequate light for a 100-litre (26 gallon) tank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A 10-gallon (38 litre) tank would require a 1,520 lumens (38 watt) light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These high-wattage lights typically start at around $200 and increase with the size of your tank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the other hand, a medium-light, low-tech tank could get away with 20 lumens (0.5 watts) per litre. For a 10-gallon tank, you would require a 19 watt (760 lumens) light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These medium-wattage lights can range between $50-$200.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although CO2 injection benefits aquarium plant growth, it can be highly toxic and even fatal to your fishy friends if it\u2019s not carefully monitored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a rule of thumb, 30 ppm or less of carbon dioxide is a safe recommended dosage for your aquarium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, this rule doesn\u2019t always apply because lower levels of dissolved oxygen in your tank will cause your fish to become more sensitive to CO2, increasing its toxicity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re new to the planted tank hobby and are planning on keeping fish, I recommend starting with a low-tech setup to learn the ropes and familiarize yourself with the planted tank basics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re committed to some additional maintenance and costs, then a high-tech setup will allow you to create a very expressive and jaw-dropping aquarium.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" High-tech tanks are characterized by their use of high-intensity lighting, artificial CO2 injection, and daily macronutrient supplementation. Low-tech tanks typically use low or medium-intensity lighting with weekly nutrient dosing and no added CO2.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":173,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Feature-images-8.jpg",780,450,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Feature-images-8-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Feature-images-8-300x173.jpg",300,173,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Feature-images-8-768x443.jpg",768,443,true],"large":["https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Feature-images-8.jpg",780,450,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Feature-images-8.jpg",780,450,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Feature-images-8.jpg",780,450,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Ryan Ferguson","author_link":"https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/author\/ryan\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"High-tech tanks are characterized by their use of high-intensity lighting, artificial CO2 injection, and daily macronutrient supplementation. Low-tech tanks typically use low or medium-intensity lighting with weekly nutrient dosing and no added CO2.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":183,"href":"https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17\/revisions\/183"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Feature-images-8.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nCO2 is added to high-tech tanks to improve plant growth<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Why is a CO2 system necessary?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/1.jpg\")
Intense lighting and increased CO2 go hand-in-hand<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/2.jpg\")
Certain plants require a high-tech setup to grow successfully<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/3.jpg\")
High-tech tanks require more maintenance<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
It is difficult to achieve vibrant red colors in low-tech tanks<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/4.jpg\")
High-tech tanks are more expensive<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
CO2 equipment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/rootedtank.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/5.jpg\")
More frequent nutrient dosing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
More expensive lighting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
High-tech tanks can pose health risks for your fish<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n