injecting co2?

[Fishy_Fun]

What should my KH be before injecting pressurized co2?

[Mgamer20o0]

most people say as long as its more then 2 it will be fine from ph crash.

[Fishy_Fun]

K thanks

[Fishy_Fun]

So i started to test my KH just now and i have added the maximum it shows on the chart (12 drops) and i stiil was stuck with a yellow color.I decided to test my snail tank which i add baking soda and crushed coral to and it turned blue on the first drop.I read the chart for 0*-3* and it says "discus,arowana,elephantnose,neons,cardinals and liveplants.
How could this be since i add all these things to the water.For snails it says my KH should be 8*-12*.Now back to the tank in question.I have already added the maximum drops so is it safe to assume i have no KH?or is it so high that 12 drops isn't enough?i highly doubt this since i add nothing to this tank compared to my snail tank which came out so low anyways

[Fishy_Fun]

no one???

[Riiz]

What brand of test kit are you using? I've been using the API brand kh/gh kit and its accurate enough for me.

[Fishy_Fun]

im also using the api

[Riiz]

I made a mistake, my test kit is produced by Hagen. Maybe a bad kit?

[Fishy_Fun]

Well with all those drops added to a tank with no additives and i get nothing but when i test the snail tank which i thought the KH would be really high i get very small.Could it be my PH since its really low?I would think the test would eventually turn blue though.

[Mgamer20o0]

ok unless i am wrong each drop is 17 degrees. mine take like 15 drops or something before it turns yellow. i dont remember anything saying there is a max. i live in la we have rock water here.

[jmhart]

So, here's the thing. Since you add baking soda and crushed coral to your snail tank, it's safe to assume that it's higher in KH. The other tank could low(or none) in KH or just lower than the snail tank. Depending on where you are, you could have absolutely no KH. My API test changes color on the first drop, meaning, without any additions, I have no KH.

Suspect your test kit before your start dumping a lot of stuff into your tank. It's also possible something is in your other tank(not the snail tank) that's affecting KH. Have any suspicious rocks?

[Fishy_Fun]

no rocks in the tank but i added some crushed coral and baking soda to my tank in question and the test changed in the first drop.so if both my snail tank and my 29G change on the first drop after adding baking soda and CC is there even any way to increase my KH further?I really don't want to have a PH crash after setting up the CO2

[Fishy_Fun]

You said you have no KH if the test turns blue on the first try?Well how come it didn't do that when i added 12 drops?When i added the coral and baking soda it read on the first try meaning i have no KH?How could this be?it seems like the additives reversed since i added 12 drops and it didn't change but after adding CC and BS it changes on the first drop?Will the KH test not even change from yellow to blue if there is 0 KH?

[Riiz]

Try another test kit or take a sample to a LFS that will test it for you.

[Fishy_Fun]

this is a brand new test kit.i just don't know why my kh is so low even after adding the additives.i only have 1DKH and a PH of 7.2 so if i inject co2 i just hope it doesn't crash

[Riiz]

If you know for certain that it isnt the test kit, seachem has an excellent line of buffers for planted tanks : http://www.seachem.com/products/product_pages/L_AlkalineBuffer.html