CO2 Injection

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Otocinclus

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Aug 27, 2004
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Hmmm I guess I never thought about that.

I apologize for saying that people might have misused CO2, (basically out of my ignorance) I do know a little on the subject but am certainly not an expert. I have never measured KH for CO2 regulation, thinking that I would never be able to inject too much. The water in my area also naturally has semi-high PH and KH.

Guess this directly relates to the first post and goes to show that I have been lucky, and that monitoring PH-KH is important with use of CO2.
 

OnyxFishies

Fish Nut
Aug 29, 2004
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Gulfport, MS
happychem said:
http://www.aquatic-gardeners.org/Nyberg_yeast.ppt

I found the points about nourishing the yeast interesting, I've often contemplated it, my fiance works with a bunch of yeast biochmists, but none of them could provide me with more details about what's actually in their yeast media.

I'm trying out her recipe now. I'll post later if I think there's any significant advantage over the simple sugar & yeast mix. Worst case scenario, I've got a bunch of protein mix now, I'm gonna be HUGE!:D j.k.

I will add one more thing, I switched from bread to champagne yeast for this new batch. It seemed to start working right away, whereas the bread yeast took a full day to get rolling.
Just curious: did the protein mix yeast solution work any better than normal sugar solution?
 

happychem

redorkulated
Dec 9, 2003
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Well, it's tough to say in terms of mix lifetime, I found that I was getting some leaks in some of my caps, so now that those have been replaced, there's definitely a longer lifetime, since the yeast doesn't need to be really cranking to get CO2 into the tank.

The best thing that I've found from it is that the yeast at the bottom of the solution can be reused over and over again. So instead of rehydrating a new batch of yeast, not to mention buying more, I just have to syphon off the top liquid and pour the settled yeast, or rather about 1/3 of it into the new bottle.

Plus the post-fermentation solution doesn't taste terrible, but a little weak, I'll need to work on the flavour. ;)
 

Paccula

AC Members
Dec 14, 2004
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Vancouver, BC, Canada
KH as ppm to other format?

djlen said:
Maintaining the appropriate amount of dissolved CO2 is an important part of a planted aquarium. Most planted aquariums require around 1 gram of dissolved CO2 for every 25 gallons of water. By comparing the pH value of the water and the carbonate hardness (KH) as determined through test kits it is easy to derive the milligrams per quart of CO2 through the use of a simple flow chart which is available from many sources, one of which is here: http://www.aquabotanic.com/charts.htmLen
great post, and very informative. I imediately printed out this post, went to the site sugested and printed out that chart, and all other information I could find on this topic. I was feeling ready to examine my tank and figure out if/how I should tackle the CO2, when I noticed that my test kit for KH and Chuck Gadd's (who made that chart) must be different. He shows KH as going from 0.5 to 15.0 whereas my test kit shows "Total Alkalinity (KH) ppm-freshwater 0 to 300" where 0-40 is low, 80 moderate, 120-180 ideal, and 300 high.
I test often, and my KH is usually around 150, though it does fluctuate slightly. My pH is usually 7.3, but I have noticed when it is lower (about 7) KH is higher (about 200) and when pH is around 7.5, then KH is about 120. These fluctuations (as far as my knowledge goes) are probably from having plants, treating disease, and finally removing the plants (which were not fairing well, but java fern was doing decently).

to make a long question short, I was wondering how to convert KH at ppm to however Chuck Gadd has his, so I can use the chart he made. or, if anyone knows a chart that uses KH in ppm format, if they could give a link.
 

Paccula

AC Members
Dec 14, 2004
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THANK YOU!!

as far as I can see, my water is perfectly fine in terms of pH, KH, and CO2 for both plants and fish, and even with the fluctuations it has always been in ok to good range. this is good because I don't need to alter KH or CO2, but it means something else is stunting my plants. (and that could be a very long list of things. but at least I can cross CO2 off the list!)

thanks again!
 

Paul Trow

AC Members
Jan 4, 2005
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Massachusetts
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The original post begins by saying:

"Owing to the fact that one our members recently lost a number of fish, due to improper use of CO2, I felt a need to post on this subject, regarding the dangers as well as the attributes of using gas in the planted tank."

But it doesn't really talk about the dangers of using gas. What are they? In particular, why did "one of our members" recently lose a number of fish? If that question is answered in a thread started by the person who lost the fish, could someone please provide a link to that thread? Thanks.
 

carpguy

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Jul 15, 2002
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There two different problems you can come up against with CO2.

You can poison the fish, that is pump in so much CO2 that it reaches toxic levels.

When CO2 dissolves in water Carbonic Acid is produced as a byproduct. Folks with low KH water risk pH crashes when injecting CO2 unless they're mindful of their buffer.

I don't know which problem afflicted the member that inspired the original post.
 
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