DIY co2 how much?

[FtwayneFish]

ok, i cant find a hardness test either? kh gh ph phew

i do own a master test kit now.

but dont know what i should do with my ph numbers after co2.

 

[Sploke]

My master test kit came with a KH test....but I think the newer ones replaced it with a nitrate test. You may have to go out and get some separately, but its important to know when you start messing with CO2.

 

[Sploke]

This isn't the chart I had in mind but it will work just as well. It has a calculator too.

http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_co2chart.htm

 

[FtwayneFish]

looks great, still reading.

 

[FtwayneFish]

i cant find hardness tests anywhere.

 

[Sploke]

http://www.petsmart.com/product/ind...st+kit&kw=test+kit&parentPage=search&keepsr=1

http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp18541/si1380816/cl0/aquariumpharmaceuticalskhkit

 

[elementkid65]

use nano diffusers off ebay (ceraamic bell type)

 

[Mgamer20o0]

just buy it online. if the ph in the tank is about 1 ph lower then the tap should be about 30ppm.

 

[FtwayneFish]

sploke- thanks. i meant around town. ill prolly have to buy one online.

mgamer- thanks thats helpful. i did noticed my output slowed a bit after the first couple of days. and i read somewhere to shake it? i must not have read too hard. i shook just a bit. BAM co2 everywhere it was a explosion at my wooden airstone. i quickly turn on my airstone to gas off the super extra. but as fast as it was rising i figured it naturally got out. but i wanted to be safe. how often should you shake it? and did i waste a bunch? will it regain? it slowed down in a min then was back to like the first day. then the next it was a lil slow again?

 

[Sploke]

The reason you get that explosion is that there is a certain amount of CO2 that is dossolved in the solution in the bottle. Once that reaches its saturation point, it starts gassing off, out your diffuser. When you shake the bottle, much like shaking a bottle of soda, it releases a lot of that dissolved CO2 so you get a short burst of gas release. Once its back to equilibrium in the solution, it will return to normal.