Fert questions.

[plantbrain]

Removing/lowering KH does nothing to the CO2 level.
A glass of water sitting on the table with a KH of 20 and another with a KH of 1 have the same amount of CO2 in them.

You need to add more CO2 to get more CO2 in there.

Don't monkey with the KH.
Add more CO2 to adjust the pH down.
Add only enough CO2 to keep the ph at 6.6 to 6.7, not higher, not lower(for this KH).
Do not add anything else to the lower the pH except for CO2 gas.
There are narrow range pH test kits for about 3-5$.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[Nocturnus]

More co2 it is. Would I seen an increase in co2 if I went from say a 2l to a 3l bottle for my generator? I assume I would. I'll have a full test kit sunday. Friend of mine is getting his tank supplies from his parents.

 

[djlen]

If you were testing at 21ppm/CO2, don't increase the injection until you have a good, reliable pH/kH testing system in place. There is more wiggle room than most people think when dealing with CO2, but it must be watched carefully until you have a good idea of what your DIY mixture is giving you.
Yes, you would probably see an increase in ppm with a larger generator, but wait to hook one up until the appropriate kits are in place.
Go here: www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/articles.htm
There will be a link for downloading a calculator to your desktop that will help you keep track of both CO2 ppm, and nutrient dosages for your tank. That site also is loaded with great info. on many different topics.

Len

 

[Nocturnus]

I trust my reading from last night more then the reading I got the 21ppm reading from. I have an excel spreadsheet I made that does the co2 clac for me (i'm lazy and all i have to do is put in ph and kh and i have my co2 reading). I've gotta go back to another fish store today for plants, so i'll bring a sample down there also and see what they say. I'm gonna go ahead and get my 3l bottle setup ready just in case. I'm assuming that if I use the 3l setup, i would need to increase the suger and yeast by 1/2 the original recipie? Like 1cup suger for the 2l vs 1.5 cups for the 3l?

 

[djlen]

2 cups of sugar, 1/4 tsp. yeast, and for your water a pinch to 1/4 tsp. of baking soda.


Len

 

[Nocturnus]

Ahhh, dual 2l co2 setup.. Got my test kit.. pH 7.0 and KH 7deg... 21ppm co2... I'm going to save up for a pH meter..

 

[djlen]

An unnecessary expense, IMO. Once you know your kH, it's just a matter of testing pH, which is really easy.
Save your money and buy a pressurized system instead.
Just my opinion......

Len

 

[Nocturnus]

I'll be getting pressurized when i'm ready to setup a bigger tank.. i'm looking at a 75-100 gallon planted, but I might change my mind and set that up as a african cichlid tank, I dont think i'm ready to try and work on a huge planted tank just yet. I still haven't decided on how i'm gonna dose ferts (havent for my flourish yet, and dont know if I wanna do the PMDD method).

 

[Nocturnus]

Ok, so I'm going out tommorow for some supplies. Fleet, No or Nu Salt, Potassiam Nitrate and Epson salt. What is the best way to add everything? Mix a solution for each (cept the Fleet) or add everything to the tank dry? And if adding dry, what is the best method to do so.

 

[OnyxFishies]

Since the above test was done with the last test strip i had, i went to the fish store, and watched em test the water... pH 7.0 and KH 4deg. so that's ~12ppm co2. the co2 is now injected in the filter intake. So will using RO water better help me? Lower the pH some, but I dont know what the RO process does to KH.

Just a thought: Depending on how you contain it and how long of a trip it is, wouldn't some of the CO2 gas off on the way to the LFS? I'm under the impression that CO2 gasses off fairly quickly, especially when agitated.. (like in a car driving down the road)

As for testing and numbers, as far as I can tell I get about 15ppm of CO2 in my 29 gal tank, but I can't seem to get numbers that make sense all the time. (like 10ppm CO2 in aged water in a bucket I set in my (large) closet overnight )