My KH is dropping. . . new CO2, so?

kyle3

kyle3

AC Members
Mar 17, 2005
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Minneapolis, MN
i've added DIY CO2. and i've done a lot of reading. so of course i have more questions

I installed the CO2 on sunday i started seeing bubbles climb the ladder in a uniform manner on monday. My ph on tuesday just before lights out had gone down .2 to 7.2 and my KH was still 4 degrees - this is low on the ppm i'm aiming for but i expected that the concentration will increase a bit as the yeast get going.

last night i tested at midnight (hours after lights out) unfortunately i had to stay at the office- (computer/server stuff) so i couldn't test during my photo period

b/c the lights had been out for a while i expected to find that my ph was lower

what i found was that my ph was the same and my kh had gone down to 3 degrees.
how should i interpret this- do i need to adjust kh somehow i knew it was on the low side at 4 and now. . .

am i loosing co2 to gas exchange and that's why my ph stayed the same?

I supose i should wait and test a few more days running and see if there are any patterns but the kh dropping threw me

thanks in advance- Kylie
 
my KH stayed at 3 over the weekend, the Ph seems to have leveled off at 7.2 and it is the same day and night

i tested a sample of tank water after letting it set for over 12 hours and the Ph was 7.2

then i tested a sample of tap water that had set for the same amount of time same Ph

WTF!

i counted my bubbles too they seem to be coming out rather slow- like 3 a minute. some times there are 5 but three happens more-

I'm also noticing the beginnings of brown slime algae

I'm myphed! any help would be a god send!

thanks -Kyle
 
Doesn't sound like you're getting very much gas. :/

Never tried DIY, so can't help ya there ;)
 
I was worried about surface aggitation- i'm being careful to keep my tank topped off- i've got an aquaclear (50?)

the CO2 is this one it's like DIY only i don't have to worry that i didn't seal it properly and come home to a room full of yeast.

right now it has the yeast packets that come with it but my intention is to use the jello recipie when they run out- perhaps i should move that ahead and see if it makes a difference.

How do you know if there's too much surface agitation- should it look completely still? I'm afraid to turn the flow down too far and not have enough filtration in relation to my bioload.

I'll find out which model exactly my filter is in case it gives you a better idea.

I appreciate your help guys! -Kyle
 
Blargh. I've never used the Hagen thingy. I use 2L bottles on my DIY tanks. You don't have to worry about stuff getting into your tank if you use a wash bottle/bubble counter. All the extra crap falls in there, not in your tank.

Dunno what to tell you. I do know that on my 36g with a starting pH 7.4 and 4dKH I end up at about 6.6pH and 28ppm of CO2, but that only lasts two days at most. Then it starts to drop.

The DIY stuff is so inconsistant and I gave up trying to keep up with it. I just change the bottle when the bubbles slow down a lot.

I'm currently working on a modified version of the jello recipe (which never worked for me) and I am hoping it will be more consistant for a longer period of time. I dunno what the current rate is, but thus far it looks rather promising.

Roan
 
sweet let me know if you get it ironed out!

my worry wasn't so much yeast in the tank as yeast all over the walls and furniture- i helped a friend clean up after an exploded DIY- so i think i'm a little trigger shy.

I'll keep at it see if i can get my CO2 ppm up
 
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