John H. wrote:
"Nikki Casali" wrote in message
...
John H. wrote:
"Nikki Casali" wrote in message
.. .
John H. wrote:
I have a basic CO2 setup, 5 lb bottle with regulator. I filled it a 3-4
months ago and its almost empty?
I'm checking for leaks around the seals but how many bubbles per minute
is adaquate for plants. If I dont find any leaks then maybe I just had
the flow too high? (65gal tank)
I worked out that 2 bubbles per second will keep my tank at about 7.2 pH
from a natural 8.1 in a 75 UK gallon tank. At night, that's a different
rate, but my pH controller sorts that out by usually switching off the
CO2. It sounds like you may have a leak. But what pH drop are you
obtaining from your bubble rate.
Nikki
I'm not sure, this is my first planted tank and I'm still tackling the
learning curve for it. Compared to my
first tank (just your basic freshwater wth plastic plants), there are so
many new things to learn, but so far my
tank looks very nice. The plants are really taking off.
So why is it important to know the pH drop? I guess you dont want it to
drop too far?
The pH drop is directly proportional to the amount of CO2 being dissolved.
If you know your KH then you can calculate the CO2 level. My tank has a KH
of 230ppm and its pH right now is 7.17. That equates to a dissolved CO2
level of 26ppm. You don't want to go higher than 40ppm as the fish may
start suffering. A level of between 20 and 30ppm is a good level to keep
algae at bay with lush plant growth.
If your fish are compatible with plants, I believe a planted tank is far
healthier than a non-planted one. I hardly ever need to change the water
as all fish waste is consumed by plant growth. It's a great natural filter
system.
It took me months to work out everything. I did all my research on the
internet which is a fantastic resource. Check out this website for
information on plants and CO2 related stuff:
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_co2chart.htm
Nikki
Thanks, this is a great group. I've gotten lots of good help here.
One thing I just discovered is that when I connected my CO2 regulator to the
CO2 tank, I didnt use these washers that were supplied. These 2 plastic
washers are supposed to go inside the female nut on the regulator. I might
have been losing gas that way.
That'll probably be it! I checked for leaks by painstakingly spraying
every joint or connection with diluted washing up liquid to check for
escaping CO2. Also, I used Teflon tape on every thread except the one on
the bottle. I'm 5 1/2 months in with my 5lb bottle and there's no empty
signs yet.
Nikki