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#1
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Water Color and PH
Is there any way for me to lower my PH...currently around 7.6 without
making my water more yellowish browny collored with tannins? I have some driftwood in this tank..and that helps...but I want to be sub 7.....any ideas? |
#2
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Water Color and PH
Dinky wrote: "Rich Conley" wrote in message ... : Is there any way for me to lower my PH...currently around 7.6 without : making my water more yellowish browny collored with tannins? I have some : driftwood in this tank..and that helps...but I want to be sub 7.....any : ideas? : What kind of filtration? I am using a filter cartridge with Fluval granular peat in it. Working great. I thought peat would add more tannins? |
#3
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Water Color and PH
In , Rich Conley
empowered us with this mighty blow against the Patriarchy: Is there any way for me to lower my PH...currently around 7.6 without making my water more yellowish browny collored with tannins? I have some driftwood in this tank..and that helps...but I want to be sub 7.....any ideas? Seeing as this is the rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants newsgroup ... Inject CO2. |
#4
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Water Color and PH
"Rich Conley" wrote in message ... Is there any way for me to lower my PH...currently around 7.6 without making my water more yellowish browny collored with tannins? I have some driftwood in this tank..and that helps...but I want to be sub 7.....any ideas? Be careful.... If you go down to say 6.8 at normal levels of CO2 (1-3ppm) you will have a Kh of well under 1 degree - i.e very close to a Ph crash. The only way to get under about 7.4 safely is by injecting CO2. For example...Ph 7.4 & CO2 of 2.4 ppm (about atmospheric) will mean you have a Kh of 2 degrees. Once you get under two degrees Kh becomes much less stable in my (limited!) experience - i.e. it takes a lot less to make it fall towards crash country. If you were not aware of it there is a direct relationship between Kh , CO2 and Ph. In simple terms, at a fixed level of Kh , if you add CO2 then PH will fall - take the CO2 out (or more exactly, stop adding it & let the tank return to atmospheric condition (about 2-3ppm)) and the Ph will rise back to where you started. If you are adding CO2 then the the PH will be determined by the amount you add - the more you add the lower the PH will be. At a KH of 2 deg, if you boosted CO2 to say 15ppm (which would be much appreciated by your plants and won't affect fish) then you will have a PH of 6.6 OTOH you could start with a KH of 5 degrees, add CO2 to 15ppm & your PH will be 7.0. Stop the CO2 & let it return to say 2-3ppm & your PH will climb back to about 7.8. You can adjust the Kh with peat filtering to reduce it or by adding something with Calcium Carbonate (crushed coral/limestone/baking soda etc) to raise it. Unless you adjust CO2 by injecting it then it will stay fairly constant & in equilibrium with the atmosphere at 1-3 ppm. Running an Airstone or excessive turbulence at the surface will tend to drive off CO2. Add CO2 during the day will "turbocharge" your plants which will then give off masses of oxygen. Adding CO2 (within limits) does not affect the water's ability to carry oxygen for your fish. That is much more sensitive to temperature. HTH rgds Iain |
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