Hi all, I just finished my first DIY CO2 injection. I am having a little
trouble regulating the bubbles at such low rates. How many bubbles per
minute should I be going for? I have 6 bpm right now. Is that too many?

TIA

~Mort

"Mort" wrote in message
news
Hi all, I just finished my first DIY CO2 injection. I am having a little
trouble regulating the bubbles at such low rates. How many bubbles per
minute should I be going for? I have 6 bpm right now. Is that too many?

TIA

~Mort




Mort,

Regulating DIY CO2 is futile. DIY CO2 production starts off slow - ramps
up - peaks - ramps down etc. Very hard to regulate. How big is your tank?
DIY only works for tanks less than about 50 gal. You should measure the CO2
concentration by measuring your KH and PH levels. Lower PH means higher
concentration of CO2 in your tank. Chuck Gadd has a great page explaining
all of this and a straightforward chart that explains the relationship
between CO2, KH and PH.
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_co2chart.htm

HTH,

DJay

"Djay" wrote in message
...

"Mort" wrote in message
news
Hi all, I just finished my first DIY CO2 injection. I am having a
little
trouble regulating the bubbles at such low rates. How many bubbles per
minute should I be going for? I have 6 bpm right now. Is that too
many?

TIA

~Mort




Mort,

Regulating DIY CO2 is futile. DIY CO2 production starts off slow - ramps
up - peaks - ramps down etc. Very hard to regulate. How big is your
tank?
DIY only works for tanks less than about 50 gal. You should measure the
CO2
concentration by measuring your KH and PH levels. Lower PH means higher
concentration of CO2 in your tank. Chuck Gadd has a great page explaining
all of this and a straightforward chart that explains the relationship
between CO2, KH and PH.
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_co2chart.htm

HTH,

DJay



Thanks DJay, I'll be sure to check that out when I get home.
The tank is a 29g hex with a RUGF and some over driven lights.
I checked my pH just after installing the CO2 and it was 6.2.
I can't seem to find my other test kits ATM (could be at work, I'll have to
look around) but I'll get that tested right away. Thanks again!

~Mort

What is the PH of your tap water
(after you let it sit several hours?) Compare that PH reading to your
tank
PH and you should see a difference.

DJay



I use RO/DI water and the pH of that is pretty low. The test kit reads 6.0
but I have a hard time beleiving it.
I guess all I can really go on is KH which that test kit is at work. I'll
have to get another one...

~Mort

"Mort" wrote in message
. com...
What is the PH of your tap water
(after you let it sit several hours?) Compare that PH reading to your
tank
PH and you should see a difference.

DJay



I use RO/DI water and the pH of that is pretty low. The test kit reads
6.0
but I have a hard time beleiving it.
I guess all I can really go on is KH which that test kit is at work. I'll
have to get another one...

~Mort




Mort,

Your tank PH *should* be lower than your RO reading if your CO2 injection is
working properly... UNLESS you have something in the tank that is raising
your KH.

DJay

"Djay" wrote in message
...

"Mort" wrote in message
. com...
What is the PH of your tap water
(after you let it sit several hours?) Compare that PH reading to your
tank
PH and you should see a difference.

DJay



I use RO/DI water and the pH of that is pretty low. The test kit reads
6.0
but I have a hard time beleiving it.
I guess all I can really go on is KH which that test kit is at work.
I'll
have to get another one...

~Mort




Mort,

Your tank PH *should* be lower than your RO reading if your CO2 injection
is
working properly... UNLESS you have something in the tank that is raising
your KH.

DJay




I just finished testing the water.

KH is at 0 (is that good) pH is lower than 6.0 (so it would seem) as the
sample turned a dark yellow. I decided to test my GH while I was at it and
that turned out to be 3-4.

I havent had time to check out Chucks chart but I will do that ASAP.

~Mort

"Mort" wrote in message
om...

"Djay" wrote in message
...

"Mort" wrote in message
. com...
What is the PH of your tap water
(after you let it sit several hours?) Compare that PH reading to
your
tank
PH and you should see a difference.

DJay



I use RO/DI water and the pH of that is pretty low. The test kit
reads
6.0
but I have a hard time beleiving it.
I guess all I can really go on is KH which that test kit is at work.
I'll
have to get another one...

~Mort




Mort,

Your tank PH *should* be lower than your RO reading if your CO2
injection
is
working properly... UNLESS you have something in the tank that is
raising
your KH.

DJay




I just finished testing the water.

KH is at 0 (is that good) pH is lower than 6.0 (so it would seem) as the
sample turned a dark yellow. I decided to test my GH while I was at it
and
that turned out to be 3-4.

I havent had time to check out Chucks chart but I will do that ASAP.

~Mort




I decided to stay up past my bed time and check it out. There was some
discus buffer and Neutral regulator added before I did the CO2 so I can not
tell at this point what my CO2 level is. I need to start changing some
water... =)

~Mort

"Mort" wrote in message
om...

"Djay" wrote in message
...

"Mort" wrote in message
news
Hi all, I just finished my first DIY CO2 injection. I am having a
little
trouble regulating the bubbles at such low rates. How many bubbles
per
minute should I be going for? I have 6 bpm right now. Is that too
many?

TIA

~Mort




Mort,

Regulating DIY CO2 is futile. DIY CO2 production starts off slow -
ramps
up - peaks - ramps down etc. Very hard to regulate. How big is your
tank?
DIY only works for tanks less than about 50 gal. You should measure the
CO2
concentration by measuring your KH and PH levels. Lower PH means higher
concentration of CO2 in your tank. Chuck Gadd has a great page
explaining
all of this and a straightforward chart that explains the relationship
between CO2, KH and PH.
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_co2chart.htm

HTH,

DJay



Thanks DJay, I'll be sure to check that out when I get home.
The tank is a 29g hex with a RUGF and some over driven lights.
I checked my pH just after installing the CO2 and it was 6.2.
I can't seem to find my other test kits ATM (could be at work, I'll have
to
look around) but I'll get that tested right away. Thanks again!

~Mort




29 gal should be fine with DIY CO2. I used to do the same with my 37 gal
and the CO2 concentration was just fine. What is the PH of your tap water
(after you let it sit several hours?) Compare that PH reading to your tank
PH and you should see a difference.

DJay

I just finished testing the water.

KH is at 0 (is that good) pH is lower than 6.0 (so it would seem) as the
sample turned a dark yellow. I decided to test my GH while I was at it
and
that turned out to be 3-4.

I havent had time to check out Chucks chart but I will do that ASAP.

~Mort


According to Chuck's page, CO2 is calculated like this:

CO2 (in PPM) = 3 * KH * 10^(pH-7)

if your KH is really 0, then you have no buffering capacity
and your CO2 will be very low (I doubt it's actually 0).
Anyway, you may want to increase your buffering capacity.

-coelacanth

Xref: 127.0.0.1 rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants:76883


"coelacanth" wrote in message
. com...

I just finished testing the water.

KH is at 0 (is that good) pH is lower than 6.0 (so it would seem) as the
sample turned a dark yellow. I decided to test my GH while I was at it
and
that turned out to be 3-4.

I havent had time to check out Chucks chart but I will do that ASAP.

~Mort


According to Chuck's page, CO2 is calculated like this:

CO2 (in PPM) = 3 * KH * 10^(pH-7)

if your KH is really 0, then you have no buffering capacity
and your CO2 will be very low (I doubt it's actually 0).
Anyway, you may want to increase your buffering capacity.

-coelacanth

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you are running without a buffer, and a low
CO2, you run the risk of having a pH crash do you not??? meaning, without
the buffer, the pH will drop even lower when the lights are off, and
photosynthesis takes place, (that is if the testing was done with lights on,
while pH was at it's highest) otherwise at night, the pH will drop after
photosynthesis takes place...

My only experience in a pH crash was after I did a 40-50% water change after
a new planting when water was dirty.... After adding the water, I forgot to
add buffer(salts) and when it was all said and done, the tank had crashed
and I lost 5 fish that morning.... after looking at it, I realized I hadn't
buffered it to help pull the pH back up after the waterchange, and add CO2
to it, after lights off, pH dropped so fast, they didn't have a chance....
made me very sad....

Please correct me if I'm wrong or just misguided....

"RedForeman ©®" wrote in message
...

"coelacanth" wrote in message
. com...

I just finished testing the water.

KH is at 0 (is that good) pH is lower than 6.0 (so it would seem) as
the
sample turned a dark yellow. I decided to test my GH while I was at
it
and
that turned out to be 3-4.

I havent had time to check out Chucks chart but I will do that ASAP.

~Mort


According to Chuck's page, CO2 is calculated like this:

CO2 (in PPM) = 3 * KH * 10^(pH-7)

if your KH is really 0, then you have no buffering capacity
and your CO2 will be very low (I doubt it's actually 0).
Anyway, you may want to increase your buffering capacity.

-coelacanth

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you are running without a buffer, and a
low
CO2, you run the risk of having a pH crash do you not??? meaning, without
the buffer, the pH will drop even lower when the lights are off, and
photosynthesis takes place, (that is if the testing was done with lights
on,
while pH was at it's highest) otherwise at night, the pH will drop after
photosynthesis takes place...

My only experience in a pH crash was after I did a 40-50% water change
after
a new planting when water was dirty.... After adding the water, I forgot
to
add buffer(salts) and when it was all said and done, the tank had crashed
and I lost 5 fish that morning.... after looking at it, I realized I
hadn't
buffered it to help pull the pH back up after the waterchange, and add CO2
to it, after lights off, pH dropped so fast, they didn't have a chance....
made me very sad....

Please correct me if I'm wrong or just misguided....




I dont know man! I am used to Cichlids and sal****er. This stuff is all
new to me.

All I can tell you is that in the past, I have not been able to keep neons
or cardinals alive. I have 5 cards and one neon in there and they are doing
fine.

I am however, overdue for a water change. I will get to it this weekend for
sure.

Is buffering the RO/DI water enough or do I need to do something else to it?

TIA

~Mort

Stop using RO for your plant tank. Your normal tap water will contain trace
elements that your plants could use. Just aerate it for a few hours b4 use
to rid the chlorine gasses.
--
**So long, and thanks for all the fish!**



"Mort" wrote in message
news

"RedForeman ©®" wrote in message
...

"coelacanth" wrote in message
. com...

I just finished testing the water.

KH is at 0 (is that good) pH is lower than 6.0 (so it would seem) as
the
sample turned a dark yellow. I decided to test my GH while I was at
it
and
that turned out to be 3-4.

I havent had time to check out Chucks chart but I will do that ASAP.

~Mort


According to Chuck's page, CO2 is calculated like this:

CO2 (in PPM) = 3 * KH * 10^(pH-7)

if your KH is really 0, then you have no buffering capacity
and your CO2 will be very low (I doubt it's actually 0).
Anyway, you may want to increase your buffering capacity.

-coelacanth

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you are running without a buffer, and a
low
CO2, you run the risk of having a pH crash do you not??? meaning,
without
the buffer, the pH will drop even lower when the lights are off, and
photosynthesis takes place, (that is if the testing was done with lights
on,
while pH was at it's highest) otherwise at night, the pH will drop after
photosynthesis takes place...

My only experience in a pH crash was after I did a 40-50% water change
after
a new planting when water was dirty.... After adding the water, I forgot
to
add buffer(salts) and when it was all said and done, the tank had
crashed
and I lost 5 fish that morning.... after looking at it, I realized I
hadn't
buffered it to help pull the pH back up after the waterchange, and add
CO2
to it, after lights off, pH dropped so fast, they didn't have a
chance....
made me very sad....

Please correct me if I'm wrong or just misguided....




I dont know man! I am used to Cichlids and sal****er. This stuff is all
new to me.

All I can tell you is that in the past, I have not been able to keep neons
or cardinals alive. I have 5 cards and one neon in there and they are
doing
fine.

I am however, overdue for a water change. I will get to it this weekend
for
sure.

Is buffering the RO/DI water enough or do I need to do something else to
it?

TIA

~Mort

My tap water here in the city of Chicago has a very high pH and is very
hard. Eventually I want to keep discus in this tank. Also, I needed the
RO/DI unit for my reef tank so I figured I could use it on this tank as
well.

~Mort

"Happy'Cam'per" wrote in message
...
Stop using RO for your plant tank. Your normal tap water will contain
trace
elements that your plants could use. Just aerate it for a few hours b4 use
to rid the chlorine gasses.
--
**So long, and thanks for all the fish!**



"Mort" wrote in message
news

"RedForeman ©®" wrote in message
...

"coelacanth" wrote in message
. com...

I just finished testing the water.

KH is at 0 (is that good) pH is lower than 6.0 (so it would seem)
as
the
sample turned a dark yellow. I decided to test my GH while I was
at
it
and
that turned out to be 3-4.

I havent had time to check out Chucks chart but I will do that
ASAP.

~Mort


According to Chuck's page, CO2 is calculated like this:

CO2 (in PPM) = 3 * KH * 10^(pH-7)

if your KH is really 0, then you have no buffering capacity
and your CO2 will be very low (I doubt it's actually 0).
Anyway, you may want to increase your buffering capacity.

-coelacanth

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you are running without a buffer, and
a
low
CO2, you run the risk of having a pH crash do you not??? meaning,
without
the buffer, the pH will drop even lower when the lights are off, and
photosynthesis takes place, (that is if the testing was done with
lights
on,
while pH was at it's highest) otherwise at night, the pH will drop
after
photosynthesis takes place...

My only experience in a pH crash was after I did a 40-50% water change
after
a new planting when water was dirty.... After adding the water, I
forgot
to
add buffer(salts) and when it was all said and done, the tank had
crashed
and I lost 5 fish that morning.... after looking at it, I realized I
hadn't
buffered it to help pull the pH back up after the waterchange, and add
CO2
to it, after lights off, pH dropped so fast, they didn't have a
chance....
made me very sad....

Please correct me if I'm wrong or just misguided....




I dont know man! I am used to Cichlids and sal****er. This stuff is
all
new to me.

All I can tell you is that in the past, I have not been able to keep
neons
or cardinals alive. I have 5 cards and one neon in there and they are
doing
fine.

I am however, overdue for a water change. I will get to it this weekend
for
sure.

Is buffering the RO/DI water enough or do I need to do something else to
it?

TIA

~Mort

Mort,

You SHOULD have a KH of around 2 ~ 3. That will act as a buffer if you want
to inject CO2 into your tank for your plants. The CO2 injection without the
KH as a buffer will CRASH your PH to a point where your tank may be too
acidic or have huge PH swings that are lower than your detectable limits of
your test kit. The way to increase your KH is to use the RO/DI and (yes)
add some tap water to it to get the desired KH level. Remember 0 KH reading
is a PH disaster waiting to happen.

DJay


"Mort" wrote in message
. com...
My tap water here in the city of Chicago has a very high pH and is very
hard. Eventually I want to keep discus in this tank. Also, I needed the
RO/DI unit for my reef tank so I figured I could use it on this tank as
well.

~Mort

"Happy'Cam'per" wrote in message
...
Stop using RO for your plant tank. Your normal tap water will contain
trace
elements that your plants could use. Just aerate it for a few hours b4
use
to rid the chlorine gasses.
--
**So long, and thanks for all the fish!**



"Mort" wrote in message
news

"RedForeman ©®" wrote in message
...

"coelacanth" wrote in message
. com...

I just finished testing the water.

KH is at 0 (is that good) pH is lower than 6.0 (so it would
seem)
as
the
sample turned a dark yellow. I decided to test my GH while I
was
at
it
and
that turned out to be 3-4.

I havent had time to check out Chucks chart but I will do that
ASAP.

~Mort


According to Chuck's page, CO2 is calculated like this:

CO2 (in PPM) = 3 * KH * 10^(pH-7)

if your KH is really 0, then you have no buffering capacity
and your CO2 will be very low (I doubt it's actually 0).
Anyway, you may want to increase your buffering capacity.

-coelacanth

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you are running without a buffer,
and
a
low
CO2, you run the risk of having a pH crash do you not??? meaning,
without
the buffer, the pH will drop even lower when the lights are off,
and
photosynthesis takes place, (that is if the testing was done with
lights
on,
while pH was at it's highest) otherwise at night, the pH will drop
after
photosynthesis takes place...

My only experience in a pH crash was after I did a 40-50% water
change
after
a new planting when water was dirty.... After adding the water, I
forgot
to
add buffer(salts) and when it was all said and done, the tank had
crashed
and I lost 5 fish that morning.... after looking at it, I realized I
hadn't
buffered it to help pull the pH back up after the waterchange, and
add
CO2
to it, after lights off, pH dropped so fast, they didn't have a
chance....
made me very sad....

Please correct me if I'm wrong or just misguided....




I dont know man! I am used to Cichlids and sal****er. This stuff is
all
new to me.

All I can tell you is that in the past, I have not been able to keep
neons
or cardinals alive. I have 5 cards and one neon in there and they are
doing
fine.

I am however, overdue for a water change. I will get to it this
weekend
for
sure.

Is buffering the RO/DI water enough or do I need to do something else
to
it?

TIA

~Mort

"Djay" wrote in message
...
Mort,

You SHOULD have a KH of around 2 ~ 3. That will act as a buffer if you
want
to inject CO2 into your tank for your plants. The CO2 injection without
the
KH as a buffer will CRASH your PH to a point where your tank may be too
acidic or have huge PH swings that are lower than your detectable limits
of
your test kit. The way to increase your KH is to use the RO/DI and (yes)
add some tap water to it to get the desired KH level. Remember 0 KH
reading
is a PH disaster waiting to happen.

DJay


Got it, thanks for the advice. I am going to set up my can for a batch of
RO/DI water right now and hopefully can to some water changes tomorrow.
I'll let ya know how it goes.

~Mort