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#16
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Basic chemistry question
Thanks for all the info RedForeman
Thanks to all who replied. "RedForeman ©®" wrote in message ... baking soda is/can be added as a buffer, it raises your kH and buffers your pH enough to keep a stable pH for quite a while... I add 1 tbsp to every 10g, do your own math, and it gives a bump on pH and the buffer capacity is in the volume you add... the more you add, the more your kH raises, but not pH for a planted tank, well, that varies IMHO.... I shoot for a pH of 6.6-7.6 on 3 different tanks the lower one has CO2, others don't pH 6.6 and kH of 2-4 give you a range of 15-30ppm of CO2 pH 7.6 and kH of 2-4 give you a range of 1-3ppm CO2 Use this to find your CO2 levels and what is optimal for your tank and water... http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_co2chart.htm unless my 3 years of learning have lead me down the demented path, which could happen... -- RedForeman ©® "Nemo" wrote in message ... What water chemistry parameters would you ideally want in a planted tank? pH, kH and gH? My kH is very low, about 3 dKh causing pH swings. I want to minimise raising the pH. What is the minimum kH needed to maintain a reasonably stable pH? Thanks |
#17
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Basic chemistry question
Thanks for all the info RedForeman
Thanks to all who replied. "RedForeman ©®" wrote in message ... baking soda is/can be added as a buffer, it raises your kH and buffers your pH enough to keep a stable pH for quite a while... I add 1 tbsp to every 10g, do your own math, and it gives a bump on pH and the buffer capacity is in the volume you add... the more you add, the more your kH raises, but not pH for a planted tank, well, that varies IMHO.... I shoot for a pH of 6.6-7.6 on 3 different tanks the lower one has CO2, others don't pH 6.6 and kH of 2-4 give you a range of 15-30ppm of CO2 pH 7.6 and kH of 2-4 give you a range of 1-3ppm CO2 Use this to find your CO2 levels and what is optimal for your tank and water... http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_co2chart.htm unless my 3 years of learning have lead me down the demented path, which could happen... -- RedForeman ©® "Nemo" wrote in message ... What water chemistry parameters would you ideally want in a planted tank? pH, kH and gH? My kH is very low, about 3 dKh causing pH swings. I want to minimise raising the pH. What is the minimum kH needed to maintain a reasonably stable pH? Thanks |
#18
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Basic chemistry question
Thanks for all the info RedForeman
Thanks to all who replied. "RedForeman ©®" wrote in message ... baking soda is/can be added as a buffer, it raises your kH and buffers your pH enough to keep a stable pH for quite a while... I add 1 tbsp to every 10g, do your own math, and it gives a bump on pH and the buffer capacity is in the volume you add... the more you add, the more your kH raises, but not pH for a planted tank, well, that varies IMHO.... I shoot for a pH of 6.6-7.6 on 3 different tanks the lower one has CO2, others don't pH 6.6 and kH of 2-4 give you a range of 15-30ppm of CO2 pH 7.6 and kH of 2-4 give you a range of 1-3ppm CO2 Use this to find your CO2 levels and what is optimal for your tank and water... http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_co2chart.htm unless my 3 years of learning have lead me down the demented path, which could happen... -- RedForeman ©® "Nemo" wrote in message ... What water chemistry parameters would you ideally want in a planted tank? pH, kH and gH? My kH is very low, about 3 dKh causing pH swings. I want to minimise raising the pH. What is the minimum kH needed to maintain a reasonably stable pH? Thanks |
#19
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Basic chemistry question
On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 09:24:12 -0500, "Nemo" wrote:
My kH is very low, about 3 dKh causing pH swings. I want to minimise raising the pH. What is the minimum kH needed to maintain a reasonably stable pH? A KH of 3 will not cause pH swings. As long as there is SOME buffering (KH of 1 or more), then the KH is NOT the cause of any pH swing. A low KH will result in a lower overall pH value, but it won't change the pH swing. If you are getting a pH swing, then some change in the acid level in the tank is occuring. In a non-CO2 injected planted tank, you will often see the pH rise during the day, as plants strip out all CO2 from the water, making the water less acidic. Then at night, CO2 levels return to the ambient 3-4ppm. Since the KH isn't the cause of your pH swing, give more details about your tank setup, and exactly what you are seeing with your pH readings. Chuck Gadd http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua |
#20
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Basic chemistry question
Hi Chuck,
Thanks for your input. My setup is fairly simple. I don't currently have a planted tank per se - it is WIP. Current setup: - 25 gallons - 5 plants - 18 watts light (don't laugh please) - no CO2 - 1 adult , 2 juvenile platies - 5 neon tetras - 2 pieces of mopani wood - 300gph rated power filter - 100W heater gH = 3 kH = 3 Temp = 79-80 oF pH = 7.8 - 7.2 (over a week say) 1-2 x 25% Water changes weekly Tap water gH = 3 kH = 2-4 pH = 8.0-8.2 Symptoms - dead neon tetras |
#21
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Basic chemistry question
On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 09:24:12 -0500, "Nemo" wrote:
My kH is very low, about 3 dKh causing pH swings. I want to minimise raising the pH. What is the minimum kH needed to maintain a reasonably stable pH? A KH of 3 will not cause pH swings. As long as there is SOME buffering (KH of 1 or more), then the KH is NOT the cause of any pH swing. A low KH will result in a lower overall pH value, but it won't change the pH swing. If you are getting a pH swing, then some change in the acid level in the tank is occuring. In a non-CO2 injected planted tank, you will often see the pH rise during the day, as plants strip out all CO2 from the water, making the water less acidic. Then at night, CO2 levels return to the ambient 3-4ppm. Since the KH isn't the cause of your pH swing, give more details about your tank setup, and exactly what you are seeing with your pH readings. Chuck Gadd http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua |
#22
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Basic chemistry question
Hi Chuck,
Thanks for your input. My setup is fairly simple. I don't currently have a planted tank per se - it is WIP. Current setup: - 25 gallons - 5 plants - 18 watts light (don't laugh please) - no CO2 - 1 adult , 2 juvenile platies - 5 neon tetras - 2 pieces of mopani wood - 300gph rated power filter - 100W heater gH = 3 kH = 3 Temp = 79-80 oF pH = 7.8 - 7.2 (over a week say) 1-2 x 25% Water changes weekly Tap water gH = 3 kH = 2-4 pH = 8.0-8.2 Symptoms - dead neon tetras |
#23
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Basic chemistry question
"Nemo" wrote in message
... gH = 3 kH = 3 Temp = 79-80 oF pH = 7.8 - 7.2 (over a week say) 1-2 x 25% Water changes weekly Tap water gH = 3 kH = 2-4 pH = 8.0-8.2 Symptoms - dead neon tetras First thing to check would be ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Especially with your high pH, any ammonia will be present in (highly toxic) molecular form, which could be the cause of the deaths. Cheers, Michi. -- Michi Henning Ph: +61 4 1118-2700 ZeroC, Inc. http://www.zeroc.com |
#24
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Basic chemistry question
On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 20:52:22 UTC, "RedForeman ©®"
wrote: baking soda is/can be added as a buffer, it raises your kH and buffers your pH enough to keep a stable pH for quite a while... I add 1 tbsp to every 10g, do your own math, and it gives a bump on pH and the buffer capacity is in the volume you add... the more you add, the more your kH raises, but not pH If you don't have CO2 injection, raising the KH must always raise the pH. (Well, there are a couple of exceptions, but they're not of any use in keeping your neons alive.) This is because there is a fixed amount of carbonic acid in your water, determined by the amount of CO2 in the air. The pH depends on the ratio of bicarbonate to carbonic acid; so increasing the bicarbonate with the same amount of carbonic acid gives you higher pH. Your fish and plants complicate this by moving CO2 in and out of the water. But the atmosphere is always pulling the CO2 level back toward the 3-4 parts per million that's in equilibrium. for a planted tank, well, that varies IMHO.... I shoot for a pH of 6.6-7.6 on 3 different tanks the lower one has CO2, others don't pH 6.6 and kH of 2-4 give you a range of 15-30ppm of CO2 pH 7.6 and kH of 2-4 give you a range of 1-3ppm CO2 One thing is left out of this: if you don't have CO2 injection, your CO2 level *will* be set by the amount of CO2 in the air; 15-30 ppm is not going to happen, because it's out of balance with the atmosphere. You can mess with it, for instance by adding acid to the tank to bring down the pH and increase the CO2; then some CO2 will escape from the tank into the air, and the pH will go back up to nearly what it was before. "Nearly", because the KH went down a little when that CO2 escaped into the air. Use this to find your CO2 levels and what is optimal for your tank and water... http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_co2chart.htm But remember -- not to belabor the point or anything -- that if you don't add CO2 to the tank, your CO2 level will be 3-4 ppm. This means KH of 1 - 1.3 at pH of 7.0. A pity, because neons are happier at 7.0 than at 7.8. There are buffering chemicals that will supposedly keep the pH reasonably steady at 7.0 or so; if you use these buffers, just forget about KH and CO2, because you're overriding them. -- Dan Drake http://www.dandrake.com |
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