Re: [AGA Member] Soft water management

["Dennis Sheridan" <dilvish@pacbell.net>]

From: "Roger Miller" <roger@spinn.net>

> > I'm not suggesting you or Paul are wrong about anything, just
reporting my
> Oh come on, Dennis.  You can suggest that.  You can even come out
and say it

heh.. Thanks, but I think I'll pass on that, Roger. I can't imagine
the level of hubris that would take. But if you think the Spurs and
the Devils aren't going to win their respective playoffs, well..
that's another matter entirely!  <g>

> But I'm curious.  Maybe you discussed this before I joined the
list.  Where
> does your tank get the GH, and why is it so much higher than the
KH?

Since our tap water barely tests at 2 dKH/ 2 dGH, and that only
after much pleading, I can only assume it's coming from the
substrate (a 50/50 mix of flourite and florabase) and possibly the
igneous rocks.  And the progression still confounds me.

I started the tank with tap water. Threw in a bunch of stems and
crypts, after a couple of weeks threw in some corys/SAEs. Didn't
feed them or add anything to the tank at all for 6 weeks. Figured
the cycling was done and took my first test of the water. dKH at
2 -3, dGH at 7. First test was on 11/6/02

Started water changes with tap. On 11/20 dKH at 3, dGH at 9.
Switched to DI.

On 12/21 dKH at 2, dGH at 7. Been like that ever since.  I can lower
the dGH to about 5 with continual DI changes. dKH always stays at 2.
Water changes are always 10gals a week with a 15gal change once a
month or two. 50gal tank.

I only recently started to add Equilibrium to the water changes, and
not much of that. Just wanted to see what effect, if any, that would
have.  Outside of that, I've not added anything.  Well, salt once
for an eye infection and penicillin once for nematods. Carbon
filtered the penicillin out and removed the carbon.

> Your 2 dKH and 7dGH means only about 11 ppm CO2.  If you decide
not to stick
> with electrolysis, then you can easily get 11 ppm CO2 with yeast
and sugar.

Let me add this twist. I have the Jebo below the 2 setting I was
told to put it. (dial settings are from 1 to 10) Once I was trying
to rearrange some stuff and accidently moved the dial to 3. The
immediate growth of the plants was like something out of a Stephen
Donaldson Thomas Covenant novel. At 1.5, it seems to keep
growth-rate where I don't feel like I'm pruning every week..  fwiw.

Regards,

Dennis

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