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Re: [GSAS-Member] First night with CO2; nothing seemed to change, but also no fish are dead



Do you have any pH buffers (phosphate) in your tank?  They will through off
your CO2 calculations.  With a bubble counter, I find that I can see changes
in CO2 concentration within an hour (especailly after a water change where
CO2 goes from 3ppm back up to 20+ ppm.)  As a reference, my 20g runs at
around 2 bpm and my 45 gal at around 3-4 bpm both targeting around 25ppm
using bubble counters (but it is darn tough to read the color accurately and
the valvles need adjusting every coupled of days.)

-john

On Fri, Jan 8, 2010 at 12:37 AM, Matt Staroscik <matt@wrongcrowd.com> wrote:

> I set up my CO2 system to deliver 1 bubble per second at 9 PM. Not having a
> reactor yet, I fed the output into my Fluval canister filter. There was a
> small burp every 30 minutes but the filter didn't seem troubled. I am sure
> I
> am not getting the best efficiency but next week I will have a better
> diffuser and a drop checker.
>
> I use RO/DI water for the tank and keep cuttlebone in the filter. (I know I
> don't really need RO/DI water but it's awfully convenient the way I have it
> set up. Using tap water would be more work.) Before CO2 injection started,
> at 9 PM the tank was pH 6.8 and 3 dKH.
>
> At midnight lights-off, the pH reading was still 6.8, maybe a tiny bit
> less.
> This corresponds to 14 ppm CO2, assuming that any CO2 dissolved at all and
> I
> am not seeing some other buffering screw up the relationship. I have a lot
> of wood in the tank and have heard that tannins screw things up.
>
> Is 3 hours enough time to bring the tank to a new steady state? It seems
> strange that pH didn't change, but my test kit only runs in 0.2 pH unit
> divisions so I could have dropped a full tenth and not known it.
>
> I guess I was expecting to see SOMETHING change. Time to get out the pH
> meter from the old reef equipment box, I guess! Perhaps 1 bubble per sec
> just isn't enough gas for my setup's efficiency.
>
> MS
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