last play of this game

[brendan]

Here's a pic of how to set up a reator which is super cheap. Having the bubbles enter the tube and travel up against the down flow of water from the power head really difuses them. Keep in mind that the more C02 you have in your tank the lower or more acidic your water is going to be. Check out this link for recommended levels of C02

http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_co2chart.htm

HTH

 

[TankGirl]

With a KH of 1 you need to be very careful with CO2. You can have pH swings with inadequate buffering like you have. If it was my situation I would put crushed coral in a mesh bag in my filter, to increase your buffering capacity. It might be wise to get your KH up before you try to increase your CO2, or the swings will be harmful to your fish, and your plants won't care for it either. See if you can reach a KH of at least 4. What is the KH out of the tap?

 

[kagentx]

where can i get these crushed corals? can't i just use baking soda? if so how much do i need to put in? the kH is 2 in my tap water last i measured. no the water isn't green. I use the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals kH/gH test kit and the first drop of the kH liquid test gives me this slight yellow color, which it says means that i have 1 degree of kH.

According to chuck's page
"There is on case I've seen where the addition of CO2 resulted in an increase in KH. This can happen when you have something in the tank that dissolves carbonate into the water. Seashells, crushed coral, and many gravels and rocks will do this."

isn't this my solution to everything? it not only buffers my pH and raise my kH but gives it more CO2!

 

[TankGirl]

I get bags of it from PetsMart for relatively cheap, sold as a substrate for SW setups. You can use baking soda but I have not done this, and find the CC in the filter to provide steady results that are not altered by water changes (I do a lot of those), and I change out the CC about every 3-4 months.

Assuming the AP test kit you have is not expired, I would trust those results. If you look at Rex Grigg's site you will see that he has extremely low KH as well, so it is something he has to battle with a lot himself.

I think that assuming we have covered all of the possible issues afoot, if you get your KH up you will have steady pH (mooey importantay) and get the most out of your CO2, and everyone will be happy. It will take some time and patience, but if you want to have nice plant growth and avoid an algae swamp it will be worth it.

You are a sport to try and sort this out, though I can really understand why you would be tempted to bag the planted tank idea! Good luck-

 

[medge00]

yeah, I'd go with the crushed coral... it should be cheap and will really help out that kH/pH issue

 

[kagentx]

thanks alot for all ur suggestions, i'm going to take some time to fix up the tank as u guys suggested. i'm going to post it up when my tank is growing furiously! =D this community is the best.

 

[betowess]

Do you like oysters on the half shell? Eat 'em and use the shell for CC. Break it up with a hammer and put in a media bag if you want to speed up CC absorption (more surface area ). Best of both worlds. If you don't like oysters , off to PETCO you go...

 

[kagentx]

yup i'll just pick it up in a LFS, it saves me shipping and time! Everytime i do a water change... the plants seems to react to it so much. i'm guessing i'm lacking in micro nutrients, but i'm going to continue to change water until they grow realli nice