Adding Co2

[Dominick]

Ok i got my Co2 stuff in the mail today and my test kits
if i did the test right i have about 6DKH or 107.4 PPM
and a PH of 7.3

If i use the calc i get about 9.021 PPM of Co2 could be false?

also my Phosphate test kit only came with the salt water chart Does someone
have one they could scan so i can atleast look at the colors
i tested mine and it kindalooks Black to me or maybe verry dark blue, or green? eather way i cant see light through the glass vile.

any info is much appreciated and TIA

 

[7Enigma]

Who makes the phosphate kit? If it is Aquarium Pharmaceuticals and it is dark blue then you have greater than 4ppm phosphate which is TOO HIGH. I had levels similar to yours and didn't reduce them through PWC's since I thought the plants would consume them quickly and ended up with some algae problems.

Disregard this info if your not using that kit. When I get home I'll take a look at my FW and SW cards and hopefully can tell you new values (if I remember correctly the SW and FW turn the same colors, just at different ppm of phosphate).

Are you injecting CO2? If not, you can be sure that either the test is inaccurate or you have other dissolved solids affecting your pH. Normal CO2 levels in tanks without CO2 added should show 1-3ppm CO2. Do you have a high range pH test?

 

[malkore]

and if its a Seachem phosphate test kit, the color chart is universal for fresh or salt water testing.

 

[Dominick]

Yes all my Kits are AP sorry for not stating that the first time.

And yes i have ALOT of algae problems no not injecting Co2 yet but i have the kit to do so and will be starting this sat. Dident tink i should be in high range PH should i test anyways?
thanks

 

[rich311k]

No need to test high range if your PH is under 7.6.

 

[7Enigma]

OK, when I get home I'll put my test colors next to each other and see if I can give you a conversion table (ie if your test says 2.0, its really 4.0 in FW, etc).

I can tell you without looking though that if it is dark and you can't see through that you have much too high phosphate, and this can definately cause big algae problems (especially since you have no additional CO2).

Test your tap water please and report back with the color.

I had 0.5ppm in my tap water, but my tank levels are between 1 and 2ppm at all times without adding any chemicals to increase the phosphate. Most comes from fish waste in my case.

 

[JRagg]

Have you ever added a pH buffer to your tank? Those tend to contain very high phosphates.

 

[Dominick]

Well the A shows about 1.0 PPM acording to the salt water one

and one question i keep forgeting t ask is how do i reduce the Phosphate?

 

[JRagg]

Water changes are the easiest way. Some people have had luck with phosphate absorbing pads that can later be removed, but I would go the path of the water change if they are within reasonable levels (somewhere on the test kit).

 

[7Enigma]

OK, just got home and have the 2 test strips side by side:

Here's the conversion you want.

Salt water reading / Fresh Water Level

0.0ppm 0.0ppm

1.0ppm 0.5ppm

2.0ppm 1.8ppm

5.0ppm 4.0ppm

So if you do the test and it matches the 1.0ppm phosphate on your saltwater card, that really matches the 0.5ppm freshwater card, so you have ~0.5ppm. It gets wierd in the middle between the two tests, but suffice to say if the color is darker than a normal green color you have too much phosphate.

And I don't understand your last post, do you mean your tap has 1.0ppm on the saltwater test, or your tank water is reading 1.0ppm? If its your tap water, that's exactly what mine has, and so PWC's will lower the tank level.

Goodluck and hope this helps,

justin

 

[Dominick]

Yes sorry about that last post the Tap water test 1.0ppm on the salt
so like you said 0.5ppm on the FW chart

ill do a PWC tomorrow as i always do also will be adding the
Co2 after the PWC
also watching the bubbler how many bubbles per min
should i start off with?

and can anyone help me out on this one im trying to convert this

+/- 3/4 tsp KN03 3x a week
+/- 3/16 tsp KH2P04 3x a week
+/- 1/4 tsp K2S04 3x a week
+/- ¼ tsp (15ml) Trace 3x a week

from Tsp to g



*EDIT* never mined i cconvertedthem myself lol wasent that hard
just had a blond moment and my math is a little rusty lol

TIA

 

[7Enigma]

Yes sorry about that last post the Tap water test 1.0ppm on the salt
so like you said 0.5ppm on the FW chart

ill do a PWC tomorrow as i always do also will be adding the
Co2 after the PWC
also watching the bubbler how many bubbles per min
should i start off with?

Well it all depends on the size of the bubble but as a general rule aim for 2-3 bubbles per second. I'd start off with 2 just to be safe and watch the pH, but in the end you want to get about 30ppm CO2.

Google for "Chuck's Planted Aquarium Calculator". It's a small program that among other things like how much of each fert to add (will help with your above question), it has an easy CO2 calculator. You just enter your KH and pH at that level and it will tell you in ppm how much CO2 is present.