recieved my shipment

[nitrous]

today i was surprised when i seen the shipment come in of my plant stuff after ordering it on wednesday and i got my xp2 filter and flourish nitrogen and gh and kh test kit
the nitrogen becuase my nitrates are low and i think thats causing my algae bloom so ill try and dose some nitrogen, but when should i do it? after the blackout or now during? i blacked out yesterday and continuing today. the bottle says 2.5ml per 40 gallons so ill do 1.3ish for my 20 gallon tank

the kh test kit will give me how much co2 i have in there and do i need to do this test kit along with the ph test? also is the general hardness really useful? and for the kh it says just put in 1 drop until the test tube water gets bright yellow, any tips on this? or how you have done with this. also the test kit is from aquarium pharmecuticals.

thanks

[IceH2O]

May as well finish the blackout since you're already halfway through.

I don't use the AP KH test but you just add a drop then shake the vial and repeat until it turns yellow. If it takes 3 drops then your KH is 3.

GH is a measure of Ca and Mg,someone correct me if i'm wrong, which is needed for the plants. My GH is pretty **** low like 2 or 3 so I dose Ca and Mg in my tank. The dosing brings it up to near 11.

For CO2 you need the PH and the KH then look at this chart

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

First test your tapwater after letting it sit for 24 hours then test the tank. The PH/KH test is inaccurate at best. The article goes over the reasons, read it.

[ringfinger]

Use this calculator to figure out how much Flourish Nitrogen to add to achieve a desired No3 level.

http://www.leon-huang.com/doser/

The kH tells you nothing but carbonate hardness. You use this result, in combination with the pH reading, to figure out your Co2 ppm. Download and use the calculator in this link for that purpose.

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

Testing the kH is pretty simple. It sounds like you know what to do. Just be sure to shake the bottle after adding each drop, and it should be very obvious when it turns bright yellow.

[gfink]

Mine turns yellow after one drop too. Means you have a kh of 1, or lower. If you inject co2, you might want to raise your kh to help stabilize your ph (they are all related). There are procedures on how to raise kh with baking soda around here somewhere. I'll be looking into it soon as I am starting to add co2.

[Lonewolfblue]

Originally Posted by nitrous

today i was surprised when i seen the shipment come in of my plant stuff after ordering it on wednesday and i got my xp2 filter and flourish nitrogen and gh and kh test kit
the nitrogen becuase my nitrates are low and i think thats causing my algae bloom so ill try and dose some nitrogen, but when should i do it? after the blackout or now during? i blacked out yesterday and continuing today. the bottle says 2.5ml per 40 gallons so ill do 1.3ish for my 20 gallon tank

the kh test kit will give me how much co2 i have in there and do i need to do this test kit along with the ph test? also is the general hardness really useful? and for the kh it says just put in 1 drop until the test tube water gets bright yellow, any tips on this? or how you have done with this. also the test kit is from aquarium pharmecuticals.

thanks

What is the end color supposed to be? What is the initial color supposed to be? Is it supposed to turn the yellow to another color, or another color to yellow? I haven't used the AP kit myself, I use the Hagen kit.

[nitrous]

alright ill test them all tonight, thanks
i tested my nitrogen and it was only at 2 ppm so i definetly need to add nitrogen and that is what is causing my algae i suppose. the calculator says that it adds 1.2493 ppm of nitrate and the bottle says 2.25 ml for 40 gallons so i would add 1.25 ml for my 20 gallon tank

so how high of a nitrate level should i want for my tank, its a 20 gallon planted tank with 48 watts of light and co2 injection.

also for the co2 ppm i got about 5 ppm but that was with the ph of my tank, i had 6 degrees of kh which is 107 ppm of kh but tomarrow ill test the tap water that sat is going to sit for 24 hours

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

in a 20Gal tank, 1ml ~= 1ppm nitrogen

That site is looking for tank volume in Litres, so multiply gallons by 4 for approximate litres.

to increase yours by 10 you would need 10 ml.

[nitrous]

so ill add 1 ml twice a week for 5 weeks then so i dont add it all at once. ill do it like that so it will go at a pace instead of all at once. and hopefully by then and after the blackout my algae will be gone

[Lonewolfblue]

You'll need to bring it up to at least 10ppm in the beginning, and Phosphates to 1ppm. That's 10:1 ratio. What you were talking about, is after it's up to 10ppm. You will just need to replace what's being used. If the plants use 2ppm per week, then 1ppm twice a week is fine. But you will first need to get the parameters in sync, then monitor your parameters and get a feel for what dosing you will need.

[nitrous]

so ima do this after my blackout so after that i will add 10 ml of nitrogen at once?

[Lonewolfblue]

Test the water. If it's 5ppm, then just add 5ml. Do the same with the phosphate if you have the test kit. Yes, this is after the blackout.

[nitrous]

it was under 5 ppm, it kinda looked like it was 0 ppm but kinda around 1 or 2 ppm and no i dont have a phosphate test kit

[nitrous]

should i do 3 days in the blackout or 4 days? how can i tell how many days i need since i cant peek

[Lonewolfblue]

3 full days should be fine. You can go a 4th if you want, but i don't think it would be necessary.

[nitrous]

i may do 3.5 depending on what i feel like because then ill be able to dose tomarrow instead of after school monday and ill dose up to 10 ppm of nitrate first then go from there to get up to 20?