Too much CO2?

[squidsquiggle]

I have a natural CO2 system in my 36 gallon. I might just have a faulty test kit, but lately I've been getting really, really high nitrate levels (160 ppm and up, with little change after several pwc), and my pH came up at 7.4 one week but 6.8 tonight. I read that too much CO2 would drop the pH, so I started to wonder if my off readings could possibly be the fault of the CO2. I had it on the highest setting but based on the product info it's only meant for 20 gallons, and on top of that I have a bubble wand running. My fish (just one goldfish atm) seems perfectly fine, but today he did seem to be going to the surface more than usual.

I've just started planting my tank and only have 3 anubias right now, and I'm only beginning to get into the lighting issue. This just doesn't seem like a likely cause (in fact, I sort of figured I didn't have enough CO2), but I thought I'd get a second opinion from people who know more about CO2 than I do.

Thanks for any help!

 

[kindafishy]

If you take a KH reading and go to the following link, you can calculate your CO2 level :

Aquarium CO2 Calculator

Right underneath the calculator, it gives the meaning of the relative level of CO2 from the calculation.

I am certainly no expert, but my educated guess is that you probably don't need a CO2 system given your current set-up. They are typically needed for more high tech set-ups with more lighting and plant-life. You just might be over-doing it.

Hope that helps!

 

[squidsquiggle]

Thanks! I'll try to find a KH test kit and see where I'm at. Thanks for the help!

 

[mfdrookie516]

you really need a drop checker... IMO it should be a requirement, even if it isn't an exact measurement. And, co2 will not have any effect on nitrates... so if your nitrate level is not reduced by the same percentage as your water change, that shows you have a faulty kit or you're using it incorrectly.

 

[squidsquiggle]

you really need a drop checker... IMO it should be a requirement, even if it isn't an exact measurement. And, co2 will not have any effect on nitrates... so if your nitrate level is not reduced by the same percentage as your water change, that shows you have a faulty kit or you're using it incorrectly.

I have never even heard of a drop checker, but it looks like a great tool. Thanks so much for the info. In regards to the kit, I took it and some water to the lfs I bought it from, and they got the same reading. I guess when I was out of town for several months, my tank wasn't taken care of nearly as well as I thought. It's just a huge build up of nitrates, despite the months of care since I've been back. It's very, very slowly going down with frequent water changes. I just panicked a little when I first got the accurate test. (As for the pH, I probably did just screw that one up, lfs got a solid 7.) Thanks again for the advice.

 

[mfdrookie516]

In that case, don't try to get the nitrates down to 20-40 ppm or so quickly... that can be really bad. Just do some smallish (10-20%) changes over the next week or two until you get it down. But yeah, definitely look in to a drop checker. You can get 3 from ebay for $10 shipped, $5 for the 4dkh solution (or you can make it yourself if you have the stuff), and your liquid pH solution and you'll have a constant monitor in the tank to give you an estimate on your co2 level.