MSU Fan
Aquarium Advice FINatic
I bought a 10 gallon CO2 tank back in the first week of September - the gauge is showing that it is mostly empty now.
1. How long should the 5, 10, and 20 gallon tanks last?
2. Do many of you find that your settings (of bpm) change over time? I am not sure what is going on with mine, but the settings were originally at 30-60ppm CO2, but lately, my CO2 went nuts for some reason - my fish were gasping and 2 died - did all the tests (Amm, Nitrite, Nitrate, Phosphates, GH, KH, PH). Everything was lined up :
Ammonia - 0
Nitrites - o
Nitrates - 10 (i need to increase - stupid wisteria used it all up)
Phosphates - 3-4
GH - 9 degrees
KH - 5 degrees
PH 6.0 (lowest on the PH card)
When I computed the CO2, behold, 5 KH and 6.0 PH = 150ppm CO2!!!
I turned the CO2 down (it was at 3-4 bpm, and now it is ~2bpm), and turned on all the airstones I had in the tanks (3). Now my PH is 7.0 and my CO2 level is ~15ppm.
Anyway, has anyone had this sort of thing happen to them? And for those of you who have pressurized setups, how often do you tweak the bpm to keep it lined up. Also, is there some way to buffer the water to keep the PH up more? I don't seem to have much in the way of a "comfort" zone where the PH/CO2 relationship is concerned. TIA
1. How long should the 5, 10, and 20 gallon tanks last?
2. Do many of you find that your settings (of bpm) change over time? I am not sure what is going on with mine, but the settings were originally at 30-60ppm CO2, but lately, my CO2 went nuts for some reason - my fish were gasping and 2 died - did all the tests (Amm, Nitrite, Nitrate, Phosphates, GH, KH, PH). Everything was lined up :
Ammonia - 0
Nitrites - o
Nitrates - 10 (i need to increase - stupid wisteria used it all up)
Phosphates - 3-4
GH - 9 degrees
KH - 5 degrees
PH 6.0 (lowest on the PH card)
When I computed the CO2, behold, 5 KH and 6.0 PH = 150ppm CO2!!!
I turned the CO2 down (it was at 3-4 bpm, and now it is ~2bpm), and turned on all the airstones I had in the tanks (3). Now my PH is 7.0 and my CO2 level is ~15ppm.
Anyway, has anyone had this sort of thing happen to them? And for those of you who have pressurized setups, how often do you tweak the bpm to keep it lined up. Also, is there some way to buffer the water to keep the PH up more? I don't seem to have much in the way of a "comfort" zone where the PH/CO2 relationship is concerned. TIA