w00t new light, pressurized co2, water parameter help

[Felf]

i recently traded my 20H for a 20L which i've been wanting for quite some time. once i got the tank, i also bought a coralife 2x65w CF fixture from Hellolights.com (1 bulb 6hrs a day and both bulbs 4hrs a day) and a pressurized co2 combo from aquatic-store.com. everything is set up and ready to go but i'm not sure what to do about my water parameters since this is the first time i've actually tested them. the ph controller is calibrated and says my ph is 5.9, my gh and kh are both 5 (if i tested correctly) arent the ideal parameters kh=5 and gh=11+? i set the knob on the sms122 controller to about a ph of 7 but since my ph is so low it doesnt turn on the solenoid anyway. btw i dont know what the ph of my tap water is but i'm gonna test that later. should i start adding baking soda to increase gh? are there other things i should be doing?

 

[malkore]

ther is no ideal Gh...just make sure you have some. baking soda doesn't affect Gh either, it affects Kh and pH. Epsom salts will raise Gh somewhat...but again is NOT necessary.

However 4dKh and 5.9pH puts you at...well, more than 120ppm of CO2...the CO2 chart I have doesn't even go down to 5.9.

WAY WAY WAY too much CO2. You only need 40ppm tops. How certain are you that the pH controller is calibrated?

 

[7Enigma]

i recently traded my 20H for a 20L which i've been wanting for quite some time. once i got the tank, i also bought a coralife 2x65w CF fixture from Hellolights.com (1 bulb 6hrs a day and both bulbs 4hrs a day) and a pressurized co2 combo from aquatic-store.com.

Holy heck that is a lot of light! Be very careful even at the levels you've suggested until you know exactly how quickly your ferts are used.

the ph controller is calibrated and says my ph is 5.9, my gh and kh are both 5 (if i tested correctly) arent the ideal parameters kh=5 and gh=11+? i set the knob on the sms122 controller to about a ph of 7 but since my ph is so low it doesnt turn on the solenoid anyway. btw i dont know what the ph of my tap water is but i'm gonna test that later. should i start adding baking soda to increase gh? are there other things i should be doing?

As Malkore said there IS no "right" level for GH and KH. GH is the level of Magnesium and Calcium present in the water, both of these being macro nutrients that your plants need. A level of 5degrees is more than adequte. The KH is the level of carbonate hardness, that is the buffering capacity of the water. This is VITAL for a CO2 injected tank. A KH of 5 degrees is perfect for a CO2 injected tank, especially one that is pressurized with a pH monitor (slightly higher KH is sometimes recommended for DIY CO2 since you can have wild fluctuations as the amount of CO2 being produced varies). With presssurized CO2 like you have though, I wouldn't mess with it. This is perfect for you as for water changes all you have to do is dose ferts at a water change, you don't have to mess with any hardness levels (I have to bump up my KH since my tap has very low levels and I'm DIY Co2).

As mentioned before with your high light level you need to be actively dosing potassium (K), phosphate (PO4), and depending on fishload nitrAte (NO3). You should also pick up a trace mix (I'm partial to CSM+B) as you will be going through iron (Fe) quickly as well.

Finally if what you say is true (pH very low) AND your solenoid is NEVER opening due to the pH controller reading too low, I second that its not calibrated correctly. If you had the solenoid open and were reading that low pH then I'd say you had way to much CO2 being injected, but the way you've described it you don't have any CO2 being injected right now correct?? If that's the case there is no way with the GH and KH of your tank that the pH can be that low. Do you have a liquid pH test kit (say an AP reagent kit)? Test some of your tank water and compare it to what the reading on the controller is. I'm quite certain it will show very close to neutral (pH7).

HTH,

justin

p.s. To reiterate what malkore said baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) ONLY increases the KH of the water, it does nothing for the GH. If you tank has low KH you can use baking soda to increase the KH hardness of the water, but this will do NOTHING for GH. Just wanted to clear that up if it confuses anyone else.

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

If you have the milwaukee controller, make sure you adjusted the slope on the back. It's in the directions.. You can use white vinegar to adjust the slope to PH 2.8 , then back in 7.0 solution and re-adjust the calibration point. repeat until the readins are accurate.

Most people miss the second adjustment which if it's off by PH 2-3 then it can cause a false low..

 

[Lonewolfblue]

If you have the milwaukee controller, make sure you adjusted the slope on the back. It's in the directions.. You can use white vinegar to adjust the slope to PH 2.8 , then back in 7.0 solution and re-adjust the calibration point. repeat until the readins are accurate.

Most people miss the second adjustment which if it's off by PH 2-3 then it can cause a false low..

Another point to make is that the lower the ph is for the slope, like white vinegar at 2.8, the more accurate your readings will be than if you used something that is in the 4-5 level for the slope. The further away, the more accuracy you will be.

 

[Felf]

yeah i kinda figured my controller might be off because i used chuck's calculator and it did say 130ppm co2 but i tested my ph with my tetra test kit and it was about 6; my driftwood is probably making the ph lower. when i tested my kh it didnt turn blue with the first drop, it just stayed clear then turned yellow after the fifth drop (directions said its supposed to go from blue to yellow) i'm following the directions but does that mean i have no kh? ferts arent a problem, i use greg watson's stuff. if baking soda only raises the kh then what raises the gh? i tried looking for answers on some forums (including this one) about the slope on the controller but i'm kind of lost as to what it really is/does because the directions dont explain much. i only see a hole in the back of the controller and a screw on the front. thanks for all the earlier replies

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

Try testing the PH and KH of your tapwater. it might point you a little closer to what's going on.

I have about 15lbs of Mopani wood in my tank and it doesn't affect my PH at all (despite that being the original reason for me adding it)

 

[Felf]

here are the parameters for my water straight out of the tap
ph = 8
kh = 4
gh = 4

i retested the kh on my tank and it didnt turn blue so i assume there is none because the plants are using it up so i'll up the doses. i'll 24hrs then test my tap water again.

 

[7Enigma]

here are the parameters for my water straight out of the tap
ph = 8
kh = 4
gh = 4

i retested the kh on my tank and it didnt turn blue so i assume there is none because the plants are using it up so i'll up the doses. i'll 24hrs then test my tap water again.

I'm still stumped here as to why your tank pH is so low. That KH of 4 is a good amount of buffering capacity and should be able to keep your pH well above 6.0. Can you please tell me again when you said something about the solenoid turning on what you meant? Because it sounds to me like you have no CO2 being injected in the tank and your pH is still really low!

As for your question about how to raise GH, GH is a measure of the magnesium (Mg) and the calcium (Ca) present in the tank. So anything that adds either of these will incrase the GH of your tank. Most people increase the GH by using magnesium sulfate which is commonly known as Epsom salt. Greg watson also sells MgSO4, but Epsom is fine to use. Again this will not help your pH problems, and since you already have a GH of 4 your probably not deficient in those 2 nutrients either as long as you do a 25-50% PWC each week.

justin

 

[Purrbox]

Since out of the tap you only have 1ppm of CO2 you should be able to use the CO2 formula without any problems. Perhaps there is something else going on in your tank that is affecting the pH. While the driftwood may affect your pH and KH, it won't break their relationship, so we're probably looking for something else. The exception being if one or the other is so low that it's below the test kit's ability to read.

Have you added any pH adjusting products?
What are you Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate levels?

Definately sounds like you need to get the controller calibrated, but having never used one I'm not much help there.

If you had zero KH the kit would turn bright Yellow with the first drop. I think you are reading that kit correctly even though the results a bit strange. It does make me think that there is a greater possibility that the kit is bad though. You might want to take a water sample to the LFS to verify your readings. Preferably with a different brand kit.

 

[Felf]

i am overdue for a PWC (2 weeks) so i could start with that. as for the epsom salt, i have lots my dosing regimen in general has been sloppy because i've been so busy lately so that could be contributing to my problems as well. currently, there is no co2 being injected because i set the ph controller's alarm to a ph of 7 but it's staying at a constant 5.9 so it wont turn on and i dont want it to until i get the parameters to where they should be. my controller came with the 4.0 solution already inside of the electrode's sheath and registered at 4.0 then i calibrated at 7.0 and it was fine so it is calibrated (i was overthinking and dismissing everything with all my excitement). i'll start by testing my ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels but i'm pretty sure at least one is definitely high. just been so busy with work and got so excited about getting a tank i've been wanting for 2 years, getting my first coralife fixture, and getting a pressurized co2 setup all within 2 weeks. i dont think i was thinking straight so thank you everyone for bringing me back to reality again or so i hope.