Hey, new to planted tanks. In the past I've had 2 tanks that have crashed hard after about 2 months with horrible breakout of what I can only describe as algae that starts out looking like green hairs and then very quickly turns brown and strangles all my plants within 48 hours or so completely taking over my tank and destroying everything. This time around I am determined to fix my issues. I've purchased a dual stage CO2 system from GLA, am switching to EI dosing (From ADA squirt bottle) and going with Elos substrate and a sump.
I've been reading a lot that FLUCTUATING co2 can cause algae problems. I also see that CO2 is relative to what the tank KH is...When I do water changes, my KH changes. With my previous tank I would sometimes have a KH above 10. To combat this I would constantly increase my co2 levels to try to bring down my PH. I practically fiddled with my CO2 every day trying to match my KH which seemed to fluctuate as well. Sometimes I would add an acid buffer to drop KH to my preferred amount, but shortly after it would just spike again and was a constant battle.
TLDR: How do I keep my CO2 consistent as KH increases or decreases given that fluctuating CO2 levels have been shown to cause algae breakouts which have ruined my past 2 attempts at a high tech tank.
Thanks!
I've been reading a lot that FLUCTUATING co2 can cause algae problems. I also see that CO2 is relative to what the tank KH is...When I do water changes, my KH changes. With my previous tank I would sometimes have a KH above 10. To combat this I would constantly increase my co2 levels to try to bring down my PH. I practically fiddled with my CO2 every day trying to match my KH which seemed to fluctuate as well. Sometimes I would add an acid buffer to drop KH to my preferred amount, but shortly after it would just spike again and was a constant battle.
TLDR: How do I keep my CO2 consistent as KH increases or decreases given that fluctuating CO2 levels have been shown to cause algae breakouts which have ruined my past 2 attempts at a high tech tank.
Thanks!
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