Do you think this would work?

[GreenStuff]

I tried making a CO2 reactor out a Rio 50 power head pump, but I don't like how it turned out.

I have two needle valves on my CO2 regulator. Do you think if I put 2 hagen ladders in the tank that I could get enough CO2 in a 25 Gallon tank?

 

[Ian H]

Re: Do you think this would work?

You don't need 2 ladders in a 25 gal. I use 1 in a 20 gallon (Imperial) tank and only need 1 bubble per 2 seconds. It works fine.

Ian

 

[GreenStuff]

Re: Do you think this would work?

According to Tom, my perpetual algae problem is due to my not having enough CO2, that's what I'm working on.

http://www.barrreport.com/forums/showthread.php?t=100

 

[Ian H]

Re: Do you think this would work?

I've looked at your tank stats and in theory it should be OK. I didn't see a figure for temporary hardness Kh. What is this figure in your tank? If the result is below 3 degrees then this could be your problem. Have you refered to the Ph/Kh = CO2 charts?

In your Hagen ladder the bubbles should show a very noticeable reduction in size as they progress up the ladder, finishing almost the size of a pinhead at the top.

Ian

 

[JadeButterfly]

Re: Do you think this would work?

dont waste your money and get two ladders.

just use one, and increase the bubble rate.

After this forum, the one thing I learned is to use my eyes to measure if CO2/nutrients are at good levels.

I would just go with Tom's suggestion of putting a riccia slate into your tank, and adjust your CO2 so that the riccia starts pearling shortly after your light goes on.

 

[GreenStuff]

Re: Do you think this would work?

My kH comes out of the tap at 5.3 (I'm assuming, perhaps wrongly, that kH and Alk are the same thing?????)
After a water change the kH goes up to 10 or higher.
I aleady have 2 ladders so I think if I can't get the CO2 up with this reactor that I build, I'll just try them.
Does anyone know.....will high CO2 kill snails? I seem to recall reading that at one time. (it would be a good indicator of when I'm getting to the upper limit of CO2 in my tank if the snails start to die off)

 

[Laith]

Re: Do you think this would work?

If your tap is at 5KH and your tank is at 10 KH with no additon of carbonates then there must be something in your tank that's increasing the KH...

A higher KH means more CO2 is required to lower the pH. The less efficient the method of injection, the more CO2 required.

 

[fosteder]

Re: Do you think this would work?

Are you dosing anything that would raise the Kh? CaCO3, baking soda etc?? What kind of substrate do you have? Any rocks in the decor?

 

[GreenStuff]

Re: Do you think this would work?

It's been doing this for over a year now. There's nothing in the tank that could cause it rise, so I've always blamed it on a half of a small bag of Hagen substrate that I mixed with the Flourite when I was doing one of my major cleanings. So I just have to deal with it. :-(

 

[Tom Barr]

Re: Do you think this would work?

KH and Alk are the same for all practical purposes here.
SW has a borate system as well.

I have tanks with nothing but snails, I've never been able to roast them with gas. I've gone to 100ppm. I did not try to kill them on purpose, it was more about the plants, but they were in there.

Your KH numbers are funny.
The tank should not be that high if you do large weekly water changes, even if you used CaCO3 substrates.

Onyx is CaCO3(Calcite not aragonite) and some iron etc.
It will not raise the KH that high.........I'm thinking either no weekly water changes, or........bad test kits.

You can eyeball the CO2 using Riccia or you can try to work through the testing.

Either way will have it's pluses and minuses.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[GreenStuff]

Re: Do you think this would work?

The kH has been a pita for a long time now. My water changes are done on Sundays and I have rarely missed one. If I do miss, I usually have it done within a day or two. (I think I may have left it for an extra week once.) So that can't be it.

I suppose it's possible that I have 2 bad kits, but they both measure the same and they both measure it out of the tap at 5 which is what the water company measured. I have a new Salifert kit on order, but it's been back ordered and they're not sure when it will arrive.

What I've been doing is working on the assumption that it's not far from what comes out of the tap and judging CO2 by the fish behavior.

 

[m lemay]

Re: Do you think this would work?

I basically did the same thing a few years back. I added some crushed coral (on purpose) to counteract my very soft tap water. My kh varies from 5-7 degreesKh between water changes. Gh also varies a bit,between 10-12 degrees. It really hasn't been a problem. The only problem I had was insufficient Mg which I now add at water change. At times I wish I hadn't added it but at other times it really keeps things simple. As long as I do weekly water changes the Gh/Kh stays within a reasonable range.

It's been doing this for over a year now. There's nothing in the tank that could cause it rise, so I've always blamed it on a half of a small bag of Hagen substrate that I mixed with the Flourite when I was doing one of my major cleanings. So I just have to deal with it. :-(

 

[fishface]

Re: Do you think this would work?

The only problem I had was insufficient Mg which I now add at water change. At times I wish I hadn't added it but at other times it really keeps things simple.

why is is that you wished you had not added Mg? i also have super soft water and used to add crushed coral to my canister but i quit...just put it in again last night though.

 

[m lemay]

Re: Do you think this would work?

why is is that you wished you had not added Mg? i also have super soft water and used to add crushed coral to my canister but i quit...just put it in again last night though.

Huh.
No.... Thats not what I meant. What I meant was ,sometimes I wish I hadn't added the crushed coral to the substrate because it gives me little control over GH/Kh.

At one point I had an Mg deficiency because of my oversight of thinking Gh was in the bag. I began to add Mg at water change and the deficiency symptoms went away.

Marcel

 

[fishface]

Re: Do you think this would work?

because it gives me little control over GH/Kh.
At one point I had an Mg deficiency because of my oversight of thinking Gh was in the bag. I began to add Mg at water change and the deficiency symptoms went away.
Marcel

is there such a thing as general "optimal" target ranges for kh and gh for your average planted tank? i know that kh is relative to ph regarding c02 levels but otherwise?

 

[Tom Barr]

Re: Do you think this would work?

Generally: KH of 3 and a GH of 5 seem about optimal, but there is no known upper GH range really..........

There are issues with KH and going from 20 down to zero even.
GH is more straight forward and easier to test since it's just a nutrient issue and has only one basic form.

Regards,
Tom Barr