Newly Planted, Co2 And Kh

BigdaddyK

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Nov 22, 2018
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I have a 260 gallon tank with a 135 gallon sump (approx 90 gallons operational). My kh hovers around 8 dKH. I don't know my gH at this point as I don't have a test kit for it at this time. Morning PH is 7.2x. I run the co2 from 2 hrs before the lights come on to 1 hour before the lights go out. My light schedule is from 13:00 - 20:00. My PH drops to around 6.2x through the co2 schedule. From what I've read I want to see a 1.0 drop in PH though the day. I currently get about .9 of a drop with my co2 set to 40psi and 25'ish bps. I thought that this was all good but then, in doing more reading, I've discovered KH and the PH/KH charts. With a KH of 8 and a PH of 6.2x, if I read the chart right, I'm looking at 120+ ppm of co2 in the water. My fish don't seem to be laboring at all so I'm wondering if I'm missing something.
 
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Greggz

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Yeah, forget the charts. You will never know your CO2 ppm.....at least with the methods available to us.

Shoot for the 1.0 ppm drop, and then see if you can drop it even further.

Many of us are dropping more like 1.2 to 1.4.

My KH is 2.5, and pH drop is to 5.85.....over 100 ppm CO2. Been that way for years. Plants do well, and fish don't complain.

Keep an eye on the fish and plants. They will tell you when you get it right.
 
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BigdaddyK

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Thanks for the responses. I'll keep on with my current method then. I think I can up the bps a little more still as I'm not quite reaching the 1.0 drop.
 

BigdaddyK

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I upped my bubble count to more than 25 bps... I can't quite count how many bubbles are happening now even with my phone using slow motion. It's around 28 bps but it might be more or slightly less. Regardless I'm seeing a steady 1.1 or 1.2 pH drop. I'm going to let this run for a while and see how things look. The fish don't seem bothered at all by the added co2.
 
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Greggz

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Counting bubbles in a tank that size is impossible.

You should look into a Dwyer flow meter.
 

BigdaddyK

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Thanks for the information. I looked up Dwyer Flow Meter and I get a list of formidable size. I'm admittedly lost in the list of what I should be getting. Is there a few models that you might suggest?
 

toads74

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+1 on the flow meter. Can you run the co2 line temporarily into an inverted measuring cup? That would tell you the volume over a known period of time. From there you can calculate the cc/min or whatever scale/units you should be considering.
 

Greggz

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Thanks for the information. I looked up Dwyer Flow Meter and I get a list of formidable size. I'm admittedly lost in the list of what I should be getting. Is there a few models that you might suggest?
Here is a link to a discussion in my journal on TPT. Goes on for quite a few pages.

https://www.plantedtank.net/forums/...dsheet-v3-0-10-31-2018-a-66.html#post10821809

Most are using the Dwyer RMA151-SSV (5-50cc/min) or RMA150-SSV (10-100 cc/min). The tricky part is sizing it to your tank.

In my 120G I am running about 45 cc/min. But when Burr had his 120G, I believe he was running about 60 ccc/min using an RMA150-SSV.

You might even need a larger scale. If you go to the site below, on the left hand side click on 2" Scale (RMA) with Stainless Steel Valve then scroll down and hit filter. You'll see there are some that have even a larger scale, like the RMA11-SSV at 30-200 cc/min.

https://www.dwyer-inst.com/Product/Flow/Flowmeters/VariableArea/SeriesRM#ordering

@burr740 any thoughts on which will be needed on a tank this size?
 
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BigdaddyK

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Thanks for that information @Greggz . I ordered the 30-200. I miss-read the description though and it doesn't have any hose barb fittings with the flow meter. I'm going to be looking around locally but I live in a small town next to some small towns. I'm not sure I'm going to find anything locally.
 

Greggz

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BigdaddyK

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Well it took forever to get the fittings in. They finally have arrived. I was running around 60 on the flow meter. That was getting me < 1.0 drop so I slowly turned it up to where I'm at now, pretty much at 80 and I get a 1.1 drop successfully for 3 days in a row now!

Thanks for the advice and help!
 
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cesg1982

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I upped my bubble count to more than 25 bps... I can't quite count how many bubbles are happening now even with my phone using slow motion. It's around 28 bps but it might be more or slightly less. Regardless I'm seeing a steady 1.1 or 1.2 pH drop. I'm going to let this run for a while and see how things look. The fish don't seem bothered at all by the added co2.
Do you have a CO2 reactor?