ive just tested the kh and it is 30ppm (previously 20ppm) which is around 1.7 to 2 degrees hardness and the ph is 6.6 -6.8 which means the co2 is around the 10ppm mark. When I first started with the co2 I didnt use any sort of kh raising agent or buffer and the ph dropped to 6.2 - 6.4.
Since then I have been slowly adding small pieces of tuffa rock to the tank, now the amount of tuffa rock has been increased in the tank as has the diy yeast generation, alongside the 2 hagen diy units, i have also set up a 2 litre coke bottle and thats running into the tank also.
The kh has risen by 10ppm and presumably, the amount of dissolved co2 has increased so therefore the buffering is doing it's job by keeping the ph in the required range and stable while allowing a higher co2 content? Therefore using the ph to kh ratio will not give me an accurate measure of co2?
Lets assume the co2 has in fact risen and the tuffa is helping to buffer the ph from crashing then could the resulting carbonic acid be the cause of the (slightly) increased kh while keeping the ratio between kh and ph as signifying low levels of co2?
In other words, would using the relationship between the ph and
the kh to work out the co2 content be more innacurate than usual?
If those wafflings can be followed I would be interested in ideas!
p.s. the wisteria was also throwing out a long stream of o2 bubbles last night which prompted me to wonder about the co2 and kh etc. Here's a pic of the wisteria where you can make out the bubble stream
Since then I have been slowly adding small pieces of tuffa rock to the tank, now the amount of tuffa rock has been increased in the tank as has the diy yeast generation, alongside the 2 hagen diy units, i have also set up a 2 litre coke bottle and thats running into the tank also.
The kh has risen by 10ppm and presumably, the amount of dissolved co2 has increased so therefore the buffering is doing it's job by keeping the ph in the required range and stable while allowing a higher co2 content? Therefore using the ph to kh ratio will not give me an accurate measure of co2?
Lets assume the co2 has in fact risen and the tuffa is helping to buffer the ph from crashing then could the resulting carbonic acid be the cause of the (slightly) increased kh while keeping the ratio between kh and ph as signifying low levels of co2?
In other words, would using the relationship between the ph and
the kh to work out the co2 content be more innacurate than usual?
If those wafflings can be followed I would be interested in ideas!
p.s. the wisteria was also throwing out a long stream of o2 bubbles last night which prompted me to wonder about the co2 and kh etc. Here's a pic of the wisteria where you can make out the bubble stream