I am wondering if i may have been injecting too much CO2. Although fishes have been OK, plant growth is not what i anticipated in this new tank with ADA Amazonia.
I am using Needle Wheel to inject CO2 into my sump pump. the 180g tank, sump and co2 system are all new and only in operation for 60 days. After the CO2 tank depleted (too quickly) i started to wonder if my bubble rate may have been too high. So with new CO2 tank, i cranked down the bubble rate. It is now a few bubbles per second. Before it was too fast to even count. I set that bubble count to lower the pH to 5.9 to 6.0 which the chart suggested was the level to achieve 30ppm. Old pH in sump was 5.9, new pH is 6.3. Tank pH is lower, so use the change as a relative indicator of less dissolved CO2. (without any CO2, I think the sump pH reaches 6.6).
I checked the Barrreport archives on mist, and there is discussion that pH may not be a good indicator of available CO2 . There is also suggestion that the mist may no longer be CO2 and it has all dissolved on or before it hits the tank water (we may be looking at O2 or Nitrogen gas)
Although too soon to be sure, it seems that the plants are pearling more with less CO2!
My question is: Although i might not have been provding too much CO2 to adversely affect the fish, could it be too much for the plants. One of my plants in particular has not be growing well since its introduction into the new quarters -- Echinodorus horemanii -- several specimens of it. I have been keeping this speciies for 15 years, and these clones almost stopped growing in the new tank. During the first week, the leaves became chlorotic (transparent). I played with tank chemistry and over the past 60 days, they have slowly started to take off. With the lower CO2 bubble rate thru the Needle wheel pump, their leaves are covered with O2 bubbles! I initially suspected a response to the Amazonia's acid substrate . Now i am thinking that the high CO2 rate may be the culprit.
Tom and others, WDYT? Please provide comments and experiences with mist CO2, or point me to other discussion on the BarrReport. Thanks! Neil
I am using Needle Wheel to inject CO2 into my sump pump. the 180g tank, sump and co2 system are all new and only in operation for 60 days. After the CO2 tank depleted (too quickly) i started to wonder if my bubble rate may have been too high. So with new CO2 tank, i cranked down the bubble rate. It is now a few bubbles per second. Before it was too fast to even count. I set that bubble count to lower the pH to 5.9 to 6.0 which the chart suggested was the level to achieve 30ppm. Old pH in sump was 5.9, new pH is 6.3. Tank pH is lower, so use the change as a relative indicator of less dissolved CO2. (without any CO2, I think the sump pH reaches 6.6).
I checked the Barrreport archives on mist, and there is discussion that pH may not be a good indicator of available CO2 . There is also suggestion that the mist may no longer be CO2 and it has all dissolved on or before it hits the tank water (we may be looking at O2 or Nitrogen gas)
Although too soon to be sure, it seems that the plants are pearling more with less CO2!
My question is: Although i might not have been provding too much CO2 to adversely affect the fish, could it be too much for the plants. One of my plants in particular has not be growing well since its introduction into the new quarters -- Echinodorus horemanii -- several specimens of it. I have been keeping this speciies for 15 years, and these clones almost stopped growing in the new tank. During the first week, the leaves became chlorotic (transparent). I played with tank chemistry and over the past 60 days, they have slowly started to take off. With the lower CO2 bubble rate thru the Needle wheel pump, their leaves are covered with O2 bubbles! I initially suspected a response to the Amazonia's acid substrate . Now i am thinking that the high CO2 rate may be the culprit.
Tom and others, WDYT? Please provide comments and experiences with mist CO2, or point me to other discussion on the BarrReport. Thanks! Neil