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RE: [APD] To pearl or not to pearl...



Bob Zink asked:

"Well, I'm still confused. I wonder if my increased photosynthesis is solely
attributable to the presence of dissolved CO2."

Fill a shallow bowl with freshly drawn tap water.  Test the pH.  Allow to
stand overnight to 24 hours, and then retest pH.  If the pH increased with
standing, most of that is in response to the loss of dissolved CO2 as the
bowl equilibrated with the overlying air.  If you check the KH of the sample
and your pH test is fairly accurate, you can calculate the amount of CO2
needed to provide the pH suppression seen in the freshly drawn water by use
of the KH/pH charts.

And asked:

"Is there a mechanism whereby the Carbon (or maybe some other element?) from
the minerals in the water is being utilized to directly or indirectly
stimulate the growth process?"

Some plants but not all can utilize bicarbonate and split out the carbon
from that.  Vallisneria is one of the most familiar plants with that path
available.

Robert



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