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Re: [APD] CO2 angst



Stay away from that pillory!!

I don't do any testing either, for the same reasons.  But, CO2 is  
different, because if you overdose by too much the fish die.  I have  
done it.  I have also run into BBA and  plant growth problems, all  
the while absolutely convinced that when I jacked up the CO2 I saw  
signs of fish distress, so I backed off.   I just can't eyeball the  
CO2 and get it anywhere right.

The little "drop tester" is not using a test kit, except for the KH  
kit you need to set the KH of the reference water in it.  After that  
you just glance at it in the tank once in awhile and see if it is  
green, then look to see what the fish are doing.  When I first  
installed it, I was also in the process of increasing CO2 bubble  
rate, being disgusted with the BBA problems.  I apparently went too  
far, but didn't know it until the drop tester fluid was  yellow - 
meaning around 70 ppm of CO2.  I figured it was another false alarm,  
but when I looked at the fish, every last one was at the surface,  
obviously having troubles.  If I had not had the "drop tester" I  
would have backed way back down on the CO2 and forever been afraid to  
try that again.  Instead, I shut off the CO2 and lights, backed off  
slightly on the needle valve, then watched more carefully the next  
day, and had green all day.  Now I have KH=5 water in it and am  
running green again, but at 40 ppm of CO2 with no fish problems at  
all.  And, not a sign of new BBA anywhere yet.

I still don't know my tank water KH, pH, GH, NO2, NO3, ammonia, Fe,  
etc., nor do I care to know them.

Vaughn H.

On Oct 20, 2006, at 3:38 PM, Liz Wilhite wrote:

>
>
> What you wrote is the exact reason it is a bad idea to get all  
> twisted up
> about whatever your CO2 numbers might be from any method of  
> testing. As long
> as I ignored every test kit on the market, dosed the tank, did  
> water changes
> and didn't do any tests at all, I had great plant growth and  
> healthy fish.
> It was only when I decided to "double check" by testing that I got  
> into
> trouble.
>
> Any idiot -- even me! -- can see if plants are growing and thriving  
> or if
> algae is growing and thriving. Not every idiot -- me for example --  
> can get
> the results one is supposed to get from consumer grade test kits and,
> frankly, I don't really want to take out a second mortgage to buy  
> real test
> kits.  I'd rather spend that money on another tank!
>
> If algae is growing and plants are not there is a problem.  In the  
> archives
> there is a pretty good post -- I think it was from Tom -- giving  
> different
> types of algae and what the likely missing ingredient is if a  
> particular
> type of algae is growing.  That helped me solve the problems I  
> created by
> testing.
>
> I'm all for people testing and/or doing whatever makes them happy  
> with their
> tanks.  That said, there is no way I'd suggest to anyone getting  
> started
> with a first planted tank that they should use test kits -- my own
> experience and the commentary I read here leads me to conclude that  
> a person
> is more likely to be successful just doing EI or some other simple  
> scheme
> and ignoring "the numbers."  While I'm pretty sure that you can  
> overdose a
> tank by dumping in a pound of KNO3 or loosening the valve on the CO2
> canister until you are performing an experiment in jet propulsion,  
> it seems
> to be to be pretty darned difficult for a reasonable sighted person to
> overdose a tank filled with plants.
>
> I'll be a good netizen by going over and getting into the pillory  
> now.  I'm
> sure Scott will agree to lock me in, or lock me up as the case may  
> be.  :)
>
> Liz
> _______________________________________________
> Aquatic-Plants mailing list
> Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com
> http://www.actwin.com/mailman/listinfo/aquatic-plants

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