Re: [APD] CO2 and Planted Rift lake tanks

[Vaughn Hopkins <hoppycalif at yahoo_com>]

Liz, the 1.0 pH drop only works to arrive at 30 ppm of CO2 if you  
know that the "degassed" water contains 3 ppm of CO2, and there is no  
way to know that.  If you let tank water sit in the open long enough  
the amount of CO2 in that water will end up well below 3 ppm, and the  
1.0 drop you arrive at will mean much less than 30 ppm.  I have done  
some experimenting with that method, and found that it took at least  
48 hours for the pH of the degassing water to stabilize.  The drop  
checker remains the only relatively accurate way to measure the CO2  
in the water.  It is cheap, easy to use, and accurate.

Vaughn

On Apr 9, 2007, at 12:34 PM, Liz Wilhite wrote:

> On 4/9/07, Jerry Smith <jerrytheplater at hotmail_com> wrote:
>>
>> I have been reading past posts in the Archives about African  
>> planted tanks
>> and see there are some that used CO2 in them. Is anyone currently  
>> keeping
>> a
>> planted rift tank and using CO2? I would like to hear how you are  
>> doing
>> with
>> it now, tank parameters, fish, plants, lights, CO2, pH, etc.
>
>
> Easy to do.  Set up the tank with Rift Lake Salts or your favorite
> substitute.  Inject CO2 to drop the pH by one unit and you have a  
> tank that
> is alkaline and contains 30 ppm CO2.  I have shellies in such a tank.
>
> Adding a known quantity of CO2 is a piece of cake if you ignore the  
> chart.
> What you are looking for is the change of pH caused by dissolving CO2.
> Dropping the pH by 1 unit gives you the desired concentration.  You  
> don't
> need a drop checker, either.
>
> I never really thought about the formula from which the charts are  
> derived
> until I read Rex Grigg's site where he mentions that 1 unit drop.   
> Duh.
>
> -- 
> Liz
> _______________________________________________
> Aquatic-Plants mailing list
> Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com
> http://www.actwin.com/mailman/listinfo/aquatic-plants

_______________________________________________
Aquatic-Plants mailing list
Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com
http://www.actwin.com/mailman/listinfo/aquatic-plants