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CO2 with hard water?
I am setting up my first planted tank (a 55), and after reading
everything I can find on the subject, I have decided that I'd like
to buy a manual "welding shop" CO2 system. Here in Champaign,
Illinois, the tap water is really hard (according to the local fish
shops) and has a pH well above 7.6 (according to the Aq. Pharm. wet
pH kit). I'd like to grow healthy specimens of the "easy" plants,
and I don't want to use RO water. I hope some of you knowledgeable
people can give me some advice.
As a practical matter, will it be difficult to dissolve enough CO2
in my tank to get good plant growth?
According to the chart, it looks like the CO2 concentration will be
really large if I get the pH down to 6.8 or 7.0. I want to have
healthy S. American fish as well as healthy plants, so should I shoot
for the optimal pH--6.5 to 7.0 and stable--or should I shoot for
the optimal CO2 concentration--10 to 20 ppm--which leaves the pH
somewhat high?
Even if I can inject enough CO2, is the hardness of my water in itself
going to be a problem for (some?) plants?
Are there any plants that are known to do well or to do poorly in
CO2-injected hard water?
Thanks for any and all advice!
John Pitney in Champaign, Illinois, where white puffy clouds are
racing past my window