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Re: CO2 and anabantoids




I found this discussion very interesting.  I'm not a physicist either and I 
hope some physicist will step in and enlighten us all.  But after reading 
some of the arguments, I went back to a physics text book (actually, the 
Feynman lectures) and did some digging.  I think, if I interpreted what I 
read correctly, there would not be distinct layers of CO2 and air in the 
closed container due to the difference in molecular weights.  What happens 
is that there will be a gradient, more of the heavier gas at the bottom, 
more of the lighter gas at the top.  The slope of this gradient depends on 
the temperature.

My personal belief is that at room temperature, and especially at the 
elevated temperature found at the top of the tank (due to the lights), this 
gradient is very small, i.e., the gases will pretty much mix 
uniformly.  And if there is any leak at all in the seal, the CO2 will 
readily escape.

Hoa

___________________________________________________________________________
Hoa G. Nguyen
Freshwater Planted Aquarium: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Hills/2637/