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RE: CO2 Reactor & some other newbie stuff

Date: Sun, 28 Nov 1999 16:01:52 EST
From: MattJasper at aol_com
Subject: CO2 Reactor & some other newbie stuff

Hi again,
I have made the changes to my setup as you advised. However I sort 
of...already have some of the fish (Blue gouramis, Gold gourami, Catfishes, 
Rams - sold, inetrestingly enough, as "German Rams" although they look like 
Papilochromis ramirezi to me.), and nowhere else to put them except in this 
tank. Will this do them any harm? I notice ALREADY some spots of intense 
green algae growing on plant roots and the gravel which the cories soon put 
paid to. (Seem much more active since I moved them out of their 6-gall 
"Trailer tent"). I have purchased a 5-in-one water test kit (NO2, NO3, GH,
KH 
and PH) the like of which I have never seen before. Sure is convenient 
though, 1 minute and you know those 5 readings. It seems to indicate that I 
have almost no KH (Under 3 degrees) - that can't be right surely? GH is 7-14

degrees - pretty normal according to the leaflet. I have, as a precaution, 
and because the PH was about 6.8 - too low for my liking - put 1/2 tsp of 
Sodium Bicarbonate into the tank to hopefully raise KH and pH at the same 
time. Although it's interesting to note that I have ALWAYS had probelms with

low pH in my fish tanks, but this is the first time I have tested for KH.
For my CO2 reactor, I have a 4-inch diameter, 1.5-inch deep plastic bowl 
which I stuck using White-Tak upside down to one of the glass strips that
run 
across the top of my tank. I then positioned the CO2 outlet inside this, 
allowing the atmosphere to become saturated with CO2. I figured this would 
then diffuse into the water. Do you reckon that'll work?
Finally, can you help me to identify a plant? It is floating, has 2-3" 
toothed light green leaves and is rosette-like in form. The roots are 
thread-like and hang straight down. The people in the shop had no idea and I

have not been able to find it in any plant books.
Many thanks in advance,
Matt

Matt

I assume the test kit is by Esha. These are great for the convenience but
(having used them for a while) I use them just as a guideline. 
This sounds like a contradiction but basically because of there ease of use
they do have a function in my housekeeping. For water hardness and PH I do
tend to use specific kit's simply because I have noticed a difference.
German Ram's just means that they have been bred in Germany. We seem to do
this a lot in the UK. I have some and they seem to be more resilient than
normal Ram's although they might not like the addition of Sodium
Bicarbonate.

Cheers
Glen