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More on Profile



I got a phosphate test kit today and did some testing on my tanks as
well as the Profile itself. I put a small amount of Profile in a test
tube with some water, waited an hour an the water tested at about 2.5
ppm phosphate. The nitrates tested off the scale as usual. The 20 gallon
tank with 100% Profile substrate was only about .5 ppm phosphate and the
90 gallon tank with about 10% Profile is pretty normal. The nitrate is
completely gone now from the 20 gallon tank not even a trace remains but
the pH anomaly remains.The nitrate content of this material is much more
significant than the phosphate content I guess but the phosphate is more
persistant. I figure this is not enough phosphate to so radically alter
the pH though. I tested the GH of the 20 gallon tank and it is almost
the same as my tap water but the KH has dropped again from 4.5 to 2.5 I
still have no explaination as to why the Profile alters the pH so much.
For instance, if I measure the pH of the 20 gallon tank the pH is 7.4
and the KH is 2.5, but when I shake the pH test tube to drive off CO2
the color changes and eventually stablizes at 6.8 For the 90 gallon tank
the pH measures 6.8 regardless of how much CO2 I inject or how much I
shake that test tube even though the KH is 4.5. The only tank I have
with no Profile is quite normal, The KH is 4.5 but the pH is 7.4 without
CO2 as expected and 6.8 with CO2.

The only consistant thing is that the KH disappears at first and then
the pH reads too low for the measured KH. Could it be that there is
actually no carbonate in the tank at all and the KH kit is reading some
other anion? Could it be that injecting CO2 has little effect as it is
reacting with something in the Profile instead of lowering the pH making
it impossible to retain disolved CO2 in the water column.

Stem plants such as L. sessiflora and H. Polysperma are growing fine.
Sword plants like E. tenelus and E. parvi (can't remember the exact
name) are dying.

Anyway this my last attempt to understand the situation. I have the Onyx
sand to play with now. I will save the Profile and put it in a basin
outside to be washed by my down spout. Maybe in 6 months or so it will
be usable in a planted tank.

Wayne