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Re: measuring CO2
Sharon S.,
The great thing about the internet is the amount of information that is
available on it. The worst thing about the internet is the amount of
information that is on it. "Carbonate hardness (KH) is the measure of
bicarbonate (HCO3-) and carbonate (CO3--) ions in the water." (from my very
favorite article on water chemistry, at
http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/CO2/khgh.html. Adding baking soda to your tank
to adjust the KH does not throw off the KH/pH/CO2 chart, because the KH
reading changes to reflect the change in the chemistry of your tank. Adding
phosphate buffers can, although at very low levels (such as using KH2PO4 to
add P to the tank) the amount it will throw off the chart is less than the
uncertainty due to how accurate your KH and pH test kits are.
My water here outside of Portland, OR is similar to yours. I add baking soda
to get it up to around 4-5.5 KH. This will raise the pH (given the same
amount of CO2) and give you a little more buffer in case of CO2 fluctuation.
-rs
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