[APD] Re: Co2 tubing and Light.... Whew!!!

[Airwreck <Airwreck at airwreck_com>]

> Greetings, "New kid on the block..." [Have a real name?]
>
> Glad to see someone who does not mind doing some homework.


yeah I do have a real name....and if you say the ID real fast out loud 
you'll get the real name...Just a very unique way of spelling it...

I do this to keep a layer of privacy on the net...


> >
> > Hi
> >
> > New kid on the block...
> >
> > two questions... I was catching up on this Co2 thing and tubing.. so 
> what's
> > this big deal about co2 resistant tubing??? and why the concern???
>
> Vinyl tubing, as used for regular airline has plasticizers that will
> interact with the CO2 with potentially undesirable consequences. Even if
> those don't add stuff you don't want to the aquarium, the erosion
> eventually hardens the tubing and may make it stiff and brittle over a
> long period of time. [I've never seen that, but it has been reported, I
> think.]
>
> Silicone tubing has long been used in hospitals as it has less
> interactive chemistry, so is suitable for even oxygen as well as CO2
> lines. Unfortunately, it is more rubbery and stretchy, so must be
> attached to bayonet fittings with a wire tie, or it may blow off at
> pretty low pressures. It also makes distant needle valves tough to
> adjust, as the (slight) balloon must change size before the bubble rate
> changes. It is also pretty damned expensive!
>
> I think some semi-rigid tubing, like Clippard's and refrigerator
> ice-maker line (polyethylene?) may be better for CO2 than vinyl, and way
> cheaper than silicone.

Growing up in a medical family I have used every form of tubing.. and it 
all hardens over time... just chalked that up to age.. as to the presure 
problem never really had a problem even when using my air compressor to 
drive all my tanks..Just used a regulator to drop the line pressure





> >
> > the second is... does anybody have an answer to this
> >
> > I have been reading a lot about illumination and getting al kinds of info
> > lux, lumens,  PAR.
> > doesn't anybody have a standard metering scale???
> > when some one say Low light level or high light level... How many
> > foot-candles is that???
>
> Doesn't matter much to the plants as foot-candles are based on the least
> useful spectrum for them, the human eye's response. Plants reflect away
> much of the green, which is weighted heavily, and need light in the red
> and blue that are given only about 10% weight in foot-candles.
Hummm... On this issue I disagree with you foot-candles are not based on a 
certain part of the spectrum falling on a surface.. but the amount of 
electromagnetic radiation falling on a square foot of surface... granted 
this measurement is based on a very old concept.. but any good quality 
light meter measures a broad spectrum for the photographer..and IMHO  I 
have been doing photography for over 30 yrs..and have worked in both ends 
of the spectrum UV and IR photography.. recording outside the visible 
spectrum..and many of the B&W films we use are more blue sensitive then 
red..the meter gives us a starting point... which is what I am after with 
the light illumination of the plants

As to this lighting paradigm everyone is working from a system that only 
uses manufactured light... and this doesn't take into consideration that 
some folks like me use only Natural light... and so when you say the a 
figure of watts per gal.. well then I come back to my same question.. how 
many watts does the sun make at morning, noon and evening.. so I will still 
search the archives for an answer.. but I suspect that no one has ever done 
the testing to say that Rotala wallichii needs X amount of foot-candles for 
proper growth and Cryptocoryne beckettii  needs X amount of foot-candles..

I guess I need to add that I am in a perfect growing environment, I live on 
a tropical island...and many of the tanks here get only natural light. and 
I am trying to cultivate many of the plants that I have...since we suffer a 
balmy 80* year round.. :-) and get 300 days a year of full sun...so as a 
result of this environment I am trying to establish a growing situation 
where each species gets exactly what it needs..  If Rotala wallichii needs 
an avg of 7000 foot-candles per day to thrive.. then I can adjust the 
growing environment.

as to the aquatic gardener unless there is a search engine that I can not 
find.. the site is pretty useless.. since there is no clue as to what any 
of the articles information incudes..


> Plants have an action growth spectrum that is different for different
> plants, but chlorophyl A and B tend to give most of them big humps in
> the red and blue ends of the spectrum, so even a flat-spectrum standard,
> like PAR isn't too accurate for predicting growth potential.
>
> Once you get it right, and get them enough of the light and other
> nutrients they like, what do they do? Some have the audacity to turn
> bright red, which would indicate they don't want what you just paid so
> much money to provide them!

Now you have me puzzled... Some of the plants that are thriving and growing 
greats guns.. are giving me intense red color ... just as I thought they 
were supposed to do...and what the folks at Tropica said they would 
do...aww geee

but then what do I know I'm just a transplanted Okie as my wife calls me.. 
and adds... you dono nothing... GRIN...

Thanks for all your help guys.. it is really appreciated




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