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[APD] CO2: How Much Is Too Much?
I recently replaced my 30-gallon tank with a 50-gallon tank. When the
initial bits of algae had disappeared, I decided it looked good enough to
take some new pictures for my web site. I didn't like the looks of the
bright yellow pH probe sticking down into the tank, so I pulled it up out of
the way. Most of the pictures turned out O.K., and you can see them if you
wish at www.fitchfamily.com/aquarium.html.
BUT, when I was done taking pictures, I forgot (well, I'm 79) to push the
probe back down into the tank. And so to bed. When I sat down to breakfast
the next morning, I noticed that some of the fish were up at the surface.
Then I realized the pH probe tip was probably completely out of the water
and measuring the pH of who knows what. I looked at the controller and saw
that the pH had dropped overnight from 6.7 down to 5.9! So, all night the
probe was telling the controller that the pH was above 6.7 and to keep
pumping in CO2.
A pH value of 5.9 is off the chart and the table I have, so I used the
formula:
CO2 = 3.0 * KH * 10^(7.00-pH). If I did the math correctly, that means
that, with a KH of 5, the CO2 concentration was about 189 ppm! I think I've
read that anything over 40 ppm can be lethal to fish. As fast as I could, I
siphoned out water at one end and pumped in water at the other. It took
hours to get the pH back up where it belonged. Meanwhile, some of the fish
were doing barrel rolls and otherwise behaving rather poorly.
Well, the upshot was that I lost four Neon and/or Cardinal Tetras and one
Harlequin Rasbora. But, to my amazement, the other 15 or so Neons and
Cardinals, the one other Rasbora, the Clown Pleco, the Albino Cory, and many
Amano and Cherry Shrimp seemed completely unaffected -- not even swimming up
the surface. And, now, a week later, they're still apparently as healthy as
ever.
John T. Fitch
www.fitchfamily.com/aquarium.html
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