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[APD] Diatom filter and Haze (resolved?)
Alright, I gave up on the haze and finally broke out the diatom filter.
I recall sometime back people talking about these things saying they
might raise the pH because they'll extract CO2 from the water. I wanted
to find out for myself if it was true or not, so before I started it up
I took a pH reading which was 6.8 (I have KH6). That leaves my CO2 at
about 28ppm. I ran the diatom all night, from 4-8 pm when after the
water was clear I took another reading. pH this time was still 6.8.
The other thing I noticed about this process is, its a closed system.
Whatever CO2 is removed from the water is put right back in, either by
the diatom kind of 'burping' a fine mist back into the tank (which
subsequently dissolves quite quickly), or just by the fact that the CO2
held up in the diatom jar actual re-dissolves and goes back into the
aquarium. I don't know, either way I won't worry about using this thing
in the future (which hopefully I won't have to).
Another thing I wanted to mention was that I bought another Nitrate kit
to measure with more accurately. It seems my other test was quite
inaccurate. The nitrate level is actually closer to 40ppm! I stopped
dosing for two days to see if it would come down on its own and it seems
it hasn't, or at least it has only come down a small amount. Another
water change Friday will hopefully remedy this, resetting everything.
I'm not sure, but I would have to say this could easily be contributing
to an ongoing, but mild, bloom in the tank...no? Also, could this
really high level be contributing to the strange signals my plants were
giving (very lightly colored, almost translucent and quite wavy tissue)?
So, for the moment at least, the haze is at bay and I'll be resetting
everything this week. I'll also have to re-evaluate the dosing...
Thanks to George, Scott and Jerry for their help and comments.
-Dave
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