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Re: Aquatic Plants Digest V2 #798
>Date: Thu, 26 Jun 97 20:29:44 -0700
>From: gomberg at wcf_com
>Subject: Re: Aquatic Plants Digest V2 #797
>On 06/26/97 at 03:48 p, Bill (Aquatic Plants Digest) said:
>Can anyone tell me how long a 10# CO2 cylinder should last of I'm
>bubbling 2 bubbles/sec. on a continous basis?
>More than you wanted to know: The molecular weight of CO2 is 44
>(close enough) and there are 22L in a mole, so CO2 weighs 2g/L
>(close enough). So 10# is 4540 g or 2270 L (close enough). There
>are 16 bubbles to the 1/4t on my setup, or 64 bubbles per t or 400
>bubbles per oz or 14K bubbles per L. So a 10# tank makes
>30Megabubbles. Now at 2/sec, you have 7K/hr=170K/day. 6days/meg=180
>days/tank. 6 months per tank. Wasn't that easy?
>1 bubble/sec=10# per year
Thank You for the COMPLETE answer I loved it!
I quess I got a leak somewhere- my tank is only lasting 1.5 months!
Furthermore:
>Date: Thu, 26 Jun 1997 19:57:48 -0400 (EDT)
>From: HPach at aol_com
>Subject: Substrate
>I have decided to make a substrate of the following for an 80
>galtank:
>from bottom up:
>1. 1" layer of potting soil
>2. Layer of Red Art Clay
>3. 3" #3 gravel.
> If anyone has any experience with potting soil or Red Art Clay,
>please criticize, suggest, correct, or say whatever you wish.
>Is the Red Art Clay a good substitute for laterite?
>Should the clay be mixed together with the potting soil, or is it
>better as a separate layer?
>All help appreciated; e-mail or post on NG
>Harold
>HPach at aol_com
Harold:
I setup a 70 gal tank with 2 inches of topsoil/vermiculite and 2-3
inches of silica sand on top.
The plants grew like mad!, and loved the soil. The roots would follow
any soil vein down to the soil layer ever chance they could. Root
systems were incredible!
But: The soil went "bad" in three months. That is it really started
bubbling and began to smell. The smell of the tank was only slighthly
unpleasant, but when I torn down the tank itself the layer was pretty
smelly. The water column was only slightly cloudy but you could see it.
I did not have any substrate heating and the silica sand really held the
gas in until it formed large bubbles. Gravel and heating may release the
gas on more regular basis and not allow it build up into large bubbles.
I have since switched to traditional laterite/gravel substrate but I
feel this substrate should be revisited. I suggest this because of the
plant growth, My growth has slowed considerably(not all bad either)
since switching.
The silioca sand seal may have been the problem since it really trapped
the gas. The gas itself may not be a problem as several people have
suggested on the list. I say give it a try but go slow and watch for
problems. Check the substrate regularlly for gas buildup.
I documented the setup of this tank on my webpages at:
Look for the planted tank link.
Keep us informed!
Bill Ruff
Title: "Bill Ruff"
Bill Ruff's Computational Science Homepage
send mail to:bruff at lcse_umn.edu
