[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Potassium Sulfate in Club Soda
I would greatly appreciate some help with a few questions. I have a 20 gallon tank with 80w
(2 chroma-50's, 2 gro-lux), DIY co2 (a little less yeast than usual b/c of the small tank),
flourite with some plant sticks, a powerhead on a quickfilter connected to a spraybar. co2
injection via the powerhead. Medium fish load (2 otos, 1 sm. pl*co, 9 neons, 2 sm.
flagfish). Heavily planted.
I have tried several commercial fertilizers, Aqua flora, Kent's and Flourish. Some of my
plants will bubble, usually the larger specimens in the tank. I did a 25% water change and
after only 5 minutes everything in the tank was putting out a steady stream of bubbles. I
felt like this would be caused by one of 2 main things - not enough co2 or not enough macro
nutrients. I unfortunatly don't have the test kits that I need to see if the macro nutrients
are the cause so I went the other route... I tried to see if the co2 was to blame.
I dumped about 1/2 of a liter of Club Soda into the tank and sure enough, the plants began to
bubble like crazy. I checked the ingredients on the bottle and it is said to contain
carbonated water, potassium bicarbonate and potassium sulfate. This leads me to one of two
possible conclusions: 1) co2 is to blame and 2) the potassium in the club soda is to blame.
This leaves me close to where I began.
What does anyone think about this? Is there enough Potassium in the Club Soda to make a real
difference or do you guys think that it is a lack of co2? Can anyone suggest an other
experiments to try? Is the best bet to get some more test kits? I do have a little bit of
BBA in the tank but it is neither growing nor subsiding very quickly. (which might indicate
something with the phosphate levels).
Thanks for your help,
Chris