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CO2, O2, Nitrosomonas, and Nitrobacter



Tom, BC, and Jeffery (who e-mailed me),

Thanks you for the replies. I still have a problem picturing in my mind 
what's actually going on, but I'll take your words for it. It leads me to 
another question.

Okay, picture this: a tank with power filter, NO plants, but somewhat 
overstocked with fish, and completely cycled. SUDDENLY, you're adding CO2, 
the line going *directly* into the intake of the power filter. Now, would 
this affect the biological filtration to the point where you'd see an 
ammonia spike? Remember - still no plants. The "consumption" of the ammonia 
is still only the Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter. Since the CO2 is being 
efficiently diffused into the water by the impellor chopping up the bubbles 
*right before* going through the bio medium (not to mention the localized 
acidity), I see this killing off a good portion of the colonies in the 
filter. I'd also imagine that in time, re-colonization would occur in some 
spot that were chemically "less hostile" to their existence. Or am I wrong 
again, and this would not affect the bacteria in the filter in any way? 
Don't ask about the logic of the scenario and the lack therof. I just want 
to know if a "high" concentration of CO2 would indeed adversely affect 
aerobic bacteria, where they were densely populated.

Thanks for any responses.

-Naomi