How much Co2 is enuf...how to measure them?

[MikeKoh]

How do I know how much CO2 is enuf...and how to measure them?

For lightning.... is 4WPG too much? I have a 6x2x2 tank which is about 600L... does it mean I should have about 600W!!

[nbk3]

"Ideal" and "Practical" are never the same [] its up to you whether you want 600Ws of lights FL , PL , MH , HL, ur choice []
Cost vs Luminesence , i'll go with PL and of course a E ballast is a must nowadays

[chua]

You have to measure the PH and KH of your tank. After obtaining these values, do a calculation to obtain the CO2 in ppm. It should be between 20-30ppm.

The calculation can be found by doing a simple search on the top right hand side. Search for maybe CO2 level, KH, PH ....

[tawauboy]

how much light you'll need depends on the type of plants you want to keep. as a guide, low light plants will about 2wpg while high light plants need <3wpg. your tank is about 170 us gallon so you could be looking at about 400-500w of lighting.

check out chuck's website to work out the co2 requirement through ph/kh relationship.

[bttay]

I am a little bit confused on how much CO2 is good.
Some websites/books say 20-30ppm, some say 10-15ppm.

My tank has a consistent pH of 5.5 and KH 4dCH. No other chemical was added that affects the pH and KH beside CO2 injection. So according to Chuck's calculation (so as other charts), I should have a CO2 of 300+ ppm which is going to kill fish. But my fish remain healthy at the same time, plants are growing well.

[PeterGwee]

What substrate are you using by the way? pH measured by test kit or test pen?

[MikeKoh]

i hv a PH test pen....is there a chemical test to test the amount of oxygen and CO2 in the water? I have 6 pieces of 5inch arowana in my 6x2x2 tank. If it is planted with only hairgrass and gloso... will the oxygen produced during the day sifficient for the fish to last during the night? I want to test also if I am putting in enuf CO2 and not too much to affect the fish.

Help.

[vinz]

Mike,

For CO2, read this article by Chuck Gadd. In short, you need to know your pH and KH. Normally we aim for about 4 to 6 dKH and then adjust the CO2 injection until we get the desired pH for the CO2 ppm we want. The recommended levels of CO2 is 20 to 30ppm. Use baking soda (NOT baking powder) to raise KH. There is a post about raising KH in the Aquatic FAQ.

There are test kits for CO2... usually sold as semi-permanent (have to reset the liquid every 2 weeks or so) in-tank indicators. Personally, I do not trust these kits... besides their optimum may not be our optimum.

As for O2, I think I have seen the kits before. Don't think the are useful. If you can get your plants to pearl, you should have enough O2 for the night. Check the fishes in the morning... if they are not gasping at the surface, it's ok. If they are, install an aerator on timer, set opposite to the might timing.

[MikeKoh]

I have Coral chip in my sump tank to buffer as well as to raise the PH... I am afraid this may affect the reading... or I can just take the coral chip into account. My PH reading now is 7.3. Have not measured my KH before.... think I will get the test kit and measure tonight.

You are welcome for the longan.... my wife thought they were pretty fresh. Say, when are you free to meet up for coffee and share the idea we talked about before I left your house?

[MikeKoh]

Where do you get the baking soda..? 7-11? Which brand?

Should I continue to use coral chips for planted tank...?

Current I have this big ceramic disk for bubbling in the tank. My Ammonia is lowest(in the color scale reading), Nitrite is lowest and nitrate also lowest due to frequent water change. Temperature at 29-30 degrees. However, the fishes are swimming at the surface surrounding the bubbled surface... to me this looks like not enuf oxygen or they just like to swim this way whenever there is bubbling surface. I am not so worried in the day when the plants photosynthesis... but more at night when the lights are out. I think I will introduce a small water pump just below the surface to break the water surface for air exchange

[vinz]

Coral will raise KH a bit, so you need not dose baking soda if you are still using coral chips in your tank.

You can get baking soda from anywhere you can get baking materials. I.e. super markets, neighbourhood grocers, etc.

Some ppl use coral chips in their planted tanks to provide calcium and magnesium. However, regular (at least once every 2 weeks) water change is required to maintain the GH and KH levels, as they will rise over time as the coral dissolves.

The ceramic diffusor, in my opinion is not good enough for a large tank. Even Amano recommends at least 2 large diffusors in any tank 4ft or larger, located at different parts of the tank.

Your fish might just be curious. If they are not gasping heavily and gulping air then they should be ok. Have you check them in the morning... if they are unusually lethargic and gasping heavily then get worried.

The air pump, put deeper. Give the bubbles maximum time in the water so that it maximises the dissolution of O2 into the water.

[MikeKoh]

I just bought sera KH test kit... i measured my water KH to zero! My PH is 7.3 (test pen). My tap water PH is 7.8.

What is going on....? Potential problem in my water parameter?

I got 2-3 fistful of coral chip in my sump tank.

[MikeKoh]

For a 6 foot tank.... how many bubbles per second must I use? Consider also that the water flow is very strong.

[vinz]

I just figure out my you have such low KH... you told me you were changing water quite often, right? In that case the frequent water change will pretty much remove any KH added by the coral chips... I haven't used them before, but I believe they are quite slow.

Don't use bps to guage your CO2... anyway for a large tank its too fast to read.

Stop the frequent water change... do it once a week at most. Personally, I'd get rid of the coral chips. Use baking soda, raise the KH to about 4 to 6 and adjust the CO2 up or down until you get the desired pH (you read Chuck Gadd's aricle right?). Look in AQ's Aquatic FAQ forum for a thread about using baking soda.

I forgot to mention earlier, most supermarkets only have the tiny container of baking soda. Some of the LFS sell them in bigger packages and someone just told me somewhere to find the big packets... I have to go and ask.

[tawauboy]

go to bakery supplies store.
they sell bigger quantities of baking soda for a lower price.

[bttay]

Yea, I got half a kg for only $1.98 from a bakery supply shop.
It is labelled "Baking Soda, Sodium Bicarbonate"

[MikeKoh]

I was looking at Sera KH Pond... the content is Potassium Bicarbonate. Can this do instead of Baking soda which is sodium bicarbonate?

[MikeKoh]

Ok, if I want to adjust the KH using baking soda, how much do I add at a time so as not to swing the KH up too fast?

[PeterGwee]

Sure...if you have money to burn that is.

[tawauboy]

try not to increase kh by more than 2 degrees in 24hrs.
the is a thread on this in the faq section