Oxygen & CO2 Injection....
 

"Ozdude" wrote in message
...

"NetMax" wrote in message
.. .
I hate the idea that new aquarists feel they need to learn how to
inject CO2, remove phosphates, make their own PMDD, engineer new
lighting and master the art of filtration. There *is* all sorts of
interesting fun that you can have, but for newbies?? i) cycle your
tank, ii) familiarize yourself with your water, the species of fish
you will be adding and how they relate to their tank mates, iii) meet
their requirements as they grow. After that you can go down any of
the specialty roads, or stay right where you are and still enjoy the
hobby (jmho).

Agreed. I had this sort of realisation yesterday whilst doing a water
change on my current tank.

I am interested in *what* could cause a problem, but then realised if
it ain't broke don't fix it applies.

If anything after reading in here and reading your web site (which is a
jewel btw;) I am starting to think my tank is actually suffering old
tank syndrome, as the I remembered that the gravel was given to me by a
friend who doesn't use filtration and doesn't do water changes, and I
didn't wash it all that well (in ignorance - seeing it had come out of
an aqauraium in the first place). I then placed a 1 cm layer of brand
new washed gravel over it later on, but it's all pointing towards OTS
and I have this group to thank for knowledge.

However, I do believe that getting to know your water and correcting
any glaring things which may cause fish stress or death is the first
step and all the other stuff is basically optional.

Could you know too much I wonder?

heh heh, when I was in project mgmt, I worked with a guy who designed
computer chips, and he said that I knew enough to be dangerous (which I
understood, was not exactly a compliment ;~).

All this talk about testing water, I pulled out my water log and hadn't
made an entry since 2003, so I went and checked. Fortunately my nitrates
were at 10ppm and everything else was normal. I think you can actual see
*some* bad water results reflected in your fish's behaviour, but it's not
a subject I'm about to talk about, too dangerous.
--
www.NetMax.tk

Keep it simple in 2005! :)

Oz

NetMax wrote:

Always happy to help new hobbyists, but I think your Borellii
pictures
expose you as a more experienced hobbyist ;~) (nice pics BTW).

Thank you. I have been keeping fish off and on since 1968, and I've
learned a little along the way. My first forays were "pet store" tries
only though. Later, I _was_ in the house when some jewel cichlids laid
eggs several times, (meaning it was none of my doing) but I couldn't
get the fry past about two weeks. So this time I wanted to set up my
tanks to support a cichlid pair and raise the fry. I have read ALOT
these past few months. Thanks to you, Apisto Dave, Tom B, Don Z, Neil,
fishaholics, and the krib, to name just a few, I've not made too many
mistakes and the babies are truly a remarkable reward for me.

The specs you supplied are tap or tank? To do this properly, they
should
be tap after aging for a day. Presuming that this is so, then your
buffer is about 1.6dkH which is very low. This makes your water both
pH
unstable, but also very malleable if you wanted to change the pH.
Looking at your hardness 2.8dgH (very soft), your water source is
probably a river through municipal supply. Your 7.4pH might be
natural,
or the effects of the treatment plant might be faded (you might be
living
far from the plant, or in a old neighborhood with rusty pipes). Your
NO3
level is perfectly normal, so tank is either properly maintained, or
low
fish load, or lots of plants soaking up the nitrates.

Wow, you done good. The 7.4 is my tap water aged, and also within
about .2 of my tanks, which are all only 2 months old. Our water
source here is from a huge natural resevoir (stream fed lake) in the
Cascade mountains. I got the water parameters from the Utilities dept.
and was floored to see they treat it to ph 8.5! And you also guessed
right; I'm in an old neighborhood far from the treatment plant.


For the purposes of plant growth, CO2 injection will be very
effective
(possibly over-effective, watch your pH carefully, especially at
night).
As it is a 55g (the more water you have, the slower it will react),
this
will act in your favour to absorb pH peaks.

If the CO2 is to effect a lower pH, I wouldn't do it. A natural pH
of
7.4 is not worth changing for anybody. If for plants, the danger is
pH
crash due to low buffer. Prowl around the r.a.f.p. newsgroup to see
what
they are recommending to counteract this. An electronic pH probe
coupled
to a CO2 tank is one solution. I've heard that some tannins have a
buffering effect. Baking soda will boost kH to help maintain your pH

(but don't use it to increase pH). A small DIY setup will probably
give
you the plant boost without driving your pH too low if you are up on
your
maintenance and boost the kH a tiny bit (crushed coral in your
filters?).

I've got a little (~1 cup) of crushed corral mixed in the gravel now.
It's been in the gravel for many years. I should probably add a little
more for swing protection, eh? One plant source says;

"This relationship (pH/KH/C02) will break down at extremely low KH
levels (below 1 degree), when there isn't enough carbonate to
completely buffer the acids present. In that case, the pH can drop
quickly and dramatically. But if the KH is 1 degree or higher, then the
size of the pH swing when injecting CO2 will be determined only by the
amount of CO2 dissolved in the water."

I just recieved my regulator and diffuser last night, I'll pick up a
bottle this weekend. I'm going to go at it slowly and try about 15ppm
CO2 at first, see if I can maintain that and monitor the ph.

Thanks again for your insight and advice. It always helps to get a bit
of a sanity check from someone who's further along the curve.

steve

"NetMax" wrote in message
...

I guess you should have it by now. I hope it's working out well.

Well, they are all moved over to the new tank, ravinous, Ammonia 0, Nitrate
0 and Nirate 0.

I will wait for any spikes now and cycle the tank before I do anything else
(the patience), which will be okay because it will give may wallet a rest
and time to do the lighting modding and get the background painted.

Time to watch to plants growing as well ;)

Oz