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Wow PtarmiganUK! You're like a dog with a bone......you don't let go. :D Seriously though, I think you raise some excellent points. I couldn't disagree with your point about test kits. They aren't always accurate, although it is my understanding that KH kits are generally amongst the most...

You've obviously put a lot of thought in to this and I think it's an interesting topic. Taking a jar of tank water and letting it sit until it reaches equilibrium (24hrs?) is a good idea. But, would the baseline measure in the open top jar, be the same as the water in a tank with a hood on...

I understand the logic of this PtarmiganUK and you appear to have a valid point. However, your calculations assume a steady pH/KH level of tap water. Unfortunately this isn't the case for a lot of people. KH/pH levels can vary through the year. Some people can have sudden massive swings in...

If there is such a thing, I haven't come across it myself. I have moved plants from a tank with 30 mg/l CO2 to a non CO2 tank many times. The only difference I notice is the plants grow a lot slower. :D

What looks good is all down to personal choice. Looking here may help you decide. Good luck!

I see no reason why this method wouldn't work as long as the lighting is kept to 2 WPG or below. 3 WPG is too high IMO and would only lead to problems. However, I don't think the growth rate would be anything like a CO2 injected tank.....probably about 10 x slower. The CO2 would probably reach...

Plants still grow at night. You may find they are a bit leggy after the blackout. You have been given some excellent advice IMO. Good luck!

My tank water is 4 dKH, my tap water 2 dKH. At water change I buffer the tap water so it too is 4 dKH. This way the tank water doesn't change. By saying it should be added slowly, I mean you can't go from a KH of 1 straight to a KH of 4 without causing problems :no: You would need to raise...

A KH of 4 is fine IMO. You only need to buffer it up if it drops to 3 or below. This is because 30mg/l CO2 will drop pH by approx 1.0 full point. I.E. with a KH of 3 you would expect pH to be around 7.4-7.6 and if you were to inject CO2 at around 30 mg/l the pH would drop to around 6.4-6.6 ...

Glad to hear things are settling down. Your tap water must have come with a lot of CO2 in it this morning, with a KH of 13 and a pH of 7. It would probably have returned to it's normal pH of 8+ if it had been allowed to off gas before testing. It's always a good idea to have a certain...

Sorry to hear about your losses :( Could you just clear a couple of things up please. Can you post the current KH and pH readings from your tank. I'm assuming if the pH from your tap is now 7, your KH must have dropped pretty drastically as well. Also, was it this weekend that you upgraded...

AFAIK Sandriana isn't a true aquatic plant and has a tendency to rot away after several months.

Hi Jen, You say your phosphate levels are 2 mg/l from the tap. What's the PO4 level in your tank? Green spot algae can quite often be eradicated by raising phosphate levels. Good luck!

A blackout can be successful in eradicating cyanobacteria, but it often returns if nitrate levels drop below 5 mg/l. To perform a blackout you need to remove as much of the cyano as possible and carry out a 50% water change. It is essential to remove as much cyano as you can because without...

Newfishaddict, you don't have a high KH. 3-5 dKH is generally regarded as being the ideal range for CO2 injection. I would definitely run the CO2 for 24 hrs if I were you. No need to worry about the CO2 killing your fish at the moment. With your KH, the pH level would have to drop to around 6.8...

You appear to be struggling to get a decent level of CO2 into your tank. A KH of 90 ( 5dKH ) and a ph of 7.7 only gives you around 3 mg/l CO2. That's what you would expect in a tank without CO2 injection. Even when your pH drops to 7.4 at night, this still only gives you around 6 mg/l which is...

It's all down to personal choice really. Some people leave their CO2 running at night, others turn it off. Either way you are likely to get a pH swing of some degree. If you're worried about the CO2 building up at night you could always run an airstone for a couple of hours or so. I used to do...

The algae on your substrate has the appearance of cyanobacteria (blue/green algae). Although it is known as blue/green, it can appear in many colours ....including black. It is quite often first seen on the substrate and can grow rapidly. A search for cyanobacteria on this forum may help...

If you're going to be running CO2, I wouldn't advise an Amazon Sword. They tend to outgrow most CO2 tanks. Stuffing your tank with stem plants is always a good idea until things settle down. Good luck!

A water softener will lower the GH (hardness) of your water, but I'm not sure if it effects the KH (alkalinity). I don't have a water softener so I'm not 100% sure on this. Maybe someone else who owns one can enlighten us?

That's a difficult question to answer Leafs. If you are going to inject via DIY CO2, you tend to get a variable rate.......which you want to try to avoid as much as possible. It will all depend on the size of your tank, size of the bottle you will be using, the sugar/yeast mixture, method of...

Yes it's the same thing. A KH of 12 in a tank with a pH of 8.2 is roughly what you would expect with no CO2 injection. Good luck!

Sorry Andy......not been around much lately, so I'm not familiar with your set up. However, if your planning on starting EI, there's no time like the present! Good luck!

Hard to tell just from a description. :dunno: Potassium deficiency can sometimes show itself as pinholes in older leaves. Good luck.

Totally agree with Jimbooo........add another CO2 unit. A stable CO2 level of around 30 mg/l is critical when following EI. Good luck!

Didn't realise they came in 400mg tablets too gf. The dosing I suggested is for the 200mg's.

Don't worry about it. We all make mistakes from time to time.......... it's a human trait! :D

Sam, if you're going to use Maracyn, the dosage is 1 tablet per day, per 10 US gallons for 5 consecutive days.. I have in the past used it to combat cyanobacteria........ with great results. Good luck!

I think The-Wolf is confusing PO4 with NO3. If you're about to start EI the ideal PO4 reading is 1 - 2 ppm. Although I see on the Barr report it has recently been increased to a max of 3 ppm. Good luck!

First rate article gf! CO2 is often overlooked or misunderstood. I'm sure this will help many people.

Anythings possible with the test kits we use. Their reliability is questionable at best. I asked a question in the Chit Chat section a couple of months ago, asking LFS workers what test kits they use at work. I don't know why, but I was expecting them to say they used top of the range kits like...

I'd be pretty certain that's how your 5 gallon got infected. As Zig said in an earlier post it is often seen in tanks with low nitrates. Once it has been killed off it is vital that you keep nitrates at a decent level. If this isn't achieved your tank will become reinfected. Good luck!

The pictures are a little blurry, but I would say that is definitely BGA. Good luck with the blackout Sam!

Well done Zig! Hopefully your piece on EI will save many people, especially those just starting in the hobby, a great deal of wasted time and effort, trying to get rid of algae. They'll be able to sit and admire their tanks instead. :cool:

I think it's true for most red plants. Obviously though, you're running the risk of cyano if you let nitrate drop too low. :D

Zig, the lower your nitrates drop the redder it will become. Some people say raising phosphate levels has a similar effect. Not sure about that, but it is a good nitrate indicator IMO. HTH.

A KH of 3 is just about ok for injecting CO2. There's something not quite right about your KH- pH readings though. Are you sure your pH is 6.2? A non-CO2 tank usually has around 2-3 mg/l CO2. With a KH of 3 dH, I would expect your pH to be around 7.4-7.6 You can work out the CO2 content of...

What is it they say about great minds Zig.............nevermind, it wasn't meant for us two anyway! :D

Could you give some more info please? I'm assuming the tank has only recently been set up......hence the Bio Spira. Could you give readings for nitrate and phosphate, if you have the relevant test kits? I'm guessing your plants are starving to death or the bio spira has affected them. Must...

Hi Walt, If you already have a pH of 6.2, you can raise it slowly by using baking soda. As smithrc said you will need a KH test kit. It is important you test for KH first before you start adding CO2. I'm guessing you have a low KH because of the pH reading. Either that, or you have a stack of...