Measuring Co2..

[BigIan]

how do i work out my co2 in ppm by using the ph and kh table?

 

[jcosgrove]

i used this

 

[BigIan]

ok second question....

can you have too much co2 even if the fish arent gasping (even the corys at the bottom of the tank seem fine and arent topping any more than usual.)
as i aparently have133 mg a litre, and the fish are fine...

 

[jcosgrove]

i think thats high, but i am definitely no expert.

 

[BigIan]

i`ve only just got hold of a kh test kit, and i`ve been udsing one bubble per second. and keeping a close eye on the fish. non of whom seem unhapy with the situation, hmmm ponderous...

 

[-=Joel=-]

Use this calculator

http/www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_co2chart.htm

 

[JamesC]

as i aparently have133 mg a litre, and the fish are fine...

Just goes to show how unreliable these charts are. I'm also running well over 100ppm CO2 at the mo according to the chart. They are a good starting point but don't take them a gospel.

 

[George Farmer]

i`ve only just got hold of a kh test kit, and i`ve been udsing one bubble per second. and keeping a close eye on the fish. non of whom seem unhapy with the situation, hmmm ponderous...

What are your pH and KH readings? 133ppm CO2 with one bubble per second sounds way off (unless you have a tiny aquarium).

What pH and KH kits are you using?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

i`ve only just got hold of a kh test kit, and i`ve been udsing one bubble per second. and keeping a close eye on the fish. non of whom seem unhapy with the situation, hmmm ponderous...

What are your pH and KH readings? 133ppm CO2 with one bubble per second sounds way off (unless you have a tiny aquarium).

What pH and KH kits are you using?

It's 60g so not tiny

ph will be the one from the API Master Test Kit, not sure for the KH Kit

if that's any help to anything

 

[qwikimpss]

You need to be careful with this way of checking CO2 levels. It is the easiest way to do it but test kits are unreliable.

I read on Tom Barr's website about another way to get your CO2 levels but I didn't understand it fully.

 

[George Farmer]

I've had good results with the Nutrafin Low-Range pH kit (6.0 to 7.6). This reads in 0.2 increments and is good value (£5 for 225 tests).

The Nutrafin GH/KH kit is good IME too. Each drop measures 10ppm (rather than most kits that read one drop per degree hardness (17.9ppm)).

 

[JamesC]

I read on Tom Barr's website about another way to get your CO2 levels but I didn't understand it fully.

Take a sample of tank water and leave it for 24 hours. The water will then reach equilibrium of CO2 in the air, normally around 3 to 4ppm. Note this pH. If you then lower the tank water using CO2 by 1 unit from the equilibrium pH this will then give you around 30ppm CO2.

Take a look at the above chart and you will notice that when the CO2 level is 3 to 4 then 1 unit of pH lower in the same dKH column will read in the green band.

 

[BigIan]

a kh of 4 degres, and a ph of 6 (or lower)

i`m using the api liquid tests as they seem to be fairly accurate and reliable