My First Planted Tank

[Xebadir]

180ppm is ~10 dKH....remember: 12dKH=214.9ppm. so bottom limit would be around 6 dKH: so 6-10dKH

 

[plantropimunity]

Hi, Xebadir, welcome! so 1dkh=17.9083ppm, then? i am at 35.816ppm?? and i want to be at 160-180???
how am i gonna do that without skyrocketing my ph level??

 

[Xebadir]

What you need to add is a KH powder of some sort with a Addition pH to around 7. Ill think youll find that most wont skyrocket your pH anyway: If you have fish, do it slowly, in water changes slowly up the kH and will lower that pH. This will increase your buffer: to explain:

H2CO3-->H(+) + HCO3(-)
HCO3(-)-->H(+) + CO3(2-)

Now in an equilibrium state: the reaction from CO3 and Hydrogen ions will equal the reaction of H2CO3 producing H(+), plus any excess that exists in your tank. Hence the system is "buffered" in that a large increase in hydrogen ion concerntration will result in the CO3 going to HCO3 and the inverse, before effecting your tanks pH.

Hope this helps.

Edit: I am shortly going to try an article on tank chemistry including the cycle(might as well use the learning for something)

 

[phlawed]

also remember that co2 will lower your PH or keep it steady. So if you add something to raise your KH and add co2, i dont think it would affect the PH that much. Im sure someone else will elaberate more on this. Once plants and fish start being added, the tank will mature itself alot of the times. This can have some ups and downs, but eventually, everything should level off.

 

[Themuleous]

IMHO I think the pH and KH you have are fine. Its far better to work with what you have than to be adding stuff everyday. KH 2 is low yes but it'll be fine. So long as you do the weekly water changes you'll have no problems, even when you add the CO2.

The famous Amano runs lots of his tanks at 1.5 kH and I have run one at 2/3 with no problems. Also if you increase it to 8/9KH there will be a rise in pH probably to around 7.4/7.6.

Just leave it as it is.

Sam

 

[Xebadir]

The famous Amano runs lots of his tanks at 1.5 kH and I have run one at 2/3 with no problems. Also if you increase it to 8/9KH there will be a rise in pH probably to around 7.4/7.6.

Just as a proviso here: I do not dispute that a low kH is not possible, nor quite effective however: to my knowledge of chemistry, There will not be a pH rise if there is an increase in carbonate hardness: rather the system will be further buffered without rapid swing. This swing can be an issue if you are increasing the CO2 content, thus buffering is quite important: Also these degrees of KH require water changes that a very precise, something that not everyone has time for.(Not to mention RO/Di water)

 

[Themuleous]

I dont think you're quite right there my friend. The only reason we are able to work out the CO2 in a tank is because of the fixed relationship between CO2/pH/KH. If either KH or CO2 changes then pH is affected. Its that simple. Generally speaking, increase KH or lower CO2 and pH goes up, lower KH or increase CO2 and pH goes down. Its fixed and will happed, trust me.

Also, the water change thing, as along as you test regularly (I test all my tanks weekly, yes probably a little excessive but I spot things early when they start to go wrong) there shouldn’t be a problem with not adding enough KH during the water change.

Sam

 

[plantropimunity]

Tank update: wednesday, 6/14
ammonia 3-4 (its in between the colors of 2 and 4 on my chart, but leaning more toward 4)
nitrite .25
nitrate just barely over 5ppm (slightly darker than the 5 color)

i think i am going to wait until the cycling process is complete before i worry about testing for ph and kh again. i kinda just wanted to take a reading and see where they were at at the time. i figure that once the cycle is complete, then i can start working on buffers and what not from a position of not dealing with ammonia and nitrite in the tank. also i will have more time to worry about paying the mortgage and stuff, then i can spend money on a co2 system. and lights. and fish. and plants. and on. and on. and on.

 

[plantropimunity]

and the cycle continues......
saturday
ammonia 2-3
nitrite 2
nitrate 10

 

[Themuleous]

Glad to see its going in the right direction

 

[plantropimunity]

thanks! this is taking longer than i thought it would, but like you say, it is going in the right direction, so i am happy. hopefully it wont be too much longer.

 

[plantropimunity]

wednesday, june 21
ammonia -0
nitrite -2-5
nitrate is unreadable.
i have some kind of problem with my nitrate test. i use the aquarium pharmaceuticals tests for everything, and normally when i add the ten drops for part one of the nitrate test, the vial turns a bright yellow. then after adding the ten drops for part two, it will turn a shade of red, according to the concentration of nitrate.
during this test however, the vial turned a dark amber color when i added the drops for part one and then lightened after part two. at no point did it turn any shade of red at all. i am going now to test my cichlid tank in an effort to determine if this is a faulty test or if it is a strange result on this tank only.
edit: nitrate test for the cichlid tank worked, i got my normal 20-40 ppm reading(waterchange time).
when i retested the thirty, i got the amber color again. i retested with the same tube i used for
the cichlid tank, and a different one, and got the same result. i rinsed them with tap water in
between, and with tank water immediately before testing. why?? why is this
happening??

 

[plantropimunity]

well i figure that no matter the nitrate level, i am going to have to continue with the cycling process, so nitrate test or not, ammonia is being added. it took way more than i thought it would, but after a bunch of drops and tests, i am back at just around 4ppm. we will see how it is tomorrow.

 

[plantropimunity]

quick question, i am planning on using amano shrimp for my scavenging crew. good plan?? how many should i use? its a thirty gallon tank(so you dont have to go back and check) thanks!

 

[Themuleous]

Ive yet to do a fishless cycle (been years since Ive set up a new tank) and was wondering why you needed to get it to NH3 to 4ppm? Thought the whole idea was to add the same amount each day until it read 0ppm? Just curious

As to the shrimp, I would always say add them and for a 30G I reckon you'll need 30-40? I've got 12 in my nano and they work wonders (not on my staghorn though ) they can be expensive so add them a few at a time if necessary I would also recommend maidenhead aquatics for shrimp (if you're in the UK that is) as they are the cheapest Ive found and Ive yet to lose one after adding them as is so often the case so the stock seems to be quite good too.

Sam