Another Co2 Question Lol

[DesperateDanio]

Hi to all firstly and may i just say what a great forum for answers. After joining about a week and a half ago expecting to need to ask a thousand and one questions i find myself posting my first real question lol.
as there is just a gigantic amount of resources already available if you don't mind a trawl, if like me you never seem to get the desired result out of the search engine but hey i think thats a mre thing as i have the same prob no matter which forum i am on.

Right enough of the babble my question is and pls don't shoot me if this is totaly stupid but when you put co2 in the tank it brings the p.h down quite rapidly no?

So A) is there a way to reduce the p.h more gently cos i am guessing my fish although showing no signs of distress probably didnt just enjoy the 2 hour or less drop from about 8.4 to 8.0 or below sorry but having to use memory as the one day i really need my colour card for p.h i cant find it, But anyway it is an api kit just in case anyone has one and normally my tank is dark brown on the scale and now after 2 hours with diy co2 yeast mix through airstone and 350l/h circ pump it is light brown to yellowish brown will my fish be o.k ?


B) Presuming all is well and i am being paranoid about the p.h drop how do you go about matching water when changing water if the co2 has dragged it down will i not shock the fish when i do the water changes as my normal tank is about:
8.4p.h
8 degrees kh
16 degrees GH
which is exactly what comes out of my tap, man am i confused

 

[SexyFishKeeper]

The pH crash is not what you have to be careful about, you need to be more concerned about gassing your fish with co2 concentration above the recommended 30ppm.

 

[DesperateDanio]

The pH crash is not what you have to be careful about, you need to be more concerned about gassing your fish with co2 concentration above the recommended 30ppm.

well i don't think i am getting up that high as even now with lights off no gasping fish etc so i don,t need to worry about the p.h drop i thought fish were sensitive to sharp climbs or falls ? or am i totally wrong?

 

[jnms]

Hi to all firstly and may i just say what a great forum for answers. After joining about a week and a half ago expecting to need to ask a thousand and one questions i find myself posting my first real question lol.
as there is just a gigantic amount of resources already available if you don't mind a trawl, if like me you never seem to get the desired result out of the search engine but hey i think thats a mre thing as i have the same prob no matter which forum i am on.

Right enough of the babble my question is and pls don't shoot me if this is totaly stupid but when you put co2 in the tank it brings the p.h down quite rapidly no?

So A) is there a way to reduce the p.h more gently cos i am guessing my fish although showing no signs of distress probably didnt just enjoy the 2 hour or less drop from about 8.4 to 8.0 or below sorry but having to use memory as the one day i really need my colour card for p.h i cant find it, But anyway it is an api kit just in case anyone has one and normally my tank is dark brown on the scale and now after 2 hours with diy co2 yeast mix through airstone and 350l/h circ pump it is light brown to yellowish brown will my fish be o.k ?


B) Presuming all is well and i am being paranoid about the p.h drop how do you go about matching water when changing water if the co2 has dragged it down will i not shock the fish when i do the water changes as my normal tank is about:
8.4p.h
8 degrees kh
16 degrees GH
which is exactly what comes out of my tap, man am i confused

A) Don't worry about the Ph issue. Fish aren't as sensitive as many people make out - a Ph drop of 0.5 within 2hrs will not affect the fish. Remember in nature the Ph swings up and down during the day, and the fish are just fine. Trouble with the Internet, is there is a lot of 'speculation' there, and people posting third hand opinions without any personal experience. So take care with what you read. I've gone through the whole Ph worry myself - only to finally discover that it isn't the big issue it is made out to be. If your tank starts at 8.4ph in the morning, and drops to 7.4ph or even 7.0ph by mid-day or evening, it shouldn't be an issue. Of course that is so long as you know why the Ph is dropping...and in this case we know is it due to the Co2.

Also remember some people turn their Co2 off at time (I don't), so the Ph swing will be even larger.

As for gassing the fish - it is unlikely you will do this with DIY Co2, unless you have a pretty small tank.

B) Don't worry about mixing the water, again the Ph change won't have much (if any) affect on the fish. We are not talking drastic changes here, i.e. 2 or 3p.h or more. A change of 0.5 to 1ph shouldn't pose any problem to healthy fish.

 

[aaronnorth]

when hitting 30ppm, the pH drops by about 1pH which is fine. You dont need to match the water for water changes.

well i don't think i am getting up that high as even now with lights off no gasping fish etc so i don,t need to worry about the p.h drop i thought fish were sensitive to sharp climbs or falls ? or am i totally wrong?

how do you know the levels?
The fish IME can go up to levels of 40ppm without showing signs of gasping, and Tom Barr has gone to 45ppm with discus. So you could be easily getting 30ppm!
The best way to know is to use a drop checker, see the guide in my signature.

 

[DesperateDanio]

cool just the answers i was looking for i did think they looked fine in there even with the p.h drop but was concerned i may be doing long term damage nice to no i probably won't gas the fish as my dc doesnt come till weds . On a side note anyone have any experience with the jbl permanent co2 checker ? is it any good? easy to read? any input would be great

 

[DesperateDanio]

when hitting 30ppm, the pH drops by about 1pH which is fine. You dont need to match the water for water changes.

how do you know the levels?
The fish IME can go up to levels of 40ppm without showing signs of gasping, and Tom Barr has gone to 45ppm with discus. So you could be easily getting 30ppm!
The best way to know is to use a drop checker, see the guide in my signature.

sorry aaron you beat me to the post i don't have any idea if it is or not my drop checker arrives wed but just guessing as most people on this forum seem to think that diy yeast based on a 55gallon U.S i think more like 40 uk gallons isn't that affective with this amount of water am i wrong as i say my DC comes wed but its all guess work till then do you think it is prob wise to ditch the co2 till it arrives then ?

 

[aaronnorth]

when hitting 30ppm, the pH drops by about 1pH which is fine. You dont need to match the water for water changes.

how do you know the levels?
The fish IME can go up to levels of 40ppm without showing signs of gasping, and Tom Barr has gone to 45ppm with discus. So you could be easily getting 30ppm!
The best way to know is to use a drop checker, see the guide in my signature.

sorry aaron you beat me to the post i don't have any idea if it is or not my drop checker arrives wed but just guessing as most people on this forum seem to think that diy yeast based on a 55gallon U.S i think more like 40 uk gallons isn't that affective with this amount of water am i wrong as i say my DC comes wed but its all guess work till then do you think it is prob wise to ditch the co2 till it arrives then ?

its ok, well on a tank that size then you wont (or shouldnt) be near 30ppm. so keep the CO2 running, and if necassary, add a second bottle and connect with a T-Piece
thanks

 

[DesperateDanio]

Wicked so prob not gassing the poor fishies then i hate all the guess work can't wait for the dc to arrive