Help Please For Kh And Ph Readings

[Beemeeup]

Tank well planted - 175 litres (38.5 UK Glns)

25 fish of ave 4cm long (5 Corys, 5 Dwarf Rainbow, 6 Platies, 2 Ottos, 2 White Cloud, 1 Zebra Danio, 1 Flying Fox, 2 loaches)

CO2 - DIY with Ladder - one bubble a second

Lighting is 2.6w per gallon

Ammonia and Nitrite zero
Nitrate 5
KH 2
PH 6.4

Q1 - Can I or should I try and raise the PH Level. If so - how?

Q2 - Is the PH too low for the fish?

Q2 - the figures give a reading of 23 ppm CO2 - to encourage plant growth I would like to double the CO2 input - is this ok


I have been running the cycled tank since August and Fish since mid september last.

 

[Squid]

Q1 - Can I or should I try and raise the PH Level. If so - how?

Raising the PH would be ahieved by lowering the CO2 levels (not what your after). i don't think you need to raise the PH level. When you read the PH level, are you doing this before or after the lights are on. You should test this before putting the lights on, and after lights out. At the end of the lights on period, the CO2 levels will be lower than at the beginning, as the CO2 take-up during the photosynthesis period will be higher.

Q2 - Is the PH too low for the fish?

I can't remember this off hand for each of the fish that you have. Take a look online or in the fish index. A stable PH is key fish. You should do the before and after test to make sure that the PH swing is not too high.

Q3 - the figures give a reading of 23 ppm CO2 - to encourage plant growth I would like to double the CO2 input - is this ok

I thought that in one of the pinned threads in the planted forum said that you should aim for a bout 30ppm... so i would be careful of doubleing the CO2 input. If you need to up it, but need to add another kit/ladder, then you may need to add a little less yeast so that that each kit produces less CO2, but equates to 30ppm... i would re-read the pinned threads on CO2 in the planted section for conformation. I think with your lighting it would be worth upping it to 30ppm though to ensure you dont have any algae problems.. or at least less..

Hope that helps.

Squid

 

[Underwurlde]

Fiddling with pH is not something I personally would NOT recommend.

CO2 levels , aim for 25-30ppm. Note: KH VERY difficult to measure accurately, so how are you doing this?
Adequate and STABLE CO2 levels is the goal.

Instead of adding another CO2 unit, how about a more efficient way of getting the CO2 into the water, like using a Rhinox or Spiro diffuser...

Andy

 

[Beemeeup]

Q1 - Can I or should I try and raise the PH Level. If so - how?

Raising the PH would be ahieved by lowering the CO2 levels (not what your after). i don't think you need to raise the PH level. When you read the PH level, are you doing this before or after the lights are on. You should test this before putting the lights on, and after lights out. At the end of the lights on period, the CO2 levels will be lower than at the beginning, as the CO2 take-up during the photosynthesis period will be higher.

Q2 - Is the PH too low for the fish?

I can't remember this off hand for each of the fish that you have. Take a look online or in the fish index. A stable PH is key fish. You should do the before and after test to make sure that the PH swing is not too high.

Q3 - the figures give a reading of 23 ppm CO2 - to encourage plant growth I would like to double the CO2 input - is this ok

I thought that in one of the pinned threads in the planted forum said that you should aim for a bout 30ppm... so i would be careful of doubleing the CO2 input. If you need to up it, but need to add another kit/ladder, then you may need to add a little less yeast so that that each kit produces less CO2, but equates to 30ppm... i would re-read the pinned threads on CO2 in the planted section for conformation. I think with your lighting it would be worth upping it to 30ppm though to ensure you dont have any algae problems.. or at least less..

Hope that helps.

Squid

Squid

I will take readings after and before lights out and see what they say.

I agree 30ppm is the aim.

Thanks for advice.

Fiddling with pH is not something I personally would NOT recommend.

CO2 levels , aim for 25-30ppm. Note: KH VERY difficult to measure accurately, so how are you doing this?
Adequate and STABLE CO2 levels is the goal.

Instead of adding another CO2 unit, how about a more efficient way of getting the CO2 into the water, like using a Rhinox or Spiro diffuser...

Andy

Andy

I'm using a Liquid Test Kit which turns the water from Blue to pink as each drop is added.

I'll check the co2 more often to get a feel of how the tank is being affected.

Thanks for adice.

Alan

 

[Underwurlde]

Indeed. Drop tests for KH are not that good. Know HOW it works and you'll realise this:

What is really measured by a standard KH test kit is really the buffering capacity. In most water sources, the buffering is provided by Carbonate. In that case, buffering capacity and KH is the same thing.

However Phosphates can also buffer the water and the kits do not react to this, thus indicating incorrect KH.

Andy