I have been measuring the pH drop in my tank to estimate how much CO2 I need to inject, aiming for a drop of 1.2.
However, I recently read that I should be measuring the tank water after it has degassed for 24 hours. Previously, I had simply been taking samples from the tank without any degassing process.
Using my Apera pH meter on the degassed water, I found that my pH drop was not 1.2 but 2.0! (8.5 to 6.5) As I understand it, this gives me a CO2 concentration of 300 ppm. Is this even possible? How are my shrimp alive?
Background info:
I have a 20 gallon tank and use a cerges reactor with a bubble rate of more than 2 bubbles per second. The tank has a spraybar across the back with lots of surface movement.
The tank has shrimp and snails in it. The number of shrimp has been steady and they seem more or less healthy. They are not proliferating, but once in a great while I see a berried female.
The plants seem fairly healthy and grow quickly, and they pearl. The tank has some minor algae, including algae on the plants.
My pH meter is an Apera PH60, one year old, just calibrated before the measurement. I store the probe in the cleaning solution. The tank water measurements do take a long time (10-15) minutes to stabilize.
Using the Photone app, for whatever it's worth, I measured my PAR at substrate at something like 90.
However, I recently read that I should be measuring the tank water after it has degassed for 24 hours. Previously, I had simply been taking samples from the tank without any degassing process.
Using my Apera pH meter on the degassed water, I found that my pH drop was not 1.2 but 2.0! (8.5 to 6.5) As I understand it, this gives me a CO2 concentration of 300 ppm. Is this even possible? How are my shrimp alive?
Background info:
I have a 20 gallon tank and use a cerges reactor with a bubble rate of more than 2 bubbles per second. The tank has a spraybar across the back with lots of surface movement.
The tank has shrimp and snails in it. The number of shrimp has been steady and they seem more or less healthy. They are not proliferating, but once in a great while I see a berried female.
The plants seem fairly healthy and grow quickly, and they pearl. The tank has some minor algae, including algae on the plants.
My pH meter is an Apera PH60, one year old, just calibrated before the measurement. I store the probe in the cleaning solution. The tank water measurements do take a long time (10-15) minutes to stabilize.
Using the Photone app, for whatever it's worth, I measured my PAR at substrate at something like 90.