They take a bit of trial and error to get going but once running on song I don't think you'll look back.
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Journal The Green Dream _ My Cryptocoryne infested riparium
- Thread starter Walt1908
- Start date
Hey Bazz, thanks for the reply.
Yeah i did many hours of reading regarding reactors and i know for a fact they are more efficient.
Atm i am emailing with somebody who builds them customized. Im sure i can build one myself, im a plumber, but why the hassle when somebody does it for many of years already with all of his experience...
Problem is, i only have room to the left of my cabinet which is about 35x35 cm.
Yeah i did many hours of reading regarding reactors and i know for a fact they are more efficient.
Atm i am emailing with somebody who builds them customized. Im sure i can build one myself, im a plumber, but why the hassle when somebody does it for many of years already with all of his experience...
Problem is, i only have room to the left of my cabinet which is about 35x35 cm.
Yesterday i made my co2 reactor from a water purifier cannister.
I made some changes in my hardware compartment below my tank so it could fit haha.
Building the reactor was quite easy since i read many stuff about it through the years.
It fits nicely 😎
After i turned on the system 30 minutes later the plants were pearling like crazy.
I have never seen that much pearling in my tank.
Im not seeing any co2 bubbles so my reactor is doing his job nicely.
But.... however the tank is doing great i still can't get my ph below the 6.7. But thats ok since i keep my tank at 6.9/7.
Tomorrow ill check my kh cause i am suspecting it is high and its acting as a massive ph buffer.
Fish are doing very well, no gasping for air whatsoever. But i am monitoring it like a hawk...
I made some changes in my hardware compartment below my tank so it could fit haha.
Building the reactor was quite easy since i read many stuff about it through the years.
It fits nicely 😎
After i turned on the system 30 minutes later the plants were pearling like crazy.
I have never seen that much pearling in my tank.
Im not seeing any co2 bubbles so my reactor is doing his job nicely.
But.... however the tank is doing great i still can't get my ph below the 6.7. But thats ok since i keep my tank at 6.9/7.
Tomorrow ill check my kh cause i am suspecting it is high and its acting as a massive ph buffer.
Fish are doing very well, no gasping for air whatsoever. But i am monitoring it like a hawk...
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Just checked my KH, its 11.
Its about 2 points higher than a year ago. But still nothing shocking...
Could be that i have more limestone in my tank since 2 months because i am busy with a new waterfall.
So first i am changing my magnesium dose from 1cl per day to 1cl per 3 days.
Lets check again in a few days...
Its about 2 points higher than a year ago. But still nothing shocking...
Could be that i have more limestone in my tank since 2 months because i am busy with a new waterfall.
So first i am changing my magnesium dose from 1cl per day to 1cl per 3 days.
Lets check again in a few days...
Where does the CO2 enter your reactor?
Hi, aprox 30cm in front of the reactor with a diffuser.
Morning!
So today im going to investigate the PH problem further. Im pretty sure it doesnt have anything to do with my equipment so i am looking if it has anything to do with the KH buffering abilities regarding the PH.
I took a sample from my tank and i am trying to evaporate the co2 with a magnetic stirrer over a few hours...
I also tested our tapwater and it has a KH of 10.
So the numbers we have atm are:
Tapwater: KH 10
Aquariumwater: KH 11
Aquariumwater without CO2:
I suspect my 'neutral' aquariumwater has a high KH since i am adding also KNO3, K2SO4, KH2PO4 and MgSO4.
I am doing this recipe for over 5 years and once tuned never a problem. Either i messed up a recipe (doubt that) or something else is going on.
Or i always was "on the edge' with my KH buffer and the extra stones i added a month ago were the last drop...
To be continued 😎
So today im going to investigate the PH problem further. Im pretty sure it doesnt have anything to do with my equipment so i am looking if it has anything to do with the KH buffering abilities regarding the PH.
I took a sample from my tank and i am trying to evaporate the co2 with a magnetic stirrer over a few hours...
I also tested our tapwater and it has a KH of 10.
So the numbers we have atm are:
Tapwater: KH 10
Aquariumwater: KH 11
Aquariumwater without CO2:
I suspect my 'neutral' aquariumwater has a high KH since i am adding also KNO3, K2SO4, KH2PO4 and MgSO4.
I am doing this recipe for over 5 years and once tuned never a problem. Either i messed up a recipe (doubt that) or something else is going on.
Or i always was "on the edge' with my KH buffer and the extra stones i added a month ago were the last drop...
To be continued 😎
Lolz 😀 Nope, this was the last addition... I think...
I’m sure you could squeeze a UV in there…
Uhmm.... nope 😉
How cool is it when you can id a 'new' species in your own tank.
3 Years ago i ordered a pot of Cryptocoryne Spiralis 'caudigera' at Aquasabi in Germany.
It came a litlle bit bashed by transport and it didnt make it in middle of the tank. Since a month or 2 i noticed new leaves and i thought that one of my tigers or balansae made a runner. But im 100% positive now its a resurrected caudigera 😳
3 Years ago i ordered a pot of Cryptocoryne Spiralis 'caudigera' at Aquasabi in Germany.
It came a litlle bit bashed by transport and it didnt make it in middle of the tank. Since a month or 2 i noticed new leaves and i thought that one of my tigers or balansae made a runner. But im 100% positive now its a resurrected caudigera 😳
The co2 puzzle has been solved and i am positive you cannot guess the cause 🤣
Ok so here are my measurements the last 2 days...
Tapwater KH 10
Tapwater PH 7.5
Aquariumwater: KH 11
Aquariumwater degassed KH 11
Aquariumwater degassed PH 7.5
So the problem was i couldnt get my ph below 7 trough my co2 system anymore...
The figures above didnt give me an answer why i could not drop my ph under the 7 anymore since a month or so.
I changed my diffusor after 3 years, thinking this would solve the problem. Nope. New ph sensor. Nope. Added a reactor, didnt solve the issue either.
Since i was pumping in co2 like crazy i monitored my fish like crazy but no alarming signs or behaviour.
So what could it be? 🧐
I have been working on a cool waterfall on the left side on my riparium. The waterpump is a small and silent eheim pump in the tank. Thing is, its gray and its standing out in the tank. Since i want to cover up as many of the technical stuff as possible i wanted to make it black. I took a piece of a black sok and covered up the small pump and you couldnt see it anymore since it was in a dark corner of the aquarium.
Besides this the only thing could be the limestone for the waterfall that was added the last month in the tank that could interfere with my water.
The KH was stable. So....
I added the sok in the cup of aquariumwater that i measured before with an ph of 7.5.
After a minute i squeezed out the water and tested it again...
This is the reason i couldnt get my ph drop anymore... 🤪
Normally i would do a 70% waterchange but since i have a few crypts ill play it more safely. I changed about 1/4 of my tank and reversed my change regarding my magnesium dose from every 3 days to the old dosage, 1ml every day.
Ok so here are my measurements the last 2 days...
Tapwater KH 10
Tapwater PH 7.5
Aquariumwater: KH 11
Aquariumwater degassed KH 11
Aquariumwater degassed PH 7.5
So the problem was i couldnt get my ph below 7 trough my co2 system anymore...
The figures above didnt give me an answer why i could not drop my ph under the 7 anymore since a month or so.
I changed my diffusor after 3 years, thinking this would solve the problem. Nope. New ph sensor. Nope. Added a reactor, didnt solve the issue either.
Since i was pumping in co2 like crazy i monitored my fish like crazy but no alarming signs or behaviour.
So what could it be? 🧐
I have been working on a cool waterfall on the left side on my riparium. The waterpump is a small and silent eheim pump in the tank. Thing is, its gray and its standing out in the tank. Since i want to cover up as many of the technical stuff as possible i wanted to make it black. I took a piece of a black sok and covered up the small pump and you couldnt see it anymore since it was in a dark corner of the aquarium.
Besides this the only thing could be the limestone for the waterfall that was added the last month in the tank that could interfere with my water.
The KH was stable. So....
I added the sok in the cup of aquariumwater that i measured before with an ph of 7.5.
After a minute i squeezed out the water and tested it again...
This is the reason i couldnt get my ph drop anymore... 🤪
Normally i would do a 70% waterchange but since i have a few crypts ill play it more safely. I changed about 1/4 of my tank and reversed my change regarding my magnesium dose from every 3 days to the old dosage, 1ml every day.
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Hi all,
cheers Darrel
None of those should add any dKH, or alkalinity, although the "Epsom Salts" (MgSO4.7H2O) will add dGH.
The CO2 should <"outgas fairly quickly"> back to the equilibrium CO2 level.
cheers Darrel
Hi Darrel, thanks for the reply. Ah thanks for the info, appreciated!
Good reads but quite hard for non english speakers cause of the terms.
Always thought kalium would increase slightly the KH of the water.
Will try tomorrow anyways since i want to cut down my kh a bit anyways with some osmose water. 11 is a bit to high i think.
Good reads but quite hard for non english speakers cause of the terms.
Always thought kalium would increase slightly the KH of the water.
Will try tomorrow anyways since i want to cut down my kh a bit anyways with some osmose water. 11 is a bit to high i think.
