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What buffers can I use to stabilize the ph in my 29g planted bolivian ram tank? Can I use the seachem alkaline buffers? What would you recomend.
Over_stocked.
Pay attention. Inject CO2. Forget about what the pH is. pH changes caused by CO2 do no harm to fish. You try and hold a certain pH when injecting CO2 you will have very hard water.
For example. You have this crazy idea that you need a pH of 7.0 That means you would have to add baking soda to the water to get it to 8.0 and then use CO2 to bring it back down to 7.0
That would give you a KH of around 6-7°. And that's a bit high if you want to breed the Rams.
Read the water chemistry section of my Guide. Also check out www.theplantedtankFAQ.com
trust me, as someone with a lot of "green" friends, they won't care a bit.I don’t like to waste and if I say to my “green” friends that I pump CO2 that is waste, they will be mad.
Problem one: I have one of a few things going on. I have woken up twice in 2 weeks to dead fish. Now, this morning, the ph was at about 6.7, which for the rams isn't horrible, but it's killing neons like it's going out of style. It also killed my flagfish. Now, is it the ph change, or is it the lack of oxygen from co2 running all night, or is it something else that I'm not finding. My kH is around 3-4(that damn chart isn't that easy to read).
problem/question 2: Right now I don't have money for a solenoid, and until I do, I have to either live with turning it off every night/morning or running it 24/7. The major question here--if I should leave it on 24/7, should I set up an air pump on a timer to gas off some of the co2 during the dark hours? Can harm be done by having the lights on too long?
I currently have nearly 25x filtration(according to what the labels say). That is plenty of filtration. And no, the currents aren't too strong for my fish. i've diverted the magnum 350 through 5 outputs to help keep the surface of the substrate clean.To problem one:
If your PH go from 7 to 6.7, leave everything as is, CO2 is not the problem.
CO2 do not displace oxygen from water.
for oxygenation and keep the quality of your water You need 3 to 5 time the volume of filtration by hour of your aqua. I talk here in reel GPH, not wat is wrote on your filter box (represent filter with no media) I beleive you can divide those number by 2 or 3 to give you the real deal.
To problem two: people leave their lights between 8 to 12 hours. More or less will have probably some impact on the life in your aqua. bad plant growt, stress fish, algae ....