[pgrhodes1]

Hi All,

I have everything I need to assemble and start my pressurized CO2. As stated before once my water is aged the ph is 8.3. I would like my ph to be around 7.5?? I have a ph controller but need to know how much I can drop the ph at one time without killing the fish.

Thank you.

Penny

 

[jrygel]

Don't pay too much attention to the pH you are getting by injecting CO2, it is really only an indicator of how much CO2 you have in the water. It is not really softening your water, i.e. if you have fish that do well in soft water, adding CO2 to drop the pH isn't going to help them, nor will dropping it really bother a fish that prefers hard water. What you want from your CO2 system is somewhere around a 1 point drop (8.3 to 7.3) - this indicates around 30 ppm of CO2 in the water. 30 ppm is a good balance of being beneficial for plants and usually doesn't bother the livestock much. If you fish are distressed by the CO2 (gasping, lethargic), then put in less CO2. Many (myself included) turn CO2 off at night and on a couple hours before the lights come on, and therefore have around a 1 point swing in pH everyday.

Note that a 1 point swing in pH for other reasons (changing the mineral content of the water) could be harmful and should be done more slowly.

-Justin

 

[pgrhodes1]

Thank you!!!