# [Wet Thumb Forum]-help with CO2



## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

Sherry,

I know this is a little confusing, but I moved your question to it's own thread. Hopefully you will get more input that way.


Roger Miller


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

Sherry,

I would not add pressurized CO2 at this time.

Your KH and GH values probably mean that the black water extract is controlling the pH of your water. You are unable to measure and control the CO2 concentrations.

You need to consider not using the extract. If you decide to stop using it, then a series of large water changes will be needed to remove the extract from your aquarium water. You can then -- after a period of stabilization -- start adding CO2.

Also, does you tank contain wood?


Roger Miller


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## sherry (Sep 30, 2005)

my kh is 3
my ph is 6.6 or 6.5
my gh is 6

I have not yet started injecting co2. I am using blackwater expert to aid a few fish, but my ph was 6.5/6.6 before I started adding that... 

I am about to upgrade to a larger/higher light tank and have the co2 equipment ready to start, but I am terrified of dumping my ph. 

can you help me?


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## sherry (Sep 30, 2005)

Roger I just saw your reply here...

I am moving tanks from a 12 gallon to a 32, and upping the lights from 13 watts to 96 watts.. I can not add more bwexpert.. tho I will need to transfer some of the original tank water.... but I am planning to scape with driftwood. the change is taking place on Friday. I'll also be adding new highlight plants

the thing is, long before I added the expert, my ph was also 6.5/6.6.. I don't know KH of the tank without the bwe. 

NYCity is famous for soft mountain water
though. We get it from the Catskills.


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## imported_russell (Sep 14, 2004)

i think she said it had driftwood in another post.


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## sherry (Sep 30, 2005)

happy to have the thread here... can you take me to the next step?

I am quite certain that the kh will be low as will the ph, even without blackwater expert. I just double checked with another friend in the neighborhood and she has the same problem. 

she is using Crushed coral in her filter, but I do have fish that prefer soft acidic water.. so I'm not sure that is the right way to go..

help please.


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

Sherry,

NYC is known for its soft water. I've talked with several people from NYC with problems similar to yours. Many towns on the west coast from San Francisco north also have very soft water, but for some reason they don't seem to get the same problems. Odd.

I recall that NYC water is usually reported to have 2-3 degress KH. At that level your pH of 6.5-6.6 indicates a CO2 concentration of 20-30 ppm.

It's unlikely that an aquarium that isn't have CO2 added to it will ever have 20-30 ppm of CO2. Probably your readings mean that the pH of your water is regulated by an organic buffer. That buffer would originate from the black water product, from wood or from other organics -- peat, for instance -- in the aquarium. As long as that is true, you cannot measure and control the amount of CO2 in your aquarium.

You should check your tap water for KH and pH, then let a glass full of water sit out over night and check the pH again in the morning. Fill your new tank with plain tap water and monitor its pH and KH for a while. It should stay stable. If the pH drops or the KH changes up or down then you have a problem.

Your friend's approach of adding crushed coral to her filter does work. If your tap water KH is less than three or four degrees then you may want to do something like that to get it up to four degrees. With a higher KH you can maintain a useful CO2 level without dropping the pH through the floor.


Roger Miller


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## sherry (Sep 30, 2005)

I"ll do measures tomorrow am with an overnight glass of tap. 

meanwhile... I am a little afraid of coral as I've read around here it can send things too far in the opposite direction and I have geared myself toward fish that like softer slightly acidic water

will just a small amount of coral usually keep things reasonably stable without the water going "hard"

also the black water stuff is a newer additon to my tank. the ph has been low for the past 2 years without it.


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

Sherry,

How long has the tank been set up, and how long has the driftwood and substrate been there?

If you have coral in the filter it may be important to monitor the hardness to make sure it stays where you want it. After monitoring it for a while you would probably get a process set up that gives you the result you want without monitoring.

A lot of soft water fish are actually less dependent on soft acidic water than some might think. Besides, with a GH of 6 your water isn't really soft anyway.


Roger Miller


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## kam (Nov 23, 2005)

I just did a test. I put 10 new pieces of small driftwood into a bucket with just ordinary tap water. The tap water was pH 8.4, but after 1 day the pH was 3.9!!!! Best to boiled your driftwood and then soak afew days with daily changes of tap water. Could be the cause of a low pH with tanins and stuff leaching out over time.


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## sherry (Sep 30, 2005)

the current tank is a year old.. eco complete a year old... driftwood closer to three months... sort of an after thought after I made an impulse buy of a clown pleco... but ph was 6.6 before I added the wood. 

not sure why my gh is higher than tap.. but tomorrow I set up the new 37 gallon.. replacing the 12 gallon I will try to skip the salt and the slate. 

using old and new eco complete. still using driftwood.maybe that will bring gh back down. if it does, then the crushed coral may be an okay addition. 

I have set aside tap water to test in the am so I can give you those numbers. will also test the tank water after it has sat and I've planted.

gonna be a long day tomorrow. have to tear apart the little tank to set up the bigger one since the big one needs to go in the old one's speck of a spot.. the only place I have to spare in my NYC teeny apartment that won't get run into by my preschooler or 1 year old.


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