# [Wet Thumb Forum]-bubbles from plants...wow!



## marLe (Aug 23, 2003)

whenever i go into an aquarium shop, i see oxygen bubbles generated from plants... they r a wonderful sight..

besides lighting, fert, and c02, the water condition must be good too.
there r so many test kits for sale, but due to my tight budget, i can only afford 1 or 2, which test kit do u guys reccomend so i can achieve a better condition for the plants to thrive in the water?

any help will be greatly appreciated.. thanks!


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## marLe (Aug 23, 2003)

whenever i go into an aquarium shop, i see oxygen bubbles generated from plants... they r a wonderful sight..

besides lighting, fert, and c02, the water condition must be good too.
there r so many test kits for sale, but due to my tight budget, i can only afford 1 or 2, which test kit do u guys reccomend so i can achieve a better condition for the plants to thrive in the water?

any help will be greatly appreciated.. thanks!


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## Phil Edwards (Jan 22, 2004)

The only tests I use are KH and pH to determine CO2. Otherwise I watch my plants and algae to see how the tank's doing.

Best,
Phil


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## marLe (Aug 23, 2003)

thanks... 
regarding kh and ph, wat are the reccomended values
?


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## Rex Grigg (Jan 22, 2004)

It's like asking how much water to fill the lake. Your pH and kH values should be what is required for your plants and fish to do well. Normally for most tropical fish this means a range from 6.5-9.0 for pH and 0-20 dkH. If your fish are healthy and your plants are growing then you are doing fine.

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## marLe (Aug 23, 2003)

is it true tat tap water has a low kh value
?

it is through chemicals tat the kh value increase?


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## Vicki (Jan 31, 2003)

KH is a measure of the carbonate (temporary) hardness of your water, and it varies hugely from place to place, depending on where you live and what aquifer your water comes from. The only way to know what yours is is to test your tap water. What is important is not a particular value for ph or KH, but the relationship between the two, which can help you determine how much CO2 you have in solution. If you look here, there is a good example of a ph/KH chart that will give you an idea of what ph and KH values will give you in CO2 in your tank.

http://www.wheelpost.com


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## marLe (Aug 23, 2003)

may i ask wat is the recommended value for kh for planted tanks?
thank u..


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## Vicki (Jan 31, 2003)

The lower your KH, the less buffering capacity your water has, and the more likely it is that your PH will be unstable. Generally, it's recommended that KH be a minimum of 4 (roughly 72 ppm) to insure the stability of your PH. KH can be raised without raising GH by adding baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) to your tank. Adding no more than 1/4 tsp. per 20 gallons will raise your KH by one degree, and your PH by no more than .1-.2.

http://www.wheelpost.com


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## ckll (Jun 20, 2003)

Hi marLe,

Each of the pH and kH kits should cost abt S$10 or so in Singapore. I'd recommend that you get a pH test kit that is graduated at a smaller interval (say 0.2 or 0.3) for a tighter range as opposed to one that has a larger range (pH3 to pH9 at 0.5 interval). This gives you a better reading when you try to measure your Co2 level.

Tap water in Singapore is generally soft (kH=0 or so). I'd recommend a Sera KH test kit. Each drop of the reagent equals 1 kH.

Hope that helps.


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## marLe (Aug 23, 2003)

just add baking soda in?
will it pollute the water or have any harmful effects?
im curently using sera kh plus..
if so i can save quite abit of $..
haha


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## BrianNY (Oct 17, 2003)

That chart is excellent!!!!! I just did this test. My ph is 6.9, kh 2 giving me a lower than wanted CO2 level. Question? Won't adding baking soda also increase the ph, thus keeping the CO2 level in the same range?

Brian


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

> quote:
> 
> Originally posted by BrianNY:
> Won't adding baking soda also increase the ph, thus keeping the CO2 level in the same range?


That's right. Adding baking soda doesn't change the CO2 level, it raises Kh and pH usually goes up in response. We use baking soda to raise Kh. It isn't intended to raise CO2.

Roger MIller

"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

KH is a buffer to the C02. C02 is carbonic acid so the more C02 you add, the lower your pH goes. The higher your KH is, the more C02 you can add safely without large pH swings. By cross referencing the pH and KH on the chart, it tells you how much C02 you need to add to bring the pH down to the level to reach the amount of C02 you need...follow what I mean?

Robert
King admin
www.aquabotanic.com


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## BrianNY (Oct 17, 2003)

Thanks Robert. I get the science now!!


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## marLe (Aug 23, 2003)

my ph is now abt 7.5
but my kh is 1, i want to raise my kh to 3 and lower my ph to 6.5, it isnt possible to use baking soda rite?

do u guys have any suggestion? (other than to use company products such as sera?)
thanks alot!


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## ghoster (Nov 27, 2005)

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## marLe (Aug 23, 2003)

but i dun wanna increase my PH anymore, thus baking soda wun help rite? cos it increases both of them... i wanna keep the ph constant and kh to rise only, any ideas?
thanks..xiexie


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## ghoster (Nov 27, 2005)

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## marLe (Aug 23, 2003)

wow... thanks alot man...
but i cant increase my c02...
im using a diy c02 system..

now here are wat i think i'll be doing..
i'll add kh plus and ph minus to the ideal reccomened levels... is tat gd?

haha...
special thanks to caseSENSITIVE for the help given...
cheers.


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## ghoster (Nov 27, 2005)

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## marLe (Aug 23, 2003)

tank: rekord 70 (2ft tank abt 19 gallons)
Light 2 x 15w light (1 arcadia freshwater, 1 daylight)
c02: sugar + yeast +bicarbonate of soda +h20
method of diffusion: A plastic thingey (the bubble goes zig zag direction and gets smaller when it moves)

baking soda wun be a choice for me cos i wanna increase my kh only.. =)


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## marLe (Aug 23, 2003)

Nutrafin CO2 Natural Plant System 
yesyes, tats my method of co2 diffusion..thanks.


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## ghoster (Nov 27, 2005)

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## marLe (Aug 23, 2003)

haha, tat target is a mistake on my part...
haha, cheers to caseSENSITIVE!


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