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what kind of plant?

Absolutely. And 20 different test kits and £800 of lighting. :)

I think you would be better off with a complete fertiliser, that one is just trace elements.

I hope you didn't think I was having a dig at you @Matt1994 , you are absolutely right for an aquarium forum. But it I thought it sounds like @jennnndawg is studying plants for their own sake, not in an aquarium context. I hope s/he will be back and perhaps tell us more. :)

Welcome! :) The 30ppm mentioned by @Matt1994 applies to aquariums with fish, shrimps, snails etc. It is generally considered a safe maximum for livestock. In the absence of animals higher levels can give faster growth, - some people do this in a newly set-up tank to get the plants off to a good...

When I considered building a meter, the sensors were about £10 to buy just one at retail price. I imagine the large-scale Chinese makers can get them a lot cheaper than that. Even the kit you linked to has the option of with or without the sensor, and the price difference is only $20.

I wish :)

It's this one; Meter Lots of sellers have what looks to be the same one, some are a bit cheaper but slower to arrive. In fact mine was £12.55 but they have now put it up to £12.99, - I must be an influencer. :)

Good guess. :)

I got a room CO2 monitor today. Only a cheap one so I don't know how accurate it is, but I think it will tell me the difference between a bit and lots, and whether it's increasing or stable. It also measures temperature and humidity, and those readings match those on another monitor I already...

It may be relevant that many of our aquarium plants live submerged only seasonally in their natural habitat.

FWIW I always think it's less stressful for the fish if I do maintenance etc when the lights are on.

You should be fine with the fluid, it should be 4DH. It measures the pH in that fluid, which changes with the CO2 level. CO2 diffuses from the tank water into the air space in the drop checker and then into the fluid. There's a bit of a time lag while that happens, but after that the pH change...

The pH in the drop checker is independent of the tank water. Did you use commercial drop checker fluid? Or make your own with 4DH water?

That is a valid concern if you have livestock in the tank. You need to make your adjustments when you are available to observe the inhabitants for any signs of distress. If you haven't stocked the tank yet, you don't need to worry. Your plants won't come to any harm from overdoing the CO2.

It looks like they are enjoying playing in the bubbles. Do they behave normally when the CO2 is off? Any other strange behaviour, like scratching against hardscape?

It may also be relevant that these can breathe air, whereas Nerites (and I think Rabbit Snails) can't.

There are other factors that can affect the tank pH besides the CO2 level. It's not unusual for it to be different to the source water, tap or whatever.

Yes, they can be very boisterous, so much so that it limits what else you can keep with them. Have a look at Five-Banded Barbs, they are quite similar, but smaller and more peaceful.

I think it was originally intended to be a maximum, as most fish can tolerate that level. Then it got misinterpreted as a goal.

Make only small adjustments. You can always adjust it a bit more another day. And only adjust anything when you will be available to check on the livestock at frequent intervals afterwards. And Welcome! :)

Supermarkets usually have it in the baking aisle, used in icing. Or Amazon

Apparently, pH probes can be susceptible to electrical interference, so that might be an issue. There's some discussion of it here; https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/rise-and-fall-of-ph.40312/#post-437554

The answer to that depends on the answer to this; Are you happy with the growth and health of your plants?

Remember that the 'easy' plants will also grow perfectly well if you don't inject CO2.

My limited understanding is that that is the case if there are other alkaline buffers present. But if there are acid buffers present* those could have the opposite effect. If both are present they will have to fight it out and things could get really complicated. :) So I would start with a...

George Booth also said: "Note that the LaMotte CO2 test kit has a resolution of 1 ppm (mg/l) and an error of about +/- 2 ppm."

Is that a Climbing Perch I can see in the pic? That's another fish that can get aggressive and injure or harrass other fish.

Hi, welcome and happy birthday! :) A lot depends on what plants you have, or want to have in future. Lots will grow well in a low-tech tank without injecting CO2. If you stick with CO2 you will find those small cans work out quite expensive in the long term, so it could be worth looking at the...

That has the advantage that it's very unlikely that you will overtighten it.

Until some-one with the same unit chimes in, I could take a guess. It may be one of those where you need to screw the nut down against the body of the unit, then push the hose onto the projecting stub, and turn the nut anti-clockwise, bringing it away from the body and up onto the hose, so...

A similar change occurs when the monsoon arrives in those areas affected by it (the origin of many of our Asian fish), and when summer comes to the Himalayas, feeding large amounts of meltwater into many rivers and streams.

If you camera/phone/computer can do it; film it and play back at half or quarter speed for easier counting.

You might want to check your drop checker is working properly, eg by breathing into it. It's just possible that the solution wasn't made up correctly.

Don't rush into it Stryda :)

Don't pay £2 per 100g for bicarb when you can get 10kg for £15 https://www.amazon.co.uk/SODIUM-BICARBONATE-BUCKETS-Cleaning-Hexeal%C2%AE/dp/B079VNDGW1/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1548182344&sr=8-7&keywords=sodium%2Bbicarbonate&th=1

Nice analogy, Darrel. :)

I have used Planted Tanks quite a few times now, and I agree their customer service is excellent. When postage costs increased recently there was a discussion on their own forum about how to proceed, and they found they could offer the next day courier service cheaper than posting for most...