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help needed

turkishpat

New Member
Joined
19 Oct 2009
Messages
18
i would like a little i have a rio 400 discus set up for 3 yrs now, ive decided to go along the co2 route to help with plants i have a pressurised unit with a ph201 controller t5 lighting before i had co2 my ph was 6.5 now when i set my controller at ph 6.4 the co2 disperces which then lowers th ph to 6.4 then the controller turns the co2 off my drop checker is always dark green . how do i recitfy this, sorry to be vague as im new to a planted set up as my discus have always come first :?
 
I thought it was typical for pressurised C02 to drop the pH by 1? I've been told that this drop in pH caused by C02 isn't harmfull to the fish.

So presumable you need to change the controllers pH to around 5 - 5.5. This will allow it to stay on to add the C02.
 
Bobtastic said:
I thought it was typical for pressurised C02 to drop the pH by 1? I've been told that this drop in pH caused by C02 isn't harmfull to the fish.

So presumable you need to change the controllers pH to around 5 - 5.5. This will allow it to stay on to add the C02.

yeah, set the controller to the desired ph, not the ph the tank is at.

a drop of 1 ph from the tank ph is a rough guide line.

i personally would just use the controller as a safety cut off rather than to actually "control" the CO2
mine is on a timer so it comes on 2.5 hours before the lights. (off 2 hours before lights)
the controller is set a little lower than my desired ph and the bubble rate is such that the controller never actually reaches the limit and switches the CO2 off, its just there in case i mess up basically.

if the controller if left on all the time, it can lead you to have problems with fluctuating co2 i believe.
if say the ph limit was reached and the co2 turns off just before the lights came on, the tank may end up co2 limited at a critical time, as the co2 wont switch on until the ph rises again.

hope this makes sense! :0/

also may be a good idea when posting to be a bit more informative with the thread title, some ppl tend to get a bit annoyed with those "help please" type titles!! ;0)
 
thanks for your replys what i will do is set th ph on the controller at say 5.5 as a safety net should my system fail so i dont gas the fish , should i use the co2 constant or on a timer in conjunction with the lights thanks again for your help pat :D :D
 
i'm sure some ppl will use them as "normal" with no problems. I guess it depends partly on the lighting, the higher it is, the more critical co2 levels become.
If you do use it on a timer. Have it come on a couple of hours before the lights and off a couple of hours before lights off.
Also dont "trust" it to be accurate, other things can influence the ph in the tank also.
So if you dont have a drop checker also its worth getting one.
 
thanks for all your advice i have a drop checker so i can keep a check on it , i have arcadia t5 overhead lighting so plenty of light will set the controller on the timer like you said cheers pat :thumbup:
 
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