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My pH profile

This was the tank about 2 weeks ago:

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Co2 is diffused via an inline UP atomizer. The spray bar is pointed very slightly down towards the front glass, at an angle of maybe 20 degrees. The external filter is rated for 1400 lph and the tank is 125 litres. There is also an internal 1000 lph Juwel Bioflow filter which is responsible for the surface agitation. A rated flow of 2400 LPH is more than enough in a 125L tank, is it not?

The KH is between 2.3 and 2.7. This is according to a (very reliable) Salifert titration method test kit. I trust it.

The internal filter is on the far right of the picture- not sure you can make it out. The water is pumped from the outlet horizontally along the back of the tank. The outlet is making a slight surface ripple. The last pH profile I posted here was after reducing the surface agitation quite significantly.

Please ask any more questions that might help you understand my tank better. I really do appreciate the time you are giving this thread. It may seem like I am being obsessive, but I want to get the balance in this tank just right, so once I have achieved that balance, I can hopefully stop worrying about the Co2 levels once and for all.

I can take more pics of specific areas of the tank if that would help.
 

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Wow that tank looks amazing, I would not be worrying about my ph profile if it were mine. I would be to busy showing it off. But then again im an amateur plant grower and can fully understand you want the best for your plants from the start of the photoperiod to the end. But I for now can only wish to achieve a tank like that. The closest I ever get to pearling is the tiny bubbles after my water change lol. Good luck with your ph profile. Your obviously doing something right either way as your plants look real happy!
 
Aww thanks a lot mate, much appreciated. Comments like that make it all worthwhile.
 
Hi, reading your thread I would suggest 4 things:

- switching on the CO2 2 hours before light on is not that much... I have a very high KH, don't know exactly how much but higher than yours, and I have to switch on my co2 3,5 hours before lights on to have a nice pH drop. You should reach a faster drop with your kH but try to switch on 3 hours before, for example, and measure if it works.

- as far as I have understood your spraybar jets are pointed towards the front glass, but the internal filter outflow is pointing along the back glass... This is not good as far as I know. The flow of one filter is decreasing the effectiveness of the other one. All the outflow jets have to work together.

- why do not increase the bps? In my tank I try to save that bullet for the end (I preferred to improve other issues that increase co2 effectiveness rather than injecting more and more), but if your fish are ok, increase the bubble rate. Every time I visit planted tank galleries I am amazed with the bubble rate folks use... Man, I cannot even count the bubbles! I know that bps is not a reliable indicator, but if you just want to have, as I do, 1 or max 2 bps, everything might be fine tuned.

-...and the very best one: reduce the light, take it easy, forget your algae problems and enjoy! I have some old plants leaves with some thread algae now but I can live with them... You know, life became much easier just raising 20 cm my light fixture.

Hope it helps... :)

Jordi
 
That's one gorgeous looking aquarium!

I think Tom Barr is able to achieve such fast drops in pH because he uses a 'wet-dry filter'. This is basically a sump where the water leaving the aquarium is literally sprinkled down through some filter media. This allows for massive oxygenation and also degassing of injected CO2 which simply cannot be matched by the external filters or any other kind of filter more typically used.

For us mere mortals (using an internal or external canister filter), degassing of CO2 is a much slower process so we cannot inject at such high BPS without risking our livestock as the CO2 causes pH to drop too far. Likewise, it takes all night for the pH to rise once the CO2 is turned off.

We can't hope to achieve the same results as a 'wet-dry filter'.
 
Thank you everyone for all the kind words and advice. It really is great to have feedback like that!

Having read all these comments, I think what I am going to do now is just leave things be. The fish are happy and the plants are growing really well and I have no issues with algae etc. If I fiddle too much I might upset the balance. It has taken me a long time to get my tank to the stage it is at now, and I am very happy with it atm. So I don't want to risk losing that.

Thank you everyone for all your help and advice. I am very grateful.
 
Your tank looks really nice , you should be pleased with that :)
What lighting do you have over it ??

I too have a 125 liter tank with a 1400lph external filter (aquamanta efx 400) , co2 diffused via inline .
My kh is 4 and I am able to get a full drop in ph about an hour after co2 on.

I haven't got a drop checker so can't compare that .
I did have an 800lph powerhead diffused via a spray bar the full length of the tank but I removed it and now I seem to get a more of a drop in ph .

Maybe turn the extra flow off for a day and see what drop you get ?




Sent from my mobile telecommunications device
 
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