# Diy C02



## Jay-Piranha (Jan 14, 2010)

I was wondering I tested my PH and it's at 6.0 ammonia 0, nitrite 0.1, nitrate 10. Would my c02 diy cause thisdrop in PH, should I be worried. I have been experimenting with plants and I was under the impression c02 would benefit the growth. They started getting like a pale green so I hooked up a couple 2 litre pop bottles and seem to be getting around 40 bubbles a minute and am using a elite mini to defuse the bubbles. I also added some nutrafin plant grow and in a couple of days they seem to be getting greener. I'm worried that I can add too much c02 or throw my tank outa wack it's well established 75 gallon with 4 red bellies I have a fluval 305, AC 50 and a aqua tech 20-40 on the back of my tank I have no carbon only bio max noodles and pre filter sponge and my tank is always crystal clear any advice would be appreciated ....thanks oh ya almost forgot single strip lighting just pretty basic ...


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

It would be tough to cause a major drop in pH using DIY co2 on a 75, what was the pH of your tank before and what is the pH of the water out of your tap?


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## Jay-Piranha (Jan 14, 2010)

I have another tank with my sons goldfish that is kept really well and the ph is 7.6 just like right outa the tap. So what your saying is the co2 contraption I should'nt worry about I probably never get enough co2 in the tank to harm anything I have recently placed a fair amount of wood pieces I bought not quite sure what they are made of I wonder if they would have helped in lowering my ph ....


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

DIY co2 usually isn't effective enough to cause huge spikes in co2 content -- with a 75 gallon tank, I've seen people use 4 bottles. It could be your driftwood, although that's quite a big drop in pH. How much driftwood did you put in the tank?


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## MFNRyan (Mar 27, 2011)

I have no driftwood or co2 on my tank and at the tap i have 7.3 in my tanks it's 6. I don't know what causes it, but it does the same thing. Someone told me I should put crushed coral in the filters. I like the idea but am afraid the pH will not be stable as the coral loses it effect or I have to add more cause whats in is not enough. I'm not sure on that stuff but glad you posted I may learn something from this


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

Some water treatment facilities raise the pH of the water in order to prevent excess wear on pipes, the fix is just temporary, so the pH will drop on it's own after coming out of the tap. One way to test if that's the case in your area is to fill up a cup with water from the tap, test the pH, and then let it sit out on the counter overnight before testing again the next day.


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## MFNRyan (Mar 27, 2011)

Hey Joe, if this is the case am i spiking my pH with every water chage? Also what do you know about coral or mineral bones ( like for birds) to help keep your pH higher then 6.0


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

I wouldn't mess with pH once the water is in your tank, the best option is to take care of it before the water enters your tank, usually by something as simple as aging your water for 24 hours.

The first thing you need to do is figure out exactly what's causing the drop in pH -- test your water directly out of the tap and again after sitting for 24 hours, also test your tank before and then immediately after a water change.


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## MFNRyan (Mar 27, 2011)

I could not possibly age the water since I do 30-40 gallons a week in my 125, 15 gallons a week in my 55, 25 gallons a week in my 100g, 20 gallons a week in my 72g. An sometimes I do more then once water change a week. Depends on feeding for that week. I'll try the aging the water though just to see if it is the factor. If that is the case, do you think by adding the water to my tank I am spiking the pH or is there not enough water change to effect that?


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

Aging water is easy, just need a storage tank or two and a pump (if you don't want to haul water in buckets).

Like I said, you need to run a few tests to figure out what's causing the swings and also to figure out how bad it is. Test your tap water and then test your tank water before and after a water change, then a few more times over the next few days to track the swing.


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## Bawb2u (May 27, 2004)

MFNRyan said:


> I could not possibly age the water since I do 30-40 gallons a week in my 125, 15 gallons a week in my 55, 25 gallons a week in my 100g, 20 gallons a week in my 72g. An sometimes I do more then once water change a week. Depends on feeding for that week. I'll try the aging the water though just to see if it is the factor. If that is the case, do you think by adding the water to my tank I am spiking the pH or is there not enough water change to effect that?


You should go out and get a GH/KH test kit. Since your pH drops so much, I would guess that you have very soft water, that has no buffering capabilities, essentially meaning you have no minerals in your water. You may be able to fix this with something as simple as adding some baking soda to your tanks when you do water changes.

Are you on town water? If so, do they use chlorine or chloromines? This is very important, if you don't know, call your local DPW to find out. There are a big difference between the two in the way YOU have to treat your water.


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## Jay-Piranha (Jan 14, 2010)

Yes I'm on town water. I phoned Big Al's and talked to someone there and he also said to get a KH test kit or bring in a 
sample of water. They could test it for me he also asked if I leave food in for very long that this can cause ph to be this low also that I probably need to stir up my gravel a little to release sedement that could be built up ....not really sure I have pool filter sand and it seems pretty clean to me. I was also told that if my fish are happy, active and eat not to worry because they are the ones that would tell me if they where not happy ...by their behaviour. They seem to be fine ..lol maybe I overreacted I will keep an eye on things and do some of the things you guys suggested. Thanks


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## MFNRyan (Mar 27, 2011)

When adding backing soda how do you know how much to add? I hear just a slight amount can cause the pH to change a lot. So you would have to add the exact amount everytime


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