Day 6:

Day 6:

February 12, 2009

pH 7.5

NO₂ <0.3-0.3ppm

NH₃/NH₄⁺ 1.5-3.0ppm

GH 5

KH 2

CO2 2

I turned off the bubble wand to see if CO2 levels would improve and they have as much if not more than expected in less than 24 hours. However, oxygen is needed for the good bacteria growth so I will be turning it back on, but want to wait another day to see how big a difference it makes to the CO2 levels. For now I don’t have plants to worry about in regards to CO2.

This is when having an Oxygen test kit would come in handy. So I would know how much the bubble wand is actually adding. I do know that the actual bubbles are adding little to no oxygen to the water. It’s the surface agitation that causes/allows the water to dissolve and absorb oxygen. This same agitation/movement is what allows CO2 to escape the water, so bubble aeration is a double edge sword for plant keepers.

I may be adding more ammonia soon. Some articles say to add more ammonia to keep the level up at 5ppm until the nitrites appear and others say not to add more until it drops to 0. I already have nitrites, so I’m not sure what to do. We shall see what I decide to do on the next post!