CO 2 question

[vinnyraptor]

my test kit has a chart for determining co2 level by comparing kh and ph. kh is 13 and ph is 8.0 but its says co2 is too low. is that right or am i misreading? 8.0 is good right? and kh of 13 is good too so why is co2 low?
im not big on testing all of the time but since i added so homemade LR i just wanted to make sure my ph wont go too high and decided to test for kh for the heck of it.
how important is a good c02 reading anyways??

 

[bang guy]

Originally Posted by VinnyRaptor
http:///forum/post/2949683
my test kit has a chart for determining co2 level by comparing kh and ph. kh is 13 and ph is 8.0 but its says co2 is too low. is that right or am i misreading? 8.0 is good right? and kh of 13 is good too so why is co2 low?
im not big on testing all of the time but since i added so homemade LR i just wanted to make sure my ph wont go too high and decided to test for kh for the heck of it.
how important is a good c02 reading anyways??
CO2 is important for a freshwater planted tank.
The only time I've ever been concerned with having enough CO2 was for dripping limewater. I don't believe it is typically considered a parameter than can get too low unless, like I said, for limewater.
Most of the concern would be for CO2 that's too high and supressing PH. Come to think of it, your levels indicate an overabundance of CO2, not a shortage. What test kit is this that you are using?

 

[vinnyraptor]

Originally Posted by Bang Guy
http:///forum/post/2949757
CO2 is important for a freshwater planted tank.
The only time I've ever been concerned with having enough CO2 was for dripping limewater. I don't believe it is typically considered a parameter than can get too low unless, like I said, for limewater.
Most of the concern would be for CO2 that's too high and supressing PH. Come to think of it, your levels indicate an overabundance of CO2, not a shortage. What test kit is this that you are using?
its a cheap tetra laborett for fresh and salt. ph kh nitrate and ammo.
the co2 chart says mine is 3.7 parts per mill and on the chart thats low
btw thanks for the help and quick responses...

 

[aquaknight]

Here is the equation used to get co2 from KH and pH;
CO2(mg/l) = 3.0 * KH * 10^(7.00 - pH)
What does this mean? Very little. As you can see, the general high pH of saltwater, will always cause a low CO2 reading, as there is actually little CO2 in the water, compared to freshwater.
Vinny, I'd say your levels are off/take another look. NSW has a KH of 7.5. Generally, I believe most say to keep the level around 10dKH. 13KH seems high. Inversely your pH is low, the target to maintain is around 8.3 pH.

 

[vinnyraptor]

Originally Posted by AquaKnight
http:///forum/post/2949819
Here is the equation used to get co2 from KH and pH;
CO2(mg/l) = 3.0 * KH * 10^(7.00 - pH)
What does this mean? Very little. As you can see, the general high pH of saltwater, will always cause a low CO2 reading, as there is actually little CO2 in the water, compared to freshwater.
Vinny, I'd say your levels are off/take another look. NSW has a KH of 7.5. Generally, I believe most say to keep the level around 10dKH. 13KH seems high. Inversely your pH is low, the target to maintain is around 8.3 pH.
i know the ph is low it was 7.7 to 7.8 before i added the fake LR i made. let me go back...
i made a batch of rock using portland cement and argonite sand. fast forward 8 weeks of fresh water soaking. i put it in fresh salt for a week then tested ph. it was about 8.3 to 8.4 for the heck of it i tested my DT it was low ??? 7.7 to 7.8 i added the rock to the DT ( 95 gal wave front ammo. 0.0 nitrate 0.0 no reading on either) so know i have been testing everything daily to see if there is any negative reaction to the rock i made mainly ph. rigt now the ph is 8.0 its been 2 days. kh read 13 buts its drop by drop so the accuracy of that test is questionable. it could be 11 but i made sure of a complete color change at 13. i read 8 to 15 is ok.
everyones help is greatly appreciated! the main thing is all livestock are fine. have about 80 lbs of LR. yellow tang, powder brown tang, 2 tomatoes, 1 sebae, mandarin, lawn mower, 1 anemone, a tube worm, camel shrimp, emerald crab, 2 urchins, hermits, nassiurus, turbos, and an ss star.