Have you considered writing-up your knowledge/experience in an AC article? I
would surely appreciate it!
----- Original Message -----
From: "Crail, Todd" <tcrail_at_northshores.com>
To: <nanfa_at_aquaria.net>
Sent: Monday, January 13, 2003 7:50 AM
Subject: RE: NANFA-- weird darter illness?
> I'll let Nick qualify his own use of "never" :)
>
> However, I feel we're talking apples and oranges here (esp since we don't
know
> what Geoff's system setup is :). With heavily planted systems, you're
dead
> on. Heck, on my rainbowfish aquarium at home, I'm getting ready to add
> *nitrate* to help push the system forward... How different is that from
the
> "textbook"? ;)
>
> In a system that *doesn't* rely on plants or some other oxygenating
mechanism,
> finely ground CO2 is a big, big no-no, and the aquarist would want to
diffuse
> as much CO2 off from the system as possible (injecting more is even
worse).
> Especially in a system that houses high dissolved oxygen requiring animals
> such as riffle dwelling darters.
>
> The only O2 generating mechanism (besides surface gas exchange) in this
system
> is algae (which does a substantial amount of oxygenating). However, if
there's
> a canister filter on this type of less-natural system, the bacteria
> respiration in the canister alone is going to counter that, in my opinion.
> Which means when the algae are not releasing their products of
photosynthesis
> at night, the system is in grave danger of oxygen depression or depletion.
>
> Add to this DO2 depression a supersaturation of CO2 and nitrogen
(maximizing
> the potential availability of those molecules), and you get animals
> whirlygigging all over the place. Once the algae go to "bed" at "night",
it
> gets deadly, and right quick.
>
> What's amazing is you can take them from this whirlygigged disposition,
move
> them to a more stable DO2 environment, and they bounce out of it like
magic.
>
> I "worked" with this indepth at my fish shop, with all sorts of lab grade
> probes and what not. I can type up the scenario later on, if we think
this
> would be of some benefit to understanding how I observed animal health in
> concern to DO2 and photosynthesis. Certainly not worthy of a real paper,
but
> the modest anecdote's results were quite impressive, and certainly changed
the
> way I view my aquaria.
>
> Todd
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: John Bongiovanni
>
> Those of us (me anyway) with Native plants with our Native fish who use
CO2
> injection to "fertilize" the plants always have our effluent enter under
the
> water for those exact reasons. Surface aggitation will allow the CO2 to
> escape and cause a pH rise in the water. My CO2 enters through the intake
and
> is dissolved as it goes through my canister filter. I use a diffuser bar
> located near the bottom on the back of the tank to reduce the current
effect
> on the plants.
> There has to be plenty of O2 in the tank due to the plants and CO2 has
kept
> the water at 6.8 - 7.0 pH. Without the CO2 the pH tends to range in the
high
> 7's to low 8's.
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