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cONTRAST

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  1. Drop checkers are a very good method, so long as you know your water's kH levels. This tells you how much of a buffer your water has available to absorb c02 without drastically changing your pH. The drop checkers are a pH monitor and are very accurate as long as you are using a known kH graded solution. The table below shows the ppm that c02 must be at to affect a pH drop of a certain degree... I.E. If your kH is say 20 -30 it will have to absorb twice as much cO2 to reach a pH of 7 from say 7.8 ... So your c02 ppm can be higher or lower in the tank if you're drop checker isn't calibrated for an exact kH. Most reference solutions are calibrated at 4 kH. So if you're trying to hit a sweet spot... Say 30 ppm at 7 pH, you have to buffer your water to a kH of 10... Drop checker kits that ask you to inject tank water can be dangerous for the following reasons... If you use a pre-calibrated reference solution which is at 4 kH. It will give you an accurate reading of total dissolved c02 in your dropper so you know exactly which ppm gives you which color. As the dropper absorbs c02 and the dropper's pH hits 7.0 it would be 11.8 ppm. Your tanks water however can be any number outside of 4 kH. Which would mean if the dropper is saying 11.8 ppm and your tanks kH is actually 20, then your tanks c02 may be much lower ppm ( safe ). If you have a dropper kit that asks you to inject tank water ( !?!?! ) you need to know exactly your kH to calibrate the bromothymol blue solution you mix with your tank water. This lets you know where you stand in the chart above.... The other down sides of trying to push high c02 ( 30 ppm ) with low kH is that green and lime green can look very close in the dropper, and a few shades one way or another ( just 0.2 pH ) is actually a LOT MORE c02 than you intended!!! TLDR... Use a pre-calibrated drop checker solution from a reputable brand or buy a 4 kH buffer solution to mix with the bromo. Expect to have to raise your tanks pH to help buffer for the absorbed c02... There are other factors of course. Acidity vs Alkalinity can be effected by more than just carbonic acid. For the purpose of this explanation they need not apply. 😃
  2. Also, Your Java fern needs to be unplanted and put back in the wood piece it came with ( if it came on a wood base ) as it is a rhizome, and it will rot for sure. If you have some super glue just find a good piece of décor and glue the bottom the of the stems to it, above the surface of your tank bed.
  3. I do believe the Scarlet Temples aren't fully converted, and may require you to wait for the tops to sprout runners. You then cut them below the new root runners and plant them in good stratum. I could be wrong, it was something I thought Cory mentioned in a pod cast. I did that with mine after hearing about it, and they are still going healthy, tall, and very densely packed levels of red foliage. I have a lot of natural iron in my tap water, with a high KH. I run mid to high light w/ medium c02 injection in a fully planted 45 gallon community tank. I can see some runners at the top of yours already. It worked from me but with my memory lol I might have just got lucky and misheard/misapplied advice... Maybe someone else can confirm this about converting Scarlet Temples?
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