Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at
5:37 pm
i have an established 74 gallon planted tank set up as a south american black water tank. it is what you would call a ‘el natural’, ‘dutch’ or "Walstead" style tank. this means that i have no chemical or mechanical filtration; it is all biological in the form of plants, algæ and bacteria. so, the growth and health of my plants is paramount. the rapid plant growth and enthusiastic breeding of the fish shows that it is a stable independent biotrope (havent even done a partial water change since april).
are there any house-hold chemicals that degrade into a form of CO2 that is usable by plants? i dont want to use bottled CO2 or a fermentation reactor. until now, i have been using ‘Flourish Excel’ which is made by Seachem. it is a product that i would highly recommend to anyone, but the levels that i am currently dosing at to maintain the desired level of 10-15ppm, is getting a little out of my budget. i know that vinegar can be added to change the pH and that it degrades into a usable form of CO2, but is it practical for everyday use? i havent heard of anyone using it for prolonged periods. i am worried that if i change what i am currently doing, even a little, the entire system could crash. my thought was that i could monitor the system as i slowly in crease the doses and add tiny amounts of alkaline buffer to stabilize the pH.
i would consider myself to be among the top echelons of intermediate freshwater fish keepers. this being said, i cant find any one locally to mentor me any further. does any one know where i can find someone with personal experience in this area? maybe an enthusiastic moderator on a planted-tank forum?
any insights, experience or leads on further research would be greatly appreciated! thanks for your time,
-RT
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