Great article.

[DonJasper]

I have one question though about the O2 levels - and wouldn't exposure to air 'oxygenate' the sample?

[mgchan]

I'm not sure if you're referring to the DIY Kalk Dripper with the addition of the air pump.

If you are...

It's possible the positive air pressure is oxygenating the kalk mix but my opinion is that it's not. There's no agitation of the mix going on and it's a steady pressure pushing the mix out. If you adjust the air valve (#1, the one just before the bottle) to drip at your desired rate, the air pressure is not great enough to even inflate a balloon.

I would also tend to think that there's more exposure to air at the point where the kalk drips out into the tank.

[Skipper]

Don: who is this question addressed to?

[DonJasper]

Originally posted by Skipper
Don: who is this question addressed to?

I guess your ESP interface is still down huh? Oh well guess I'll have to do it "Old School" then. :)

'k In July 2004 - Volume 3 Issue 6. Sandra Shoup in "Sand Bed Ecology: The Continuing Saga" writes:


First, conventional wisdom held that the lower level of my sand bed would be an anaerobic zone. However, my tests showed a value of 5ppm dissolved oxygen at the very bottom of the bed, a depth of 10 cm.

And so I was wondering if the water drawn from beneath the surface of the sand could've picked up oxygen from the air before the O2 test was carried out.

[reefgal]

Unlike the other tests where I collected all the water for the various depths, then did all the tests together, I had to draw the water and do each test immediately. The water is put into a test tube with a very small surface area and agitation of the water is kept to a bare minimum, so it appears that the amount of oxygen that could dissolve into the sample during the test was minimal. After the test was done, I left the sample in the test tube and watched the color change gradually as the dissolved oxygen came up. It took several minutes.

[DonJasper]

Thanks!