co2 issue?

[diggidy]

i am wondering...i plan on taking a sample out of my tank, and aerating it with outside air...if i have a high level of co2, will the alkalinity rise in the sample? is this a valid/worthwhile experiment?
tahnks as always

[seven ephors]

I will test the pH instead of alk... aerating a water sample with outdoor air, then indoor air, then outdoor air again and test the pH of each stage. This is much easier if you have a pH meter.

[diggidy]

ph is not the problem in question here...i have ph of 8.35 and alk of 1.25 i was trying to test the level of information i had recived from lfs...stating thatt heavy cig smoke may be responsible for dropping alk...i'm wondering if anyone knows if this is a worthwhile experiment??

[Boomer]

CO2 does not afffect Alk. CO2 will lower the pH, the Alk will be the same

[diggidy]

basically meaning that alk is "used" up and cannot be "revived"...in the way that pH can...thta's what i was thinking ;( randy already stated that he didn't think that there would be a correlation b/t smoke and lower alk
thanks boomer

[diggidy]

ps...so one would have to say that i should be looking somewhere else for my alkalinity issues?

[Boomer]

basically meaning that alk is "used" up and cannot be "revived"...

No, the Alk will still be the same if CO2 increases in the tank, just the pH will drop. But if you are saying your Alk keeps going down then yes, it is more than likely not a CO2 issue but Alk issue. Low Alk can also cause pH probems

so one would have to say that i should be looking somewhere else for my alkalinity issues?

Yes, such as corals and algae pulling it down or organic build up. Better nutrient export would help if that might be an issue

I wanted to post two of Randy's articles for you but the site is down. So later go here and click on the pH and Alk articles

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=102605

[diggidy]

thanks again boomer... i always think i know what the articles mean,,,, until i need to apply them in a slightly different way than they are discussed....i gues that's what it means to UNDERSTAND chem vs. just being able to regurgitate it :) thanks again

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

i am wondering...i plan on taking a sample out of my tank, and aerating it with outside air...if i have a high level of co2, will the alkalinity rise in the sample? is this a valid/worthwhile experiment?


Thanks, Boomer.

Yes, it is a fundamental principle that adding or removing CO2 cannot have any impact on carbonate alkalinity.