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What factors affect the amount of co2 in a tank w/o purposely adding it?

The reason I'm asking is b/c I'm wondering how many plants I can put in a 10g with 3wpg and sand substrate. The level of co2 is the only factor I can't measure.

Hi,
Actually, you can measure the CO2 in the tank.
Measure the KH of the tank and the pH. Then go to
a chart such as this:
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_co2chart.htm
and plug in your values. Plants "enjoy" a CO2 saturation
over 15mg/l and generally less than 30mg/l.

The KH, pH, and amount of surface turbulance affect the
amount of disolved CO2 is in the tank. Reducing the
turbulance (remove airstones, keep filter returns under
the surface and aimed so that they dont rile the surface)
will help keep the CO2 in the water.
Frank


[span class="edited"][Edited by FRANK 2004-09-07 21:51][/span]

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Thanks Frank,
I'll have to do some tests and see what I find out.