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Aquatic Plants Digest V2 #362

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Dec 4, 1996, 3:00:00 AM12/4/96

Aquatic Plants Digest Wednesday, 4 December 1996 Volume 02 : Number 362

In this issue:

CO2 regulator
Test Kit Ranking...
Re: Potassium chloride
Re:CO2 regulator suggestions
Re: CO2 Regulator Suggestions Requested
CO2 Valves
Fw: Regulator woes
Re: Encyclopedia freshwaterplants on CD ROM
Re: Aquatic Plants Digest V2 #360
PMDD, Calcium and the FAQ

See the end of the digest for information on subscribing to the
Aquatic Plants mailing list and on how to retrieve back issues.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Douglas A Moller <damo...@odin.thor.net>
Date: Wed, 04 Dec 1996 05:38:11 -0800
Subject: CO2 regulator

Bryan,
The regulator you purchased must be defective. A bubble a minute should
be within the bounds of any regulator without freezing up. Freezing is
caused by discharching gas to quickly then an ice particle will form
that will keep the diaphram from closing, thus your loss of CO2. Was
this a new regulator. Anybody that wants a supply of new regulators and
CO2 equip at resonable prices, can call Foxx Equipment at
1-800-821-2254. I have had this same problem at work(I work in a
Brewery). I had to cut down the flow rate at which I was using during
carbonation.

Douglas Alan Moller

------------------------------

From: Nicholas Schmidt <nsch...@puc.cl>
Date: Wed, 4 Dec 1996 10:48:04 -0300 (-0300)
Subject: Test Kit Ranking...

I was planning to buy some test kits to be able to control better all the
chemical aspects of the water, but I have been overwhelmed by the amount of
different types, qualities and prices available (from the U$35 for Kordon
Master to the U$250 LaMotte Master Kit). As usual I imagine that more
expensive ones are of better quality but I am not sure how relevant this is
(can the measurings be very off the mark ???). Anyway, what I was thinking
was that if anybody had already tried with more than one brand he could
share his conclusions.

Some of the brands I have seen are: 1)fasTesT, 2)LaMotte, 3)Mersk,
4)Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, 5)Mardel, 6)Wardley, 7)Any other

I was also wondering if there was a significant difference in quality or
usefullness between the normal "drop" kits and the "paper strip" kits.

Any help would be greatly appreiatted (especially by all my
fish)

Nicholas

------------------------------

From: pse...@NRCan.gc.ca (Paul Sears)
Date: Wed, 4 Dec 1996 08:49:56 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Re: Potassium chloride

> From: JOlso...@aol.com
> Subject: Disappearing "Illegal" laterite

(snip)...
>
> A lot of Potash liquid supplements say on the bottle that the
> source of Potassium (potash) is Potassium Chloride, which is common ice
> melting salt.

I think you will find that ice melting salt is _sodium_ chloride.
Urea is sometimes used.

- --
Paul Sears Ottawa, Canada

Finger ap...@freenet.carleton.ca for PGP public key.

------------------------------

From: mark....@tpwd.state.tx.us
Date: Wed, 04 Dec 96 09:15:26 cst
Subject: Re:CO2 regulator suggestions

I use a 20 pound CO2 cylinder, topped off with a regulator (purchased from
a local beer-brewing supply for $45) and a NuPro needle valve (mentioned in
the FAQ and purchased from a local valve supply for $35). It's a manual
system--no solenoid. I do not believe it is necessary.

The regulator has two manometers, one for cylinder pressure and one for
output pressure. The regulator's control valve is not precise enough to
consistently produce the 1 bubble/second flow I want, and that is what the
needle valve is for. It has a micrometer-like adjustment that can
accurately dole out any flow rate from one bubble/minute to empty the
cylinder/minute. It even has a set screw to prevent my three year old from
making unauthorized adjustments.

I keep the output from the regulator to the needle valve at 30 psi. Needle
valves need a fair amount of incoming pressure (>10-15 psi) to work
properly. Regular airline tubing then runs from the needle valve to my
Eheim intake.

I'm sure the Dupla equipment works just fine, but I cannot imagine a BETTER
manual system than mine, especially for the price.

------------------------------

From: George Booth <bo...@hpmtlgb1.lvld.hp.com>
Date: Wed, 04 Dec 1996 08:29:00 -0700
Subject: Re: CO2 Regulator Suggestions Requested

From: James Purchase <j...@inforamp.net>
Date: Tue, 03 Dec 1996 23:49:35 -0500

> In George Booth's FAQ on CO2 he recommends the Dupla Reactor S and
> their Bubble counter. Fine, I can get those through Pet Warehouse. I
> have about 50 feet of silicone tubing and intend to also order a Dupla
> check valve from Pet Warehouse when I order the Reactor.

The Dupla bubble counter has a built-in check valve; you don't need
another one.

George

------------------------------

From: George Booth <bo...@hpmtlgb1.lvld.hp.com>
Date: Wed, 04 Dec 1996 08:58:45 -0700
Subject: CO2 Valves

Many people have sent me info on sources for CO2 valves and I feel
honor-bound to share them with the APD. So, enjoy!

CO2 Needle Valves
- -----------------

For a better (although much more expensive) valve, try to locate a
a Nupro B-4MG2 valve.

The following are retail sources of the B-4MG2 valve:

Denver Valve and Fitting Co.
950 Simms
Lakewood, CO
(303-232-8844)

They will send via UPS (at least they did at one time) and they
charged $35 plus $7 shipping some years ago.

Minnesota Valve & Fitting Co.
15901 West 78th St
Eden Prairie, MN 55344-5799
(612) 937-1160

They ship UPS and accept MasterCard over the phone. Dave Thorsen is the
sales rep for western WI.

Pittsburg Valve and Fitting Co.
P.O. box 4155
49 Meade Ave
Bellevue, Pittsburgh
PA 15202
Ph: 412-761-3212
Fax: 412-761-2486

The ARO Model NO1 valve is obsolete, but there are replacements:

ARO Model FO1, NPT size 1/8", Grainger Stock No. 6ZC07, $8.43
ARO Model F02, NPT size 1/4", Grainger StocK No. 6ZC08, $11.30

Note: These prices are taken from the 1993 Grainger Cat. and have gone up
slightly. e.g. the F02 now costs $13.10.

Another valve that is being tried by Sanjay Joshi (no data yet) is:

Whitey, Model no. B-ORF2, Cost around $22.00 from the Pittsburg Valve
and Fitting Co. (listed above).

Yi-Meng Yen (YY...@biochem.medsch.ucla.edu) suggests this device:

I went out and bought a CO2 tank and the Victor Flow Regulator. It
works like a charm. The flow regulator is actually quite expensive
since it combines both a needle valve and the regular and a flow
gauge. Apparently, the Victor company brand is about the best you can
buy. It ended costing $120 for the regulator (this was the best price
I could find retail.) The model number is HRF1425-320.

George

------------------------------

From: "paul lesniak" <ples...@compusmart.ab.ca>
Date: Wed, 4 Dec 1996 08:44:23 -0700
Subject: Fw: Regulator woes

- ----------
> From: paul lesniak <plesniak@ compusmart.ab.ca>
> To: bwvo...@mailbox.syr.edu
> Subject: Regulator woes
> Date: December 3, 1996 10:06 PM
>
> Bryan,
> About a year ago I built a CO2 system and it has worked wonderfully for
> me. Off of a 5# bottle I used a two stage regulator; the bottle gauge
was
> 4000#, the second gauge (the regulated pressure gauge) was a 200#.
> I felt that the 200# gauge was a little bit too rough so I bought a 60#
> gauge and replaced the 200# gauge with it.
> Further down the line I put a needle valve with which I can squeeze the
> flow down to as little as a bubble every 2-3 seconds or as fast as I
like.
> I regulate the pressure down to 8# and the system works great. I got the
> regulator for $25.00 at a surplus auction, it was brand new, regular
price
> about $80.00 Canadian.
> It surprises me that the welding shop cannot recommend a regulator for
> you, but I think if you look for what I've described, you should be quite
> pleased. If you would like to know more about this system let me know and
I
> can try and describe it in greater detail.
>
> Paul.Lesniak

------------------------------

From: "Dave Gomberg" <gom...@wcf.com>
Date: Wed, 04 Dec 96 07:58:02 -0700
Subject: Re: Encyclopedia freshwaterplants on CD ROM

On Wed, 4 Dec 1996 09:50:38 +-100, E.J.M.Kooij wrote:

>Dear Dave,
>Do you know where I can get an encyclopedia of freshwaterplants on CD Rom?
>Regards, Emile Kooij
>
>
You should ask this on APD. I will forward it for you. Dave

Dave Gomberg, FormMaestro! San Francisco CA USA gom...@wcf.com

------------------------------

From: "Dave Gomberg" <gom...@wcf.com>
Date: Wed, 04 Dec 96 08:10:30 -0700
Subject: Re: Aquatic Plants Digest V2 #360

On Wed, 4 Dec 1996 00:26:34 -0500, Aquatic-Pl...@actwin.com
wrote:

> leaves me needing a regulator and a needle valve.

See my post of about 2 months ago about how to do this. It's easy
and cheap. I even give addresses and phone numbers. Dave

Dave Gomberg, FormMaestro! San Francisco CA USA gom...@wcf.com

------------------------------

From: Stephen...@saudan.HAC.COM
Date: Wed, 04 Dec 1996 11:44:33 -0800 (PST)
Subject: PMDD, Calcium and the FAQ

The questions about PMDD have occurred so regularly that I believe that its
time that we created an entry in the FAQ for it. I also believe that it
has been in use for long enough that its usefulness seems to be established.

Personally I would like to see the formula updated to include an
optional calcium supplement. I'm not certain that we could get
enough CaCO3 to dissolve but let us pose this question to our
chemists. Do you believe that it's necessary to prepare a separate
Ca(X?) solution? Is PMDD too concentrated to contain enough
Ca? What dose would be appropriate (relative to the other
nutrients)? George Booth supplied the following table:

The following table is based on data from the Feb, 1988 "Today's
Aquarium, the International Magazine of the Optimum Aquarium",
("Aquarium Heute" in German), published by Aquadocumenta Verlag GmbH.

Average nutrient content of plants and aquarium water

Notes:

"mg/kg" and "mg/l" are roughly parts per million or "ppm"

"Absorbed as" is the chemical form the plants can most easily use.

"Concen Factor" is how much plants can store beyond their needs for
growth, i.e., plants can store 1000 times more iron than they need.

From this the ratio of Ca to N in plant tissue is 5 to 1 by weight.
If your tap water is hard, then we probably wouldn't need to add
any Ca at all. OTOH, a tank with strong lighting and CO2 can
really suck up nutrients and Ca can often be in critical demand.

Steve

------------------------------

End of Aquatic Plants Digest V2 #362
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