CO2: permanent test or direct test?
The CO2 content of your aquarium water needs to be checked because too little CO2 is not beneficial for your plants and too much CO2 can be very dangerous for fish and invertebrates. The correct CO2 content for "normal" aquariums is between 15 and 30 mg/l.
Aquascapers go to the limit of what is possible with CO2 levels of 20-35 mg/l. There are two ways to check the CO2 content of your aquarium water. The Permanent test ( JBL PROAQUATEST CO2-pH Permanent ) shows you continuously how much CO2 is dissolved in the water by means of the colour of a small bell mounted in the aquarium. However it reacts with a time delay of several hours. If, for example, you increase the CO2 addition at 10:00 a.m., the test would not show the increased value until around 2:00 p.m. The addition of acids such as JBL pH-Minus also falsifies the display result.
The CO2 Direct test ( JBL PROAQUATEST CO2 Direct ) shows the CO2 value immediately and very accurately. Here the current CO2 content is determined with a drop test.
How can you test whether there is too little or too much fertiliser in the water?
To a certain extent, you can see if your plants are lacking fertilisers or minerals by looking at their growth and colour. Light green leaves, for example, indicate a lack of iron or potassium (chlorosis).
JBL PROAQUATEST FE Iron
If this test result is between 0.1 and 0.4 mg/l, your plants are receiving fertilisers and thus sufficient iron. With JBL PROFLORA Ferropol you can significantly increase the mineral content including iron.As iron (Fe) is only ONE important mineral for plant growth, stagnant plant growth can still occur. Then the following tests are recommended:
JBL PROAQUATEST K Potassium
Next to iron, potassium is the decisive mineral for vigorous plant growth. When there is a potassium deficiency the plants will grow very slowly and remain small. With JBL PROSCAPE K MACROELEMENTS you can increase the potassium content to 10-30 mg/l.
JBL PROAQUATEST Mg Magnesium
The metal magnesium is, next to potassium, the most important macroelement and the test result should be between 6 and 10 mg/l. In the case of Mg deficiency, the leaf veins often protrude and the areas between the leaf veins become pale. With JBL PROSCAPE Mg MACROELEMENTS the value can be raised.
JBL PROAQUATEST PO4 and NO3
In aquariums with no or very few animals, two nutrients that are usually present in excess in "normal" aquariums can actually be present in deficiency: nitrates (NO3) and phosphates (PO4). With the two tests JBL PROAQUATEST NO3 nitrato e JBL PROAQUATEST PO4 Phosphat Sensitive you can check both values and, if necessary, re-dose with JBL PROSCAPE N MACROELEMENTS e JBL PROSCAPE P MACROELEMENTS . This is unlikely to occur in normally stocked aquariums where the animals are also fed regularly.
