Well the story is this. Bought online this hang on drop checker it comes with the solution which need me to add tank water type.
Yesterday I tried.
The Instruction was add 5 drops of the solution then add tank water. Immediately it turn yellowish green.
Left it with the tank nothing happens for few hours.
I saw some videos it turned blue instead.
I am going to get hold of some 4dkh to try again (middle of the night and have no soda at home)
The original liquid in that bottle is ORANGE.
Is this colour correct? Else it is spoilt no matter what reference solution I use later also useless.
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This morning I redid everything again, but this time I used filtered water drop inside the checker and then add the solution it also turned green.
I used co2 directly at the checker it turn yellow.
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Lastly I have also seen video using the API ph test liquid with 4dkh is that another viable way to get the drop checker solution also?
So I am terribly confused now.
T_T
Do not use tank water if you have soil that altered water chemistry, for example ADA soil. Always use kh =4 solution.
Anyway you can read up about drop checker from my blog below. It should answer most of your question, too lazy to type
http://aquatic-art.blogspot.sg/2011/...-aquarium.html
Originally Posted by Shadow
Do not use tank water if you have soil that altered water chemistry, for example ADA soil. Always use kh =4 solution.
Anyway you can read up about drop checker from my blog below. It should answer most of your question, too lazy to type
http://aquatic-art.blogspot.sg/2011/...-aquarium.html
Thanks. For the article . NICE!
If you can't find 4dKH reference solution, can just buy pre-mixed indicator solutions too (most LFS stock them nowadays)... those can be used straight-away, no need to mix.
Here is a photo of the pre-mixed indicator solution from Ocean Free:
I saw one CO2 Check from Borneo Wild, think it works like this pre-mixed indicator solution from OF, right? $12 if I remember correctly. Is OF one cheaper?
I guess if the BorneoWild version doesn't mention to mix with anything, then probably means that its also a pre-mixed soution too.
If i remember correctly, the Ocean Free pre-mixed indicator solution cost around S$5+.
Yah I saw the Borneo wild one also I think it's bigger bottle that's why it is 12 or so
thanks for all the help. Just went to get sodium bicarbonate and distiller water
managed to get the correct blue checker .
later at night when co2 kicks in I will know the results .
now I have 500ml of 4dkh water ��
50 ml is the size for $12.
I just brought ANS permanent drop CO2 tester. The instruction also say mix with the aquarium water. See liao confuse. My other tank using ITSA co2 checker, straight pour without mixing.
Yeah, the ANS drop checker instructions is still showing the wrong method (not sure why they still haven't updated those instructions by now), it assumes the aquarium water is not buffered by anything... but our planted tank conditions are usually buffered by soil and hardscape, therefore have to use 4dkH reference solution to mix or use pre-mixed solution in order to get the correct measurements.
Ok since it is on this topic. I change away the old orange colour liquid. I re-pour and add a bit of my aquarium water. it instantly turn green. Hmm, btw what is the PH sticker? Meaning the solution can be refer to PH reading?
Yeah, the mixed solution instantly turn green because your aquarium water is already acidic (due to the soil buffer)... which mess up the measurements already.
Those pH indicator stickers that usually come with drop checkers are just for people to stick to the aquarium and reference against their drop checker colors. In this case, it wouldn't work if aquarium water is used to mix the indicator solution since the color results will be wrong anyways.
on this note , with 4dkh and the co2 solutionYeah, the mixed solution instantly turn green because your aquarium water is already acidic (due to the soil buffer)... which mess up the measurements already.
Those pH indicator stickers that usually come with drop checkers are just for people to stick to the aquarium and reference against their drop checker colors. In this case, it wouldn't work if aquarium water is used to mix the indicator solution since the color results will be wrong anyways.
once we mixed it should be blue?
Yes, when the Co2 reagent and 4dkH reference solution is mixed together, it will be blue color by default. This is because the 4dkH reference solution has a known neutral pH of 7.0.
No wonder. After reading this I went back to try several times trial and error and had some sort of findings.
Those Chinese instructions is actually misleading as there is no indication of how much tank water/4dkh (mine was about 3/4 full, not able to fill up so much like DSCheng picture) to add X drops of reagent as per instruction.
Previously I consistently get green with 5 drops as per instruction which was what's baffling me.
Then I tried 4 (greenish blue) and at 3 drops the results is a proper blue.
I also double checked by injecting CO2 directly to the checker to verify if the color changes.
Yeah, sometimes even when mixing the Co2 reagent and 4dKH reference solution, the rate of color change (and color intensity) can also vary between setups... because people tend to mix them in different ratios, ie. some add more reagent, some add more 4dKH solution.
In such cases, it'll probably be easier to just use pre-mixed indicator solution, then at least there is a standardised and more consistent benchmark to refer to.
Sorry guys seems like I have lots of question , here's another
last night did water change , the checker went bluish after filling up water injecting co2 through online atomizer
It went green. (About 1 hr after WC co2 off 3x1x1 tank at 2.4 bps, 2 hr later lights off)
this morning it is still green .
Is is it something amiss?
or just that the plants didn't manage to finish the co2 last night .
at night plant take O2 and produce CO2.
Opss. This is embrassing .
Totally forgot about the most basic stuff about plants.
Thank Everyone
Yeah, it just means there is still a certain amount of Co2 remaining in the water column (not used up by the plants yet)... as long as the drop checker shows green color, its still at safe levels.
Co2 is a resource that stays in the water until its used or off-gas at the water surface, so it can accumulate and carry forward from day to day. Just fine-tune your injection BPS and timing schedule to compensate for this effect. You may even be able to save some Co2 by not needing to inject as much of it too.
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