Where to buy solution that work with Dymax drop checker?

[ongtw]

hi guys,

i've purchased the dymax drop checker to check on my co2 content. however i understand that u need the kh solution to work. where can i get my hands on one of this?

[Shadow]

you can use any brand drop checker solution. KH solution may not be available locally, you can buy online or you can make your self using baking soda.

[ongtw]

hi shadow,

i just approach any shop and ask for drop checker? that means i got the wrong one? sigh... i just got this dymax thingy to measure co2 and i thought i only need this to work. however once i followed the instructions, i always get a yellow colour.

read somewhere in a forum and someone written that we need to add the kh solution as well.

any brand that you recommend?

[Shadow]

did you use the water with kH = 4? is your tank water kH = 4? if so then the solution probably expired.

Try take out the drop checker out of the tank and leave it there for a while, it should turn to blue.

I'm using ADA and the knock of version one. Both are working.

[torque6]

Ong,
as in your other post, if you have a problem with mixing a 4dkh solution let us know, we will help you. It took me a couple of tries to get it right as well.

[ongtw]

hey torque6,

i found something but not sure if your recipe is better? mind sharing it here? i find that the dymax solution is misleading. it failed to mention about the kh4 solution. what it says on the box is just to fill the water from the aquarium tank!

[Shadow]

Most of the drop checker will say the same even ADA, they were assuming that tank water kH is around 2 to 4. Strange thing with ADA is ADA have kH lowerring feature, thus kH always 0.

As for Dymax, it tell you that color chart based one some kH value. The other brand did not, I guess in the sense Dyman is slightly better in documentation.

I was making the same mistake until Peter advice

[WaterH2O]

This is confusing me. I also have a Dymax drop checker but no KH solution. Thinking of DIY with distilled water. See if I got this right

You add Sodium Carbonate into the distilled water and test with KH test kit until it reads 4 dKH. Now you have a 4 dKH solution but what do you add into this solution so that when put into the drop checker and into the tank, it changes colour.

[ongtw]

waterh2o,

you can fill it with your kh4 water all the way to the line stipulated by dymax's instructions. then just put that into your tank like what they showed in the figure. the moment you put the kh solution in, it should turn instantly to dark green colour of some sort.

put it in your tank and let it be there for proably about an hour or two. the colour should change. if it stays at dark green, that means your co2 is insufficient.

how does this work you ask? well i just read up recently and its supposed to be absorbing the co2 from the water of the tank through the trapped air that you see with the dymax drop checker casing. the concept is exactly the same as the one you get from ADA glass type.

if co2 is enough, co2 will tend to be released from the tank's water into the solution thus turning it to lighter green colour. otherwise, the process reversed and the solution will turn to dark green indicating insufficient co2.

i hope i'm not understanding the thing wrongly. do correctly me if i'm wrong.

[WaterH2O]

I think you are missing something here. Just by putting the KH solution into the drop checker and put into the tank will not change the colour. You need to add some PH reagent so that colour will change. Read this from Tom Barr's artiule. The question in this articule is you added the amount of PH reageant until it is blue and if CO2 enough or not enough it will react with the solution in the drop checker to change colour. But my question is why the amount of PH reageat in the solution is not critical as mentioned in his article.

http://www.barrreport.com/articles/2...t=drop+checker

[ongtw]

hi waterh2o,

the ph reagent is that the one that comes with the dymax drop checker package? there is a solution that is yellow in colour that comes with it.

[WaterH2O]

My one don't have the PH reagent lei only have the drop checker.

[WaterH2O]

Can I use the PH reagent from my PH test kit instead of getting another one from lfs?

[ongtw]

oops,

i'm confused already.. ok let me go home and check and see whether my liquid changes colour. for me what i did was i have that plastic thingy, from there i put in 5 drops of the yellow liquid that comes with the box and then add the kh water. once i add kh water, the water turns straight to dark green.

after which i followed the instruction and leave it in the tank. let me go home and check it out.

[Shadow]

I think you are missing something here. Just by putting the KH solution into the drop checker and put into the tank will not change the colour. You need to add some PH reagent so that colour will change. Read this from Tom Barr's artiule. The question in this articule is you added the amount of PH reageant until it is blue and if CO2 enough or not enough it will react with the solution in the drop checker to change colour. But my question is why the amount of PH reageat in the solution is not critical as mentioned in his article.

http://www.barrreport.com/articles/2...t=drop+checker

Yes you need pH reagent, it should come along with the drop checker. For ADA drop checker, it was mention that I can use PH test kit reagent, other brand should be the same. because that how drop checker worked, measuring pH

[WaterH2O]

My apologies the PH reagent is in the box. Only problem I did not open to see so assume not that. Paiseh

[WaterH2O]

Bro ongtw

The initial colour you get when adding the reagent to the KH solution is not important. What is important is that you should allow a 2hrs time period from the time you put this drop checker in gain equilibrium and then the hopefully the colour should change to a lighter green to indicate sufficient CO2.

[Shadow]

actualy is more than 2 hours, never time it but it is about 4 to 6 hours

[torque6]

Bro ongtw

The initial colour you get when adding the reagent to the KH solution is not important. What is important is that you should allow a 2hrs time period from the time you put this drop checker in gain equilibrium and then the hopefully the colour should change to a lighter green to indicate sufficient CO2.

H20,
the initial color you get after adding the KH solution then the PH reagent is important, it should be dark blue. Once you submerse the ph droper into the tank, it will take 4-6 hours to change from blue -> green/dark green initially. Mine turns to blue after each water top up indicating an accurate dilution of co2 concentration in the water. It changes back to green in the afternoon showing optimium co2 levels.

Shadow,
Have to agree with you, the ADA 5ml ph reagents are very accurate, though a bit pricy.