4dhk solutions used to be super cheap, but now they all exploded in price so it makes more sense to make your own now, and even give them out to friends and family that need it. But on average 60ml for 18-20 dollars is overkill.
Because bicarbonate is cheap, someone suggested to make a 400dkh solution then do 1:100 dillution, so 6g into 500mL (or 12g into 1L), then 5mL into 495mL of water, less error prone.
Yes, that will definitely work as well. This is because the final molar concentration of sodium bicarbonate in 500mL of water is 0.0014 molar. It will result in about 0.06 grams of sodium bicarbonate in the final 500 mL solution.
i think his process is better, if your using volumetic a 10% blend is more reliable. unless you know meniscus and such. But if you got a good scale, the one for the bicarbonate l, weigh the water, then 100:1 is OK. you can get volumetric cylinder at brew place for extra confidence. scales are tricky at under 5 grams. sometimes you need to weigh a larger amount, like 12 tsp/quarter cup/60 ml (all same) and then figure how many tsp is 2.5 g -around 1/2 tsp. this way a bigger bakers scale can do it. I bake so i do this. His idea of checking in readable range of KH with distilled (not drinking/purified) is great. I think pH indicator is bromocresol green, turns out my plant pH kit had it. a high range kit probably fails this is acid range.
I have knocked mine off before and I kept an eye on my fish after it had gotten into the water supply surprisingly absolutely nothing happened so I think it's pretty safe. Still advise a good water change though just to be safe as soon as you have the time which I had later in the week so all in all pretty safe. Ty for your wonderful vids bro love what you do!!! 🙂🤙
By far the best video explanation of this process thank you. So much information available that’s not clear on how this is done however this video is perfect. You have saved me having to wait a week for drop check solution to be delivered now can just make my own.
MORE TO LEARN ABOUT PLANTED TANKS: ☑️ Beginners Planted Tank Guide: goo.gl/oCujCK ☑️ Aquarium Lighting Guide: bit.ly/2INYuMA ☑️ Aquarium Co2 Guide: bit.ly/2rSteVY ☑️ The Dry Start Method: goo.gl/XC8Rnz ☑️ Using Soil: goo.gl/PxkvK4
I will be soon just waiting on a few things in the mail. Definitely going to give making my own solution a try and will be keeping a close eye on my drop checker as I'm new to co2, and im going to start learning how to calculate the co2 like in your other video. thx Chung
It's not accurate in the sense that it's giving you reading based on what was going on in your tank an hour or two ago. In other words, it's a delayed reading.
@@TheWaterBox Oh I see, the delay is common between all permanent tests, I thought there was something wrong with the result. To be honest I really don't care much about delays when CO2 is concerned, worst case I see my fishes gasping for air before the indicator turns yellow, and I have to turn the CO2 off and pop an oxygen pill in the tank, but that won't be happening because I deliberately chose a diffuser that's JUST delivering enough CO2. Like, I turn on my CO2 at 7 AM, but I only see my plants releasing oxygen bubbles around 10:30. I'm sure this story would be quite different if I had very low KH, but I don't, so I don't worry about getting real-time results.
@@dominic.h.3363 Yup! As long as you keep that in mind then perfect. Some beginners rely solely on the color changes and nothing else so I'm just trying to put that warning in there for them. The only other reason of not accurate results is if the solution mix is bad.
@@TheWaterBox I'll be honest and admit that if I feel like taking pictures but the CO2 is not optimal, I deliberately use bad indicator fluid that turned lime green permanently, for show. lol Not quite unrelated but somewhat off-topic for indicator fluids: Let's say I ran out of liquid fertilizer and am not getting any for several weeks. Does it make sense to keep CO2 running with high lighting above the tank, or am I only creating an algae farm if I do that?
@@dominic.h.3363 It's fine to keep going (you'd want too do so) but you may want to adjust it down a little (both lighting and co2). It depends. Just keep an eye on it.
I’ve does it matter how much solution you put in the drop checker? My JBL one says 35 drops but I’ve replaced the tear drop style to an orb one and 35 drops in that is quite thin…
IT shouldn't. The 35 drops is probably measured to fit their counter size. I don't know which one you got so I can't really say how much you need to put in what.
Very informative video! A few questions, 1. How often do you change the drop checker solution? 2. Can you half everything to still make 40dkh solution?
1.2g into 1L should still have 40dkh or even 0.6g into 500mL if you have a very precise scale, then 25mL into 225mL if you want to half that as well, 1:10 dilution (or 20/180mL or 30/270mL if you want round numbers)
Hello, unfortunately I don't know English to understand you, but with the help of the translator I can write to you and read the comments. I would like to know which CO2 verifier would be better, the one with the shape of a musical note or the sphere shape? my aquarium is 30 liters, thanks
Just FYI if you start off with 2.4 of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate or NaHCO3) in 2 liters of water (H2O) and then dilute it as instructed, then you will end up with the final volume of the solution of 500mL. If you were to calculate the grams left in that volume, you would get only around 0.06006 grams of sodium bicarbonate. So, the solution to pollution is dilution!
What if mine always stay yellow? It’s been 3 days and it barely starting to slowly change color, I though it was my duckweed fault for choking out the surface but that wasn’t it
Drop checker works but is slow and not accurate, it gives a relative value so it good for double check if you using a PH computer whit Co2. But it is also some relative indication when you ad Co2 whit a bubble counter if you give enough or to less Co2. It works...
I bought a drop checker and they send me 4.2 solution and 8.4 solution. I have two drop checkers (one for each side), since my tank is 180 gallons. I don’t have any automated co2 machine. I just add Excel. Which solution do I use?
this is good video . im buying a co2 solution online but it doesn't change color .. maybe its not working.. i just want to ask also. in my case im changing water 50% everyday for the first 2 weeks. my question is ..do i have to make another solution everytime i need to change water or will i re-use that solution inside the drop checker that i used before?
No, as long as your solution stays in the bulb during a water change you should be fine. When I use one, I only changed it out between months depending on the circumstance, which usually is because of spilling some if it from tilting or whatever.
@@TheWaterBox actually i followed your instructioj carefully and made a 4dkh solution. instead of blue, the solution turned to red,, i used phenol red ph test solution that i bought online.
Hi, I’m using drop cheker but the color doesn’t change at all my 450 l tank has a KH between 7 to 8 and PH is between 7 to 7,7 i use a lot of CO2 i This tank but color is still blue. My drop cheker is from JBL as Well as solution.
Try doing a manual calculation with the chart as I outline here (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Q8Ql1V7h-I0.html) to see if you can get a better reading. If you are, you might have to try making your own solution.
Where to install drop checker in tank? Near co2 diffuser OR on opposite wall of co2 diffuser OR anywhere in tank from where solution color is clearly visible?
More than likely, I’ll be getting a couple Drop Checker from Amazon. They do drop and break in the tank. How long does the liquid last in a CO2 Drop Checker? Nice tutorial! Thank you for sharing!
You know, I actually don't know about that. I tend to change it out every couple of months just because but lately, i don't even use them much anymore.
hi i just want to ask, why my co2 drop checker just turn green and not blue at the start even i dont put it inside the tank. i used 4dkh mixed with co2 solution. & i dont know why my checker wont change to blue even my co2 off at night . i check in the morning it still green knowing the co2 presence is very low
I just got a drop checker with solution and it tells me to put 2ml of tank water in along with the solution. The box has two colour charts, one for KH 2-7 and one for KH 8-15. My KH is off the charts on my api test strips so it's at least 240ppm. I'm very confused what to do now.
@@TheWaterBox thanks for your response. I'm guessing the two ranges are to compensate for the diferent reaction if you use tank water rather than dKH4 water. I followed your guide and got a PH and KH test kit. The strips must not have been accurate. My KH is 8 after all. I wonder if you can answer another question while I have you? I'm trying to dial in my co2 using your chart method however my 4dKH drop checker is forest green after a few hours indicating that I should be at 20ppm/6.8ph. But when I test my tank water ph its not even going light blue, so it's probably still over 7.6. If my tank is 8dKH should my pH not be about 7.1/20ppm if the drop checker is 6.8/20ppm. Any ideas of what is happening ?
Hey Chung , followed your instructions to the letter but now when i mixed 2.5ml with 4 drops of ph solution , its goes green instead of the dark blue as it used to do before
@@TheWaterBox Im having the same issues, and i keep retrying batch after batch, still turning out green, any hints?, it seems like its turning a teal color the more baking soda i put in?
If my 4 dhk solutions needs 5 drops of the KH test to turn yellow what that means? Do I need more distilled water or more Sodium Bicarbonate? Thank's for the video. I love your channel.
Thankyou for this DIY. Please let me know is it really mandatory to be very precise about 2.4 gm of baking soda amount or a rough estimate will be sufficient since I dont have a food scale for such precise measurement.
i am using fluval drop checker solution directly in my drop checker.you are diluting it with water.my question is do we need to dilute it or we can just put the solution as is in the drop checker
@@hookahtravelfood1028 Then don't dilute it with water. Just use the solution as it. It's already mixed so you don't need to do anything else to it. What you see in this video is the "homemade" mix that you need to use the water mix and PH solution to make make drop checker solution.
Out of curiosity, on 2 planted only tanks I jacked my Co2 up to close to 10 bubbles per second (nano tanks which need a little less than 1 bubble per second to flourish) - waited 24 hours and neither turn yellow. Anyone else ever able to see this yellow color? I have 2 DIFFERENT drop checks and solutions I tried. Highest I got was light green. Asked 2 other people in case I suddenly became color blind and they both confirmed green. Waited 2 more days, still no yellow and I am 100% certain there is WAY too much Co2 in both tanks. Also, of ALL the videos I watched, can't find one video of someone showing this yellow color. Thoughts?
To be sure it's not your drop checker... measure your PH before lights and co2 goes on. Take note... then take another reading after say 4 or 5 hours after lights and co2 on and note that down. If it's a 1 point drop (ex. 7.2 to 6.2) then that's good. It's working, something is off on your drop checkers... if it's more than a one point drop, then you're probably over doing it... still, something off on your drop checkers... if nothing changes (which would be really weird) then something isn't right with your co2 set up. What kind of co2 set up do you have? Pressurized? DIY?
I bought and used a CO2 drop checker (Aqua One) but it doesn't change color even after 6-7 hours, I have pressurized Co2 set-up. I increased the CO2 since it wasn't changing color (Saw fishes gasping at surface ) , What did I do wrong?
I've got one of the basic bulb ones, and I fill the bulb and put it in the tank, and an hour later the bulb is empty. I don't see any cracks or anyhting, and the water level in the bottom stays the same.
Did you make sure to put the bulb in upside down? …Without rotating or twisting during installation? You have to maintain an air pocket, so the CO2 can diffuse out of the tank, through that pocket and then diffuse into the test solution. If there’s no air pocket the tank water will also dilute the test solution.
So, at 2.4 grams, you're using a scant 1/2 teaspoon (0.49 tsp) for this, correct? That's what appears to be the conversion using the conversion apps on the net.
First off, do not run at KH 0. Re-minerialize up to 4 KH to keep your livestock safe from PH swings or your just in for headaches in the long run. If you're out of range on the chart, which you really shouldn't be, then just go by the basic rule of the ideal 30ppm of co2 that we shoot for can be obtained by a 1 point co2 drop for the first reading before lights on (ph7 to ph6 or ph7.5 to ph6.5)
So when positioning the drop checker, what’s the difference between putting it from the top, mid or bottom? Only reason I’m asking cause if the checker is pretty much reading the PH level due to the co2 wouldn’t it be the same everywhere through out the tank?
Hey love your work. I have 1 question if you have co2 in your tank then you check to make sure that you have right amount but not too much do you have to check the PH as well and if PH too high or too low what should I do ?
If it's too high, lower the BPS. As long as it not too high that it's messing your your livestock. If it's too low, turn up the BPS a bubble at a time until desired amount. It'll take a while to adjust.
Will it matter how many drops of ph test solution you drop on the CO2 drop checker? Is it only used to colour the water blue, or it will have great effect on the indicator if you use less or more drops?
hi sir,just a question,what if my co2 checker is still colored yellow on the next day with my small tank,do i need to turn on again the co2 or just wait for it to turn blue or green?and switch on my co2 again?thankz..
Okay I'm new to this CO2 usage I just got my drop checker but now it says to mix water with five drops of the solution and how long does that solution last just the one test and how long should it stay submerged before I start seeing results
It usually lasts a few months. I normally changes it out every month or two when I used one. It should say emerged indefinitely if you're planning to use it.
Hi, I'm running a diy CO2 (no bubble counter) into my sump water return line and running an O2 bubbler (screen) at the opposite side of our 75gal. Now, for simplicity of daily maintenance, can I keep the both CO2 & O2 going 24/7 without hurting the inhabitants? Thank you in advance!
Hey, so i have this co2 drop checker fluid but i've lost the manual and it's actually quite hard to find back as it's foreign. So my question is, does it matter how much co2 drop checker liquid i put into my drop checker?
Not really. there's only so much you can fill it anyways. So you just fill it to about 75% of the bulb (depending on the drop checker you are using). You need to have enough space for the gas in the other half for the liquid to sample.
Since you’re around the Los Angeles area as well, I have those test kits to check the GH and KH (API brand). I think I’m doing something wrong. I’ve tested it a few time and I feel like the tests is way off. One of the test (don’t remember which one) I gave up after 30 drops...yup...30 drops. Have you had this problem?
It measures pH. The assumption is that pH is correlated to CO2 concentration. Is there any chance that you measure a low-ish pH like 6.4, but the acidity comes from something else, not carbonic acid? Assuming of course that you haven't messed with the water chemistry by adding acids.
My drop checker isn't turning green! It stays blue well after two hours after my co2 kicks in. I do 3 bubbles per second so I know I'm getting SOME co2 into my tank and my plants are doing fine.
Can you help, am not using co2 system, but i have drop checker and the color its dark green ,clarify pls circulation is good from the filter. 45g filter 18W ,max output 1000l/hr
Not sure why you're using a drop checker if you're not injecting Co2 into your tank. There won't be much of a change in the co2 of your tank to make the color change.
@@TheWaterBox in the glass. Glass still gets formed with mercury (i guess it was this) in asia. Should look up where i found that, keep you posted if i find it back
No. The ph in your tank water has nothing to do with the PH in the drop checker. In the drop checker you should be using 4dkh water anyways for accurate measurements..
Alo Chung, you know I love the content my man, but this one you made me wonder LOL which is always good to questions things XD I was checking amazon drop checkers and I noticed that there was one with dual solution kit that comes with pre dKH solution one to be 4.2 dKH and the other 8.4 dKH, my questions are why is this? I mean I use the solution that you have to mix with water tank, to me that is okay since you want to check upon what you tank water parameter are on. right? why would it be best to use a pre-set solution to a specific dKH when your tank may not even be at those numbers? wouldn't then give us an offset reading? since I used calibration solution for digital PH, TDS, etc., meters I do see the sense on those since you need a valid point of reference for the probe to notice any differences on the water, but in the drop checker? how does it really work? in the case of using pre-set dKH solutions. cheers!
We really want to use water of a 4DKH to get accurate results. That said, many people got by just find using tank water. I just don't usually recommend that as that water has a set KH. If it's at 4 then you're probably going to be fine. lol It's pretty much the same reason we calibrate our digital readers. It's a baseline. If the baseline is off then we'll get erratic readings. Just like the drop checker. The solution is really just PH solution. It used the KH reading to produce the correct colors. Has you seen the video that shows you the chart we use to determine the target co2 we want? That chart compares your KH and PH readings. The 8DKH solution is for hard water tanks (African Chiclids, Salt Water)
@@TheWaterBox thanks a bunch for the reply, still having a hard time understanding why using a pre-fix dKH solution, in my tank is 5-7 dKH, so in my sense when I place the water from the tank to the solution it will set the solution to the PH of the tank and to confirm we read the PH, and upon that if goes green to light green means that there CO2 and the PH had droped, confirming by reading it would be around 6.8. and yes I saw your video were you show the chart, also that is why had come with the concern due in those charts it would show you the sweet point depending on your tank KH and PH that is why I don't seem sense in why to use the pre fix solution if your tank may not even be at that DKH, sorry for all the scramble I just want to clarify. thanks so much in advance hope you are doing great!! cheers!
Because one has nothing to do with the other. You want a neutral baseline in where the solution sits in the bulb with the PH juice to measure and change color based on the co2 from the tank getting into the co2 dropper. This give you the accurate results (from one or two hours ago) of what co2 concentration is in your tank. The KH in your tank has NOTHING to do with the small bulb of liquid in your drop checker. This is why it's important to have an accurate solution mix in the bulb itself. The co2 coming out of your tank has nothing to do with how much KH or PH or GH is in the tank itself. All that matters is how MUCH of it gets into the bulb. And the solution in the bulb is what's measuring the concentration of it. That solution being baseline (4DKH for fresh, 8 DKH for salt). It's the came concepts of calibrating your digital PH and/or TDS meters. Your measuring device needs to be at a neutral baseline to measure what's coming out of your tank. The chart has NOTHING to do with a drop checker. You're mixing two different "measuring systems" up. They are independent of each other. A co2 drop checker is less accurate anyways and mainly should be used for spot checking (especially since it's giving you the actual reading from an hour or two ago). The charting system is a more accurate way to get a measurement. It's not entirely accurate either. There currently is no actual system that will give you exact measurement (well, unless you run a lab with super expensive tech). I would NEVER rely on a drop checker. Like I said, if I saw my drop checker get extremely yellow then something it wrong and I would go and check my measurements with the chart system so I can get a clearer idea of what's going on or check my set up (did my bubble counter drift? Did my tank dump? Did my cat chew my tubes?) but I would never use it to indicate how many bubbles per second I should be putting in the tank or whatever. 90% of the time when people ask me if they should lower their BPS because their drop checker is yellow I ask them first if their fish are gasping for air or dying. If no, the I tell them to take a PH and KH reading. Why? Because most people use tank water in their solutions for their drop checkers fudging the real results.
@@TheWaterBox You have no idea of how much I appreciate your answer, thank you so much for the clarification it makes a world of sense now. I was mixing the drop and the chart as one or to be used together and now that you mention that has nothing to do one with another I see why is not relevant the KH of the tank since we do need a point in reference but has to a pre-fix one like the solutions to PH etc. THANK YOU!! that was the missing point again many more thanks !! cheers!!
Glad it made sense. It's had to convey stuff in this hobby sometimes and hope it didn't get taken another way. But what you said is the best way to explain it "A point of reference". Keep asking questions and never be afraid to do that.
I dunno why this video popped up for me to view, I guess because I watch allot of fish channels lol... Anyway, right off the bat I noticed something wrong with your video... I'n the first part of your video, you have your drop checker right beside your defuser, sooooo your getting false readings then, and your not getting enough Co2... Because your readings are right AT your defuser that'll make it higher than it really is, and you're not getting a whole tank reading... You put the drop checker AWAY from the defuser and then you get a correct reading of the whole tank lol... Of course it's gonna be higher like you have it set up, because the actual Co2 bubbles are going right into your drop checker... Move it away and get the correct "whole tank reading" lol...
