Re: [GSAS-Member] Who's using a drop checker in their planted tank?

[Matt Staroscik <matt@wrongcrowd.com>]

Earlier today, before I saw your followup or figured out myself to try the
pH kit indicator (as you mentioned in another message), I ordered another
drop checker off ebay. It's cheap and comes with a complete reagent, and had
good word of mouth on a forum. In fact, it's the Aquatic Magic
Chameleon<http://aqmagic.com/store/product_info.php?pName=chameleon-drop-checker>,
the same one you recommended.

Of course, when you have 2 watches you are never sure what time it is. :)

I think using pH test kit indicator instead of the Red Sea bottle may have
done the trick... but if I find my results are still unbelievable I'll
buckle and buy some 4 KH standard or the Sumo juice. Thanks for the links!

Fingers crossed for pearling plants tomorrow.

MS

On Wed, Jan 13, 2010 at 8:07 PM, Hostetter, Kypros <
hostetter2003@lawnet.ucla.edu> wrote:

> Depends on your budget but you can buy a 4 kh standard now sold by green
> leaf aquariums http://www.greenleafaquariums.com/co2-drop-checkers.html,
>
> that is more expensive than DIY but presumably accurate- a 250 ml bottle
> has
> lasted me a long time. . .  Also Sumoregulator.com sells a pre mixed drop
> checker solution.  http://sumoregulator.com/DropCheckerSolutions.html.
>
>
> Also, if you want a slightly more elegant looking drop checker, you can get
> the glass drop checkers from aquaticmagic.com (cheaper knockoffs of ADA or
> the more espensive ones sold by greenleaf aquarium.
>
> Kypros
>
> On Wed, Jan 13, 2010 at 7:13 PM, Matt Staroscik <matt@wrongcrowd.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Following up to my own post here--
> >
> > If my checker isn't working as expected, the fault lies either with the
> KH
> > standard I made or the indicator in my drop checker package.
> >
> > I tried the pH indicator from a test kit, which *should* be the same
> > bromothymol blue that came with the drop checker... and got a blue
> solution
> > from the standard, as expected. Bubbling CO2 through it sent it through
> > green and yellow too though I don't know the PPMs involved.
> >
> > Maybe the Red Sea kit came with bad chemicals.
> >
> > <shrug>
> >
> > I put the drop checker back in the tank with the new indicator solution
> and
> > it seems like it is lightening towards green a bit. I have also turned up
> > the CO2 rate by about 1 bps because regardless of what the always-green
> > drop
> > checker showed, the plants weren't pearling yet. We'll see what tomorrow
> > brings.
> >
> > MS
> >
> >
> > On Wed, Jan 13, 2010 at 1:33 PM, Matt Staroscik <matt@wrongcrowd.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > I just installed mine but I think it is not working properly and I
> wanted
> > > another opinion. Obviously they are very simple and there is not much
> to
> > go
> > > wrong, but I think my 4 dKH standard solution is bad. I have the Red
> Sea
> > > model, by the way, which comes with indicator, but no standard
> solution.
> > > They tell you to use tank water, which I don't want to do as the tank
> is
> > 6
> > > dKH and has an unknown amount of phosphates etc in it.
> > >
> > > I made the 4 dKH standard myself with baking soda, RO/DI water and a
> > series
> > > of dilutions. A KH test kit verified that it is correct, but as I used
> > > kitchen glassware maybe there was enough residue from detergent to mess
> > > things up. My RO/DO filter shows 0-1 ppm TDS as it should, so it is
> still
> > > working well... but maybe not well enough for this.
> > >
> > > When I added the indicator to the solution, it immediately turned
> green,
> > > about the shade of green that you want to see when the CO2 in the
> > aquariumis
> > > at the right level. For a sample of the reference that has not had CO2
> > added
> > > to it, the solution should be blue, right?
> > >
> > > In the tank, the solution in the drop checker stubbornly stays green,
> > even
> > > after the overnight lights-out.
> > >
> > > I put a sample of the solution + indicator into a graduated cylinder to
> > see
> > > if it was sensitive to pH changes at all. If I blow in to it with a
> > straw,
> > > the CO2 in my breath turns in yellow, as expected. Shaking it to drive
> > off
> > > CO2 got it down to blue. The strange thing is, it stayed blue
> overnight.
> > If
> > > the solution was off I would have expected it to bounce back to green
> > when
> > > left alone.
> > >
> > > Some forum posts have said that drop checkers may not work right until
> > they
> > > have broken in for a week or so, but that just doesn't sound right to
> me.
> > >
> > > Does anyone have ideas, and/or a convenient source of good 4 dKH
> > reference
> > > solution? It's easy to make, but maybe not easy enough to make one
> that's
> > > pure enough in a kitchen.
> > >
> > > Thanks,
> > > MS
> > >
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