# about dropchecker



## bugpb60 (Dec 29, 2018)

Hello,

I have a 300 liters tank. The PH is 7.4. I push CO2 into my tank 6 hours a day.
The dropchecker is always blue.

As the solution for dropchecker is like a ph test and my ph is always high, is it possible the drop check can work correctly ? 


Thanks.


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## Duckweed Hunter (Jun 3, 2010)

Co2 should start about an hour before the lights come and run till the lights go off. Plants use Co2 from the moment the light comes on till it goes off. Depending on your lighting and your fertilizer use you can run about 4-6 bubbles per second. It also depends on how much surface movement you have the more you loos Co2.


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

How are you diffusing your CO2? How big is your tank? What liquid is in your drop checker?


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## neilshieh (Jun 24, 2010)

As mistergreen alluded to, make sure your drop checker has 4dkh solution inside. If you're just using tank water/tap water with ph reagent (bromothymol blue), it'll probably just stay blue the entire time. There's a relationship between water hardness (dkh) and ph and the green/yellow/blue color guides we use for drop checkers only holds for 4 dkh water + ph reagent. Hope that solves your issue.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Drop checkers were designed for measuring the pH of the water in an aquarium, and for that the drop checker was filled with tank water, with some pH test reagent in it. Used that way the drop checker color told you what the pH of the tank water was. But, the best way to use it is to put pure distilled water, which has just enough baking soda in it to make its KH a specific number, like 4 degrees of KH. You can also use it with that pure distilled water adjusted to have a different KH. See https://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/general-aquarium-plants-discussions/133058-diy-co2.html for more details. You can make the 4 dKH or other KH water with distilled water and baking soda. Search to find how to do so.


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## bugpb60 (Dec 29, 2018)

Hello,

@Duckweed Hunter, there is a surface movement due the outflow canister on the left of my tank
The atomizer is in the middle of the tank 
On the right of the tank, there is the inflow canister.
I have read master amano push 3 bubbles per second. 4-6 bubble is very high no ?
The bottle of co2 is 2KG, and i push co2 since 18 months. The bottle is not empty yet.

@mistergreen, i'm diffusing co2 with an atomizer. The tank is 300L (120cm*50*50)
The liquid in drop checker is co2 permanent test (reagent). In the manual , they say , add five drop of reagent, then add 2ml of aquarium water.

@neilshieh and @hoppycalif; so i understand that if i follow the manual i drop checker will still blue because the ph of my tank is 7.4-7.6.

If i use the reagent, i must add 2ml of this water 4dkh, maybe more ?


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## Duckweed Hunter (Jun 3, 2010)

bugpb60 said:


> Hello,
> 
> @Duckweed Hunter, there is a surface movement due the outflow canister on the left of my tank
> The atomizer is in the middle of the tank
> ...


Yes, 4-6 bubbles is on the high side. But it depends on how much light and nutrients you have. The more light and ferts the more Co2 to balance the other two. The Co2 should be on the whole time the lights are on. If you shut Co2 off early the plants will use it up and the drop checker will turn blue. Co2 lowers your PH. So are you getting 7.4 ph with or without Co2 going?


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

Yes, you'll need a 4dkH water in your drop checker...

You can double check the CO2 by testing the pH of your tank water before adding CO2 and a few hours into adding CO2. You should see a drop in pH.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

bugpb60 said:


> Hello,
> 
> @Duckweed Hunter, there is a surface movement due the outflow canister on the left of my tank
> The atomizer is in the middle of the tank
> ...


https://www.aquaticplantcentral.com...ects/32100-diy-drop-checker-5.html#post244534 is part of a long discussion about how drop checkers work. I just remembered it today.


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## bugpb60 (Dec 29, 2018)

Thanks for your reply. I have made my own water with 4KDh. So i mixed three drops of ph tester with 3ml of water 4Kdh. The drop checker is still blue for the moment. I will wait a little.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

It takes about 2 hours for a good drop checker to change to the color that tells you how much CO2 you have in the water. I made a few unusual drop checkers that changed color in much less time, but the commercial ones generally take 2 hours.


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## Squawkbert (Jan 3, 2007)

2 things -

1) bugpb60 - Please share how you made your 4dKH

2) Hi, Hoppycalif, I've been gone a long time, but wanted to say "Hi" to you and anyone else who might have a vague recollection of me.
I'm running a 60g planted w/ some assorted SA fish and simple plants, CO2 and a pair of Finnex type LED fixtures. The drop checkers you helped me with (speaking of odd ones) so long ago ultimately proved to be way too slow to respond to CO2 changes, so I have a very conventional one now.

Hope all is well with you.

PS - I've got 3 Amano shrimp in a 20g planted hex (no CO2) that are at least 8 years old!!!
They have outlived several finned tankmates. Currently, they share it with 3 pork chops and some MTS.


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