# question about 4dkh solution



## neilshieh (Jun 24, 2010)

i supposedly made 4dkh but when i add the ph solution the water turns green not blue... any suggestions?


----------



## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi neilshieh,

I believe I read your post that you made up your own with Baking Soda and distilled water so you shouldn't have any contaminants; what are you storing your solution in?


----------



## neilshieh (Jun 24, 2010)

the api test tubes i tested the stuff in. so i made the 4dkh and then cleaned the tubes and stored the solutions in those test tubes. i just made 4dkh again but i still get green after adding ph testing fluid... these are all by api btw...


----------



## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi neilshieh,

Maybe it isn't the water or the way it is being stored, maybe it is the indicator solution. Why not take some of your water to the LFS and see if the water is green or blue when they add their solution?


----------



## neilshieh (Jun 24, 2010)

im going to add this other ph indicator i have handy... it looks dark blue while the ph reagent by api is brownish... making this stuff really frustrates me.


----------



## Left C (Jun 14, 2005)

You can purchase a 4 oz bottle of a 4 dKH solution for $7.50 shipped here.


----------



## Left C (Jun 14, 2005)

There are several recipes around for making a 4 dKH solution. I followed the one named "KH Standard / How to" by billionzz. You can use Google and easily find it. This is the correct name of the article.


----------



## neilshieh (Jun 24, 2010)

no need i discovered the problem. i was using baking powder from walmart not baking soda from arms and hammer? anyways the baking powder contained some other ingredients while the arms and hammer only contained pure sodium bicarbonate. problem solved! made the 4dkh solution in a small bowl in less than 5 minutes. and this time the ph solution by api turned blue  and you thought i would have figured this out sooner...


----------



## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi neilshieh,

I think a lot of people confuse Baking Powder and Baking Soda, even cooks! I am glad you found the problem.


----------



## Franzi (Dec 7, 2009)

It's funny that people spend $7.50 to buy 4oz of water.


----------



## neilshieh (Jun 24, 2010)

well its for people that want to be as accurate as possible. plus one can lasts quite long versus buying scales and stuff.


----------



## darkoon (Jun 7, 2010)

it's hard to say the ones on ebay or other people sells are more accurate. A member at another forum bought one, and when he put in the ph reagent, it actually turned green instead of blue. so the "4dKH" fluid he paid for was probably contaminated or something. 
digital scale cost about $5 on ebay, you can use it for dosing fert too, a lot more accurate than using tsp. now that $5 digital scale can go a loooong way.


----------



## Franzi (Dec 7, 2009)

people see a picture of a measuring cup with a 4 followed by a decimal point and 8 numbers written on it, and believe that it must be legit. anybody can make a respectable 4dkh solution at home for free.

recession? what recession? people must have money to burn if they're paying for 6oz of water.


----------



## neilshieh (Jun 24, 2010)

true... well i bought a kitchen scale that's not calibrated to 0.01 only to 0.1 so :/


----------



## Left C (Jun 14, 2005)

My first scale measured to 0.1 gram too. When I made my 4 dKH solution, I followed the instructions that "billionzz" wrote except I didn't have a scale that would measure to 0.01 gram. Anyway, I made a batch and tested it with my LaMotte Alkalinity test kit. It was 4.26 dKH. That was close enough for me and I used it. I could of added some more distilled water and got it closer to 4 dKH, but I didn't.

What I am trying to point out that you can do pretty darn good with your scales if they are of good quality and you are careful in your measuring. Unless you are making small batches of reference solutions, your 0.1 gram scales should be fine for measuring dry ferts and making solutions.

There was a time when I gladly paid $5 to $20+ for 4 oz of water that had good flavor and it had ETOH in it. [smilie=d: :lol:


----------

