# DIY Inline pH Probe



## Adkins.its (Oct 15, 2007)

It ended up looking pretty good. Parts list for those who care.

1. 1 - SCH80 3/4" T threaded
2. 2 - SCH80 3/4" NPT - 1/2" Barb
3. 1 - SCH80 3/4" NPT - 1/2" NPT Reducer
4. 1 - 3/4" NPT Liquid Tight Cord Grip (make sure to use plenty of tape or glue on the thread that does into the T. 
5. Teflon tape or PVC glue

A side note: You could probably use a 1/2" T and Barbs with this setup. I wanted more of a volume of water around the probe, as well as this way you can have so room to have the end of the probe in the center of the flow and still have have space for debris to get around the probe just in case. Lets face it, "in case" tends to happen more than less 
All of the fitting were bought at Lowe's except for the cord grip

In case anyone might be wanting to get a hold of one of these handy little cord grips, and you don't want to pay for shipping or wait for it, if you have a Kendell Electric or any other kind of specialty electrical supply store give them a call and you can probably get you what you need. They have a lot of different sizes you would just have to talk with them about.

Just a simple design I thought I would share. Doesn't leak at all.

Any questions, just ask.


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## Adkins.its (Oct 15, 2007)

In case anyone is wondering I have been using this flawlessly for about 2 months now...nothing but accurate readings and dry floors...lol


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## jjcarr (Aug 31, 2004)

Great diy, I'll be doing this for my setup soon.


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## DiabloCanine (Aug 26, 2005)

Consider modifying it a little to put the black part of the probe flush with the coupling, the yellow portion of the probe in that area is hollow and can crack......DC


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## Adkins.its (Oct 15, 2007)

Hey man thanks for the input.

Ya I actually was considering that the other day while I was looking at it. I just thought about adding a 4" piece of pvc to lengthen it enough to submerge the probe all the way into the tube. Solving the issue, making it flush.


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## AndrewH (Dec 24, 2007)

Out of curiosity, why did you use sch 80 instead of sch 40?

And my personal thought for your design would be to put the probe on one end of the tee and move the barb to where the probe currently is. This way the water has to hit the probe before making the 90* turn and with the right length pipe, you can allow the probe tip to be right in the middle of the Tee intersection (which would work for any mounting configuration). Basically, not allowing the probe to block or allow build up.


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## Adkins.its (Oct 15, 2007)

AndrewH said:


> Out of curiosity, why did you use sch 80 instead of sch 40?


I used sch 80 because thats what the barbs are and I just wanted it all to look the same. And the Lowe's out here has the barbs right next to the sch 80. Using the sch 40 would obviously be fine and maybe a little cheaper.



AndrewH said:


> And my personal thought for your design would be to put the probe on one end of the tee and move the barb to where the probe currently is. This way the water has to hit the probe before making the 90* turn and with the right length pipe, you can allow the probe tip to be right in the middle of the Tee intersection (which would work for any mounting configuration). Basically, not allowing the probe to block or allow build up.


Ya, that would defiantly work. I have it last thing right before the intake fitting on my filter, so I needed it to be straight on. I guess the the 90* could restrict your flow a little bit more than the straight as well. But with a 304 and a 305 on my 55 gal I'm sure that it wouldn't make much difference on my tank.


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## AndrewH (Dec 24, 2007)

Well, like you said, with only one pipe fitting sch 40 over 80 isn't a huge expense difference.

I really like your design and the simplicity of it.


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## Adkins.its (Oct 15, 2007)

Thanks A lot! 

Ya I just wanted something people could use and not have to have a pvc plumbed tank or if they already had a DC or Rex reactor and didn't want to make a new manifold to do both. Although DC's all-in-one reactor, ph probe, temp probe mani is the s***.


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## rbittman (Jan 3, 2006)

Adkins,
This post could be helpful to me, but I am a total beginner when it comes to DIY plumbing.
I want to create a T connection as you did for an Eheim 2128 temperature probe. I need to check the tubing size the filter uses (I think it's 12/16mm or about 1/2-5/8").

Can you recommend the easiest way to create what I need and how do you seal the part that the probe fits into?

Thanks for any help. Sorry to be so lame.


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## McCarthy (Mar 13, 2017)

After some years, is this still a good and watertight solution?


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## Adkins.its (Oct 15, 2007)

rbittman said:


> Adkins,
> This post could be helpful to me, but I am a total beginner when it comes to DIY plumbing.
> I want to create a T connection as you did for an Eheim 2128 temperature probe. I need to check the tubing size the filter uses (I think it's 12/16mm or about 1/2-5/8").
> 
> ...





McCarthy said:


> After some years, is this still a good and watertight solution?


I no longer have this but I do have a buddy who still has it in use to this very day!


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## BOTIA (Dec 23, 2003)

Adkins.its said:


> I no longer have this but I do have a buddy who still has it in use to this very day!


 And back from the dead, I just built mine like yours did you notice any change in ph reading sitting in tank vs in the flow? When I put my ph probe in the tank mine reads 6.30 if I stir it around a bit it drops a bit, in the housing it reads 6.21 in the housing when running.


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## BOTIA (Dec 23, 2003)




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## BOTIA (Dec 23, 2003)

So far it's working great ! Love having it out of the tank.
I will be adding a ball shut off entry side to make it easy to isolate the probe for removal and cleaning.


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