# DIY drop checker



## uncskainch (Feb 22, 2005)

It looks nice -- can you provide a detailed description of how you did it? Looks like something fun to try.


----------



## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

It's not that complicated, you can just see how it's done.



















I just put it in the tank.. I'll get readings tomorrow.. I just have a DIY Yeast CO2 deal, so The readings won't be that great. I'm thinking 10-13ppm of CO2.
Right now it's 5.7ppm of CO2.


----------



## Naja002 (Oct 12, 2005)

Just so Ya know: The solution should be Kh4 in order to work in accordance with all of the info online. I am wondering how long the limited amount of solution is going to be good for.....? Not sure whether quantity matters.....?

Otherwise--neat looking little set up! Wonder how it would look made out of 3/8" or 1/2" ID tubing....? :tongue:


----------



## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

Yeah, it was a pain in the butt to get the Kh... So I just stopped at 3dkh. I can always follow the Kh & Ph chart to get the right CO2. I wonder how long it'll last too. But it's no big deal to put new reactant in there.. You just need an eyedropper.

Oh, I guess you can add more liquid if you add more loops.


----------



## distrbd (Feb 17, 2006)

Mistergreen,I appreciate the simplicity in your design,well done.


----------



## Blackthumbwoes (Feb 27, 2007)

I like the idea  ill have to give it a shot sometime, looks pretty too . Very slim design easy to hide.

I think i'll experiment with one this weekend .

jason


----------



## ebichu (Mar 22, 2007)

Very nice and simple and cheap too.

I should give this a try 

Thanks for sharing


----------



## turbosaurus (Nov 19, 2005)

This is awesome. Very clever, simple to understand and no bizzare parts needed. It even looks nice. Thanks a million.


----------



## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

and here's how to mix the reagant.
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...uarium-projects/32100-diy-drop-checker-2.html


----------



## James From Cali (Dec 15, 2006)

Thanks it seems simple enough. Exactly where in the store will there be Distilled Water? How much do the KH Test Kits run for?


----------



## Green Leaf Aquariums (Feb 26, 2007)

This is cool and very inexpensive,


----------



## James From Cali (Dec 15, 2006)

Orlando said:


> This is cool and very inexpensive,


Agreed.


----------



## TAF CAF (Jan 12, 2006)

Very cool, I have been wanting to do one for my 55, but had little luck with glass tubes and such.

I do wonder though, will it stain the tube so that it makes it hard to read later?


----------



## crazy loaches (Sep 29, 2006)

James From Cali said:


> Thanks it seems simple enough. Exactly where in the store will there be Distilled Water? How much do the KH Test Kits run for?


Distilled water is usually sold in with the spring water (edit: usually in gallon jugs, and around here often on plain marked store-brand jugs). As for KH test kits, just check your favorite online seller, bigals for example. Its not like they are rare or anything.


----------



## James From Cali (Dec 15, 2006)

Alright thanks


----------



## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

TAF CAF said:


> Very cool, I have been wanting to do one for my 55, but had little luck with glass tubes and such.
> 
> I do wonder though, will it stain the tube so that it makes it hard to read later?


No staining so far.. I mixed up new reactant with more PH drops in the mixture for a denser color. This works well. It took 4-5 hours to get an accurate reading.


----------



## sandiegoryu (Feb 15, 2006)

Hey I thought of that the other day just as I bought a drop checker. Thought it might not be good because of lack of air flow inside. I guess eventually you'll get the color change but it may lag more than other drop checkers. Very cool.

Tell us how it goes!


----------



## milesm (Apr 4, 2006)

took me less than 5 min to make. i used cable ties to keep the tube looped. 

took me more than 2 hours to get that dang 4 kh water. 

just stuck it in the tank 10 min ago. i guess the small solution to air interface surface area makes it less responsive than those commercial ones, but im cheap, and this should suffice.

i use mist exclusively. i wonder how much of it is actually dissolved. this should give me a good idea. im running about 2 bpm co2 in my 30 gal tank, fed into venturi of powerhead. plants pearl couple hours after lights and co2 come on.


----------



## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

I was thinking I can increase the air to water surface by using a hot rod (sodering iron) to expand the opening (it's only plastic).. I'll post something if it works out.. Just not too hot I'm thinking.


----------



## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

expanding and fluting the openings isn't worth it. I was only able to make the opening slightly bigger but nothing dramatic.


----------



## sandiegoryu (Feb 15, 2006)

2bpm on a 30 gallon? I'm going 1bps on my 2 gallon . Diffuser's aren't too efficient :-(.


----------



## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

i'm shocked to have 20-25ppm of CO2 in my tank.. They (my plants) do so poorly. I have 2 bottle of DIY yeast going. One connected to a nano diffusor, the other connected to a powerhead.

what's bpm or bps?


----------



## milesm (Apr 4, 2006)

well, the solution turned green, but did so overnight and remained green until lights on the next day (today). 

not sure what went wrong, but i'll try again. i think the airline tube is too small for it to work properly. 

i guess i'll just continue to mist co2; plants are growing nicely enough without needing to know co2 concentration.

and oops, 2 bps not bpm :icon_smil
bubbles per second/minute


----------



## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

milesm said:


> well, the solution turned green, but did so overnight and remained green until lights on the next day (today).
> 
> not sure what went wrong, but i'll try again. i think the airline tube is too small for it to work properly.
> 
> ...


isn't green good? that's around 30ppm co2.


----------



## James From Cali (Dec 15, 2006)

mistergreen said:


> isn't green good? that's around 30ppm co2.


Yes. Im sure that he didnt quite understand that green is good . Yellow means add more and Blue means take away.


----------



## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

James From Cali said:


> Yes. Im sure that he didnt quite understand that green is good . Yellow means add more and Blue means take away.


heh.. I think blue means add more, yellow means too much.

Just look at your ph color chart (AP ph test kit). And you can find your CO2 based on your KH which is 4dkh.

http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_co2chart.htm

This is more accurate than testing straight aquarium water because there are so many other variables that will give you a false reading. The reactant in your drop checker is more stable and will give you a more accurate reading.


----------



## milesm (Apr 4, 2006)

mistergreen said:


> isn't green good? that's around 30ppm co2.


green is good, but like i said, it turned green overnight (no co2 added) and stayed green until lights on the next day (still no co2). shouldn't the solution turn blue, indicating a return to "baseline" co2 levels, when not injecting co2?


----------



## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

milesm said:


> green is good, but like i said, it turned green overnight (no co2 added) and stayed green until lights on the next day (still no co2). shouldn't the solution turn blue, indicating a return to "baseline" co2 levels, when not injecting co2?


oh, interesting. Maybe your tank has CO2 dissolved in it?.. Just to test, i'll take my drop cheker out of the aquarium and it should turn back to blue over night.


----------



## Blacksunshine (Oct 11, 2006)

mistergreen said:


> isn't green good? that's around 30ppm co2.


Green is good except that his KH in the water is 3 so it will turn green at much lower CO2 levels. The higher the KH the more CO2 you have to pump into the water to get the checkers to turn green. 

And yes Mixing Water to reach a specific KH is a PITA. Thats why I do it a few gallons at a time. much easier to weigh out the proper amount of biocarb. otherwise you need a very accurate scale that reads .01 grams.


----------



## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

Well, I took out my diy drop checker and it turned back to blue overnight.. So, it's working but it took a really long time.

I guess to make a more responsive drop checker, just use a bigger diameter tube, a 1/2 inch, or even an inch.

Oh, and I just thought up of another way to make this too with no glue.
Just tie the tube to make look like a pretzel.


----------



## pairustwo (Feb 23, 2007)

So in all of the kh reference instructions I read that I should add the pH reagent to the "bulb" or in this case the tube separately after the reference solution.

I wasn't able to do this in the small tube so I added the pH reagent to the kh solution to get a nice deep blue color and then added it to the tube. 
Dose anyone think that this makes a difference? Is this how everyone here has done it?

I ask because I'm not sure if mine is working.

Pairustwo


----------



## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

I think it doesn't matter. This tube thing works but it takes half a day to give you a correct reading.


----------



## Aquapari (Oct 11, 2012)

this is brilliant;;;;;
wow, i couldn't think like this way ever...;;; -_-;;;;
wow cool, great, awesome, genius;;


----------

