Drop Checker

[rsands]

i posted this in tropical chat and here as i dont know if its more to do with plants or not

I just got my drop checker and i put 5ml of the 4dkh solution along with 3 drops of hagen low php test kit (its bromo blue) it tests ph 6 o 7.6

i then put it up the right way then put it in the tank....6hours later and its still blue?

ive been injecting co2 all day as well

Thanks

 

[RadaR]

You may not be injecting enough, or it's not diffusing properly.

 

[rsands]

every min or so a big blast of tiny tiny bubbles comes out of the diffuser? plants have grown and had to be cut twice in just over a week?

i have the redsea turbo biosystem with the diffuser that come with it.

 

[rsands]

ok after 48hours of constant CO2 injection...still no sign of the drop checker changing colour. i tested my ph and its at 7 which has been stable....but the drop checker has not changed at al?

The CO2 is the red sea turbo biosystem.

The PH did go down to 6.4 at one point but has settled out at 7 now. any suggestions?

 

[SuperColey1]

Can you answer the following questions which may be able to let us assist you

What size is your tank?
How many yeast kits are you using?
Are you using DIY mix or supplied?
What is your normal Ph (before using CO2)
How many Watts of light do you have and what are the bulbs.
Are you using EI method? What fert regime

For example I have a 125Ltr tank and 2 yeast kits will only just turn the checker green and this includes the overnight buld up. I have 73W of light and do full EI therefore with the lighting and ferts I supply the plants use the CO2 much quicker.

Also I only use 3ml of solution and 4 drops of API Ph kit. (The more solution you fill your drop checker with the less air there is in there and it will most likely take longer to change)

Andy

 

[rsands]

its a 160litre tank with the 1 x redsea turbo biosystem that says it does 160litres. I am using the supplied redsea mix in the tubs.

It has 2 x 25watt interpet daylight plus tubes. Hoping to upgrade shortly to larger starters, it says it cann start up to 35watt tubes but cant find any 30" 35watt tubes.

Fert...i cant remember...i emptied the bottle two days ago, cant remember the name of it...have to go get some tomorrow. I will empty the drop checker and add less solution. I might just order the wee bags of fert greenline have that you put in the filter.

PH from the water before it goes into tank is 7.4

Thanks

 

[SuperColey1]

I would suggest using the yeast method in the pinned article.

In my Nutrafins (when I use them as back up) I use sugar to the first line then ½ measured teaspoon yeast then water to the second line.

How big is the cannister? 1 Nutrafin definately wouldn't supply enough for a 160Ltr and with the supplied mixes definately wouldn't.

The Ph drop you have from 7.4 - 7.0 suggests to me that it is also a diffusion problem. You have been at 1Ph lower than normal for a short period so it may have worked for a short time. Also maybe a circulation problem as once the CO2 is diffused it needs to be spread around the tank.

With the lighting you have and using just a weekly dosing method you should be getting on OK (if 1 kit will work for your tank)

I would suggest keeping your lighting as it is and changing to tubes for plants (if you don't already have them) If you up the lighting too much then you will needto add ferts differently, up the CO2 etc.

ou have about 1.25WPG andtherefore you can run a tank with the fert regime you already have and not too much to worry about with CO2. It will help the plants grow but shouldn't really be needed too much.

I would check the circulation of your tank by dropping a leaf in front of the spray bar in several different positions and watching where it goes. This should tell you if the water is circulating the whole tank.

If the circulation is OK then its either the diffusor or the mix!!

Andy

 

[rsands]

i dropped a leave infront of the fluval outlet (not a spraybar yet) and it wizzed around the whole tank and especially were the diffuser is (infront of the currenty nearly).

So continue putting the ferts in and it should be ok? The PH did drop for about a week but i cant get it back down. The cannister is able to hold the pre-mix and over a litre of water....i think its near same as the nutrafin one. So roughly how much mix do i add to that cannister? as it doesn't have a line?
How do i sort the diffusion problem or how do i know to look at the diffuser something is wrong?

Thanks for the loads of info so far.

 

[SuperColey1]

The Nutrafins are about 500ml

Therefore if your is 1 Ltr the I would put in 10 dessertspoons of sugar + 1 teaspoon (measured properly or a level teaspoon) yeast, the fill up with lukewarm water to about an inch from the top. Shake then connect to the hose.

Should start working within a couple of hours unless your room is cold.

With the diffusor all I mean is that some work better than others. I used a glass / ceramic one which is highly rated and it diffuses constant micro bubbles which float up to my spray bar and then are blasted around the tank.

It might be that the diffusor you have is not too efficient but I have no experience with the Red Sea Kits.

Are you using an etxernal or internal Fluval? Either way why not position your diffusor so that the bubbles rise up and when they get to the filter outlet they are then blasted around the tank. Sound like at the moment they are some way down the current and some will have been lost by then. The force of the filter outlet should make a lot diffuse with the water and then this water is carried around the tank as well as some bubbles.

andy

 

[rsands]

would the diy mix create enough pressure for a glass diffuser?
Any particular type of sugar or yeast?

Move the diffusor beneath the outlet? Its an external fluval 305 filter. ye your right the diffusor is on one side with the outlet over half way across tank...i will move the diffusor now so its directly beneath the outlet

 

[nry]

Mine did, so did many others on here.

 

[SuperColey1]

Does for mine, even though the manufacturer (who has recently started selling pressurised equipment) has now changed his adverts to say not suitable for yeast kits!! I can vouvh for this being incorrect. (When I bought it the adverts said suitable for yeast and pressurised)

Not a great picture and a crap camera but the white lines are bubbles.

Andy

 

[rsands]

Cheers, i moved the diffuser to right below the fluval outlet and the bubbles rise near the surface and are then getting fired right across the tank.

The bubbles are really small and fine but seems to be diffusing by what other pictures show.

Where should i place my drop checker now?

 

[SuperColey1]

Drop checker is always best the opposite side to the diffusor, so if your diffusor is back left like mine, then the drop checker would be on the right betwen centre and front.

I keep mine about 3 inches (the top of the drop checker to the surface) below.

this tells you how much CO2 is circulating to the other side

andy

 

[rsands]

Cheers.

After moving the CO2 diffuser beneath the filter outlet and with all my plants sucking it up...after 2 days of injection it is now at a nice green colour. just gota mantain it now

Moving the diffuser really helped...all the problems hover around in the water once they get fired by the current