Matt Warner
Member
It could be that your regulator can't produce enough pressure to give any more than 1bps. What regulator are you using, can you adjust the working pressure at all? Some of the up atomisers need more than 2 bar to work properly.
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Drop Checker
- Thread starter belly259
- Start date
John S
Member
belly259 said:
Does the mist / bubbles increase if you open the needle valve more?
san-ho-zay
Member
I've failed with CO2 in the past and it's been because of this sort of logic. If the cost per bubble is worrying you, you should get a bigger bottle or find cheaper ways of getting it refilled. Honestly mate, you can't have a mental block that stops you getting the tank to the optimum levels for your plants. Been there, done that.belly259 said:
I don't think I could manage without a bubble counter. It sounds like you are pushing gas through the diffuser but you'll find it difficult to adjust up and down without the reference point that the bubble counter gives.
I'm not sure what you mean by a reactor for the drop checker. There are two ways to fill those. Either you buy a 4dKH solution (clear) and add some bromo blue pH reagent to it (dark blue). Or you use a premixed solution of 4dKH water with the pH reagent already in it (blue tinge).
It doesn't need to be in the flow. Anywhere that's convenient to see will do really. If the flow around the tank is good, the CO2 gets distributed. They do take a couple of hours to change colour though.
You'll get it all. I know it's often discussed on here like it's no more difficult than buttering toast but I remember it was all quite intimidating and tricky to get the hang of at first.
John S
Member
san-ho-zay said:
After you have done the above if the drop checker fluid is OK then do the following. Turn up the CO2 with the lights out for 2 hours after two hours your drop checker should at least be dark green.
davem said:
Try this!
Clean out and refill dropchecker with fresh solution when you have a day to yourself. Start early, fire up co2 leave light's off. Check DC colour hourly. This will help you find an injection rate that will saturate your water column in a given time. If it takes more than 3-4 hours then you need to turn up the gas.
Using an inline you should be able to clearly see the mist. If flow is good you should see it rolling down the front glass and bouncing back along the substrate. Don't be fooled here, My Rio 125 gets very, very misty.
Flow/distribution maybe an issue as I don't think you have mentioned what filter you are using. Flow from spray bar is best not breaking the surface. Ripples are good though.
Grab a bubble counter, it will give you a reference point for your adjustments. I avoid the inline glass ones now as they constantly lose water for me. When gas first comes on I get a jet of water fired up the tubing through the counter. The small plastic ones (TMC) with in and out connectors on the top don't lose water.
Any photo's you can provide may also help.
well guys upped the co2 injection quite alot, still no bloody change, new pre mixed 4kdh solution in around 2 hours ago. is it possible the solution isnt mixed rite? i have some other stuff which is the clear stuff, am i rite in saying i can put a couple of drops of ph checker in the drop checker with the clear solution ?
John S
Member
I'm confused with what is going in your drop checker. Do you have a premixed solution or are you adding bromo blue to 4kdh solution?
John S
Member
And there are now lots of bubbbles flying around the tank since you upped the injection?
Where did the 'clear stuff' come from?
Where did the 'clear stuff' come from?
John S
Member
Where did you get the premixed stuff and who makes it?
I tested my drop checker by placing it directly over my glass diffuser and after a short while indicator was yellow. 
Moved drop checker away from diffuser and eventually it went green.
However I moved to in-line diffuser, as I was able to position the drop checker, when using in tank glass diffuser, in places (at bottom of tank) where it stayed blue despite all the supposed flow in the tank.
Moved drop checker away from diffuser and eventually it went green.
However I moved to in-line diffuser, as I was able to position the drop checker, when using in tank glass diffuser, in places (at bottom of tank) where it stayed blue despite all the supposed flow in the tank.
