# Best drop checker liquid?



## Frenchi (5 Feb 2015)

Hi
What's the most reliable drop checker liquid please .. I have been using jbl for a long time now but it's not cheap. 
Any other reliable liquid at a cheaper price please? 

Thanks 

Mick 


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## Julian (5 Feb 2015)

I think I'm right in saying that the JBL liquid is just 4dkh water mixed with Bromothymol blue? Have a look on ebay, probably be cheaper to buy them separately. All you do is fill the DC to the normal level, then add 2 drops of bromo blue and give it a little shake.


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## Andy Thurston (5 Feb 2015)

How about this
http://www.co2art.co.uk/products/aq...nt=618221233&gclid=CLq3_YWyy8MCFSSWtAodcEgA_g


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## kirk (5 Feb 2015)

Beat me too it.   this one.


  It will last for ever, I got these second hand from forsales on here.   Previously I was using jbl but it was a bit too pricey, especially if you have a few tanks.


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## Andy Thurston (5 Feb 2015)

A little bit off topic but how often do people change their solution?
Mines been in the dc for 6months+ and still seems to give a good colour change, so even with jbl prices it would still be quite cheap. That said the jbl dc does hold quite a lot of solution


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## kirk (5 Feb 2015)

I think someone has asked that question recently good question, all that I remember is that I took from the thread I'd been wasting the stuff changing regularly. Every few weeks. Im going to do mine when I knock the dc off the side of the tank and it fills with tank water , co2 art say minimum of one a mth to change it. I'd still like to know weather yoy need to or weather it is just to make you use it all up


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## Julian (5 Feb 2015)

Change it when it starts to go clear. Agreed, changing every month is a waste - marketing ploy to get you to buy more often.


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## Frenchi (5 Feb 2015)

Cool thanks guys  I've just had a bit of a disaster in my big tank  the solution had been in there for about a month or so but I have been messing around with the flow, I added a new filter but it was disturbing the surface a little more than usual, I looked at the drop checker and it was the darker colour to normal so I upped the bubble rate by milliseconds, no change so I upped it again, still no change.. Apart from my fish gasping and 2 deaths .. I changed the fluid reset everything and added an extra jbl checker .. All is perfect now .. So just be careful guys 


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## RossMartin (5 Feb 2015)

I change it when i drop the drop checker in the tank...which is most weeks!


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## parotet (5 Feb 2015)

I change it when I clean the filter which is once a month... But sometimes I miss a change so it lasts 2 months.

Jordi


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## Frenchi (5 Feb 2015)

Big clown said:


> How about this
> http://www.co2art.co.uk/products/aq...nt=618221233&gclid=CLq3_YWyy8MCFSSWtAodcEgA_g


Just ordered a bottle of this cheers 


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## NC10 (5 Feb 2015)

Frenchi said:


> I upped the bubble rate by milliseconds, no change so I upped it again, still no change.. Apart from my fish gasping and 2 deaths ..



How long did you wait? You know it takes a few hours?


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## Andy Thurston (5 Feb 2015)

parotet said:


> I change it when I clean the filter which is once a month... But sometimes I miss a change so it lasts 2 months.
> 
> Jordi



Me too but i clean my filter every 6months too  I have a hang on one but luckly i haven't managed to drop it or contaminate it yet


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## Frenchi (6 Feb 2015)

NC10 said:


> How long did you wait? You know it takes a few hours?


Yes I know to wait .. It just wasn't changing colour .. It needed replacing 


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## ian_m (6 Feb 2015)

Bromothymol blue, the indicator used is decomposed by light, which is why it fades in the drop checker. So lifetime depends on drop checker type and power of lighting.

I found it lasts ages and ages longer in this type of drop checker (JBL), being partially shaded from the light, compared my glass drop checker.


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## NC10 (6 Feb 2015)

Frenchi said:


> Yes I know to wait ..



Just checking


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## Frenchi (6 Feb 2015)

NC10 said:


> Just checking


Thanks for the heads up  


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## dw1305 (10 Feb 2015)

Hi all, 
I don't need a drop checker, but if I did I'd make my own 4dKH "water" and bromothymol blue indicator.   

Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) is really cheap, and the workings are in this thread <"4dKH Solution">.

Amazon sell <"bromothymol blue">,  50cm3 is £7.50.

cheers Darrel


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## parotet (10 Feb 2015)

dw1305 said:


> Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) is really cheap, and the workings are in this thread <"4dKH Solution">.


I think most hobbyists cannot measure accurately the amount of NaHCO3 needed (unless you use a lot of water for making your solutions) and the resulting stock solution will last for so long that you will never know if it is still ok... I did it once but then I bought even an already mixed Bromothymol-4dKH solution as I only change my DC liquid from time to time (I said every month in a previous post but to be honest it is rather every two-three months) and I use just a few drops. I'm still using the first pre-mixed solution I bought more than one year ago.

Jordi


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## dw1305 (10 Feb 2015)

Hi all, 





parotet said:


> I think most hobbyists cannot measure accurately the amount of NaHCO3 needed


Point taken, I'd always prefer to work with larger amounts and dilute down. This should be OK for any-one with digital kitchen scales. 





dw1305 said:


> How about starting with 6g in in 500cm3? This would be a 400 dKH stock solution, but this is still quite a dilute solution, so 1cm3 would weight ~1g meaning that you don't need to be able to measure volumes accurately. Dilution by 5 in 500 (stock sol:H2O) would give you 4dKH, and you would only need a balance that can weigh 5g fairly accurately.



You could always use KHCO3 and used the spare as a potassium source. The workings are very slightly different for KHCO3, but details here: <http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/RO.htm>.

cheers Darrel


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