HOW TO: gUSH CO2 Drop Checker from AquariumPlantFood.co.uk

The easiest way to describe a drop checker is to think of it as a PH checker but instead of reading the PH of your tank it is reading the PH of the indicating solution.
To setup your drop checker you will need:

Drop Checker
4dkH solution
PH Indicator liquid (Bromothymol Blue)
2ml Syringe

Open the bottle of 4dkH liquid and fill the 2ml syringe
Empty the syringe into the Drop Checker, fill the bulb on the end so it is about ¾ full of 4dkH solution
Now open the PH indicator liquid and add 1-2 drops into the drop checker (you may need more to achieve a nice blue colour)
Place the Drop Checker carefully into your tank about 100-150mm below the surface
Making sure to keep an air pocket between the solution in the drop checker and the tank water
Make sure your CO2 is running but at a very low bubble rate 1-1.5 bubbles a second
Now you will need to wait about 2 hours to be able to have your first reliable reading
Take your time and adjust your bubble rate depending on the results.

You should never use aquarium water in the drop checker, only 4dkH solution as it is optimised at 30ppm of CO2. When you defuse CO2 into your aquarium water the CO2 builds up and enters the drop checker chamber.
The solution will then change colour depending on the amount of CO2 being defused in the tank.
You are trying to aim for 25-30ppm

Yellow -- 35ppm
Green -- 25-30ppm
Blue -- 25ppm

The colour you are trying to achieve is Green

Please remember that it takes 1-2 hours for any changes in CO2 to be read by the indicating solution so any alterations have to be very gradual to obtain the ideal concentration of CO2.
The drop checker needs to be 100-150mm below the water surface and you need to make sure you don't have any strong water flow aimed at the drop checker otherwise you may fill the dead space in the drop checker with aquarium water which will stop the drop checker working.
You may find a drop checker will not work efficiently if you use an up atomiser as the fine mist may enter the drop checker and give you false readings
When you use CO2 the secret is keeping everything consistent this way you avoid having algae problems. Use timers to control your aquarium lights and your CO2 solenoid valve.
Set your CO2 to come on 2 hours before your lights turn on, this way your drop checker would have had 2 hours to register a correct colour, then you can increase or decrease your CO2 gradually depending on what colour you see. You also need to pay close attention to your fish. If you see any fish struggling and gulping for air at the surface you may need to decrease the amount of CO2 you are defusing into the tank.
It's all about trial and error and doing things slowly.

All these products are available from www.aquariumplantfood.co.uk

gUSH Indicator Solution 10ml

Colour indication liquid that you add inside the CO2 indicator glass. Use only 1-2 drop mixed with 4dkh water to fill the indicator, made by gUSH.
£3.99

gUSH CO2 Glass Drop Checker
An elegant handmade Glass Drop Checker.
£17.99

They have lots of different styles of Drop Checkers available
4dKH Water 100ml
£3.95

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Видео HOW TO: gUSH CO2 Drop Checker from AquariumPlantFood.co.uk канала 3DreamDesigns