Co2 Indicator

[sjolliff]

iv got this Indicator

http/www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.php?...roducts_id=2720

it says it takes 10mins to adjust to the level of co2

iv got co2 gon in at the min and it still blue when is should be green

my bubble count is about 2 BPS

 

[Truck]

iv got this Indicator

[URL="http/www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.php?...roducts_id=2720"]http/www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.php?...roducts_id=2720[/URL]

it says it takes 10mins to adjust to the level of co2

iv got co2 gon in at the min and it still blue when is should be green

my bubble count is about 2 BPS

did you fill with 4DKH?
how bigs the tank?
does it get a lot of surface agitation?

 

[shrimply]

I've heard they can take up to two hours to change.

I presume you've read this guide and are using 4dkh solution in it? Otherwise you won't get a decent reading.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=268972

It really is trial and error until you get it right. Your bubble count will depend on your bubble counter so doesn't really give a good indication of how much your adding. You just have to leave it for a while and see what happens.

 

[sjolliff]

Im just using the liquid which was sent with it

the tank is 125L

yeah the surface moves alot due to using a spray bar,
bit the indicator is at the other end of the co2 source and 100mm below the surface as guided by the instruction

 

[shrimply]

If there is a decent amount of surface movement then you might be loosing CO2 as fast as your putting it in. In this case you want to reduce surface movement or increase CO2 input. Obviously the former is the most sensible to do, most planted tanks have little or no surface movement.

The solution that came with it will be bromomethyl blue, but you need to use a 4dkh solution and not tank water in the reader or it won't give you proper readings, Aaron's guide that I link to explains it all.

But as I've already said its pretty much a case of increasing the CO2 your putting in until your happy that the correct amount of CO2 is being dissolved into the water.

I've been fiddling about with mine and its taken about a week of adjusting the CO2 bubble count and time to get the drop checker doing what I want it to.

 

[sjolliff]

Iv ordered some 4DKH, the instructions says tank water?

still no change

 

[RadaR]

the instructions says tank water?

That's because they're oblivious to 50% of how this works.
We're wanting a green colour change which will tell us that a certain pH has been reached in that particular level of calcium carbonate water. A change that indicates there is enough carbonic acid in the water that is decreasing the pH to give us this green colour. (30ppm of dissolved CO2 in the water). However if you used your tank water then there are bound to be other acids in the water that are going to be changing the pH as well. Therefore, the CO2 concentration reading is going to be inaccurate, because the other acids aren't being taken into account. Whereas with the 4dkh water, we know what's is in there (no external acids are coming into contact), so the pH shift can only be due to the dissolved carbon.
Have a good read of this. That should answer all your questions.