Simple DiY Drop checker for under $2.00

[Spacefly]

Very cheap, and effective drop checker that I made for under $2.00

The design is based off the Red sea Co2 indicator "pictured below", which sells for $15.00 by me

Shopping list includes:
25cent egg with toy inside.
small funnel
rubberband
aquarium safe silicone sealant
suctioncup


First you will need to get yourself one of those 25cent eggs from those machines in the supermarket,the ones with the little toys in it. remove toy


Next you will need a funnel, lob off the top if its too large,The part with the spout is what you are going to use.


Finally, Silicone the parts together.
You can do one of two things here, you can leave the outer blue ring on the egg so it snaps off for an easy filling, or remove and seal it shut completely.

I find a rubberband useful for holding the suctioncup in place while the silicone is curing.





Water test in a glass


There you have it. An easy project for Measuring your Co2 levels.
This shouldn't take more than 10 minutes to make.
For under $2.00 you cant go wrong.


Enjoy.

[Wasserpest]

That seems like a nice and easy design. Thanks for sharing!

[crazy loaches]

Yup looks very similar to the one I did but used a tiny glass baby food jar instead of 'egg'.

[garuf]

brilliant little tuturial thanks for sharing

[ovenmit331]

what colors do the Low Good and High readings turn in most drop checkers?

[spypet]

very clever you get this Month's MacGyver award!

[Left C]

Originally Posted by ovenmit331

what colors do the Low Good and High readings turn in most drop checkers?

Hi Ovenmit

Drop checkers/CO2 indicators use Bromthymol Blue as the indicator solution. You can see the colors on the first picture that shows the Red Sea CO2 indicator:
Yellow - + - too much CO2
Green - - good CO2 level
Blue - - - too little CO2 or the solution is not at equilibrium yet

Left C

[tropicalfish]

I remember this little experiment in 6th grade science involving bromothymol blue.
We put bb into a beaker, and we put a straw in. We were supposed to blow on the straw, and watch it turn yellow from the CO2 in our breath. Someone was stupid and sucked in instead of blow. He was rushed to the hospital, it was... weird!

What happens if you get bb into the tank water?

[ovenmit331]

Originally Posted by Left C

Hi Ovenmit

Drop checkers/CO2 indicators use Bromthymol Blue as the indicator solution. You can see the colors on the first picture that shows the Red Sea CO2 indicator:
Yellow - + - too much CO2
Green - - good CO2 level
Blue - - - too little CO2 or the solution is not at equilibrium yet

Left C

thanks... thats not tooooo hard for a colorblind person such as myself to distinguish... those stupid test kits though... UGH!

how often do the drop checkers need to be refilled?

and SORRY for the total HIJACK...

i do LOVE the kid's easter egg drop checker idea... brilliant.

i wish i was there to see the lightbulb go off in your head as you were walking out of the grocery store... or the look on your wife/sig other/friends face when you ran over and bought some 25cent toy with no prior explanation...

[kunerd]

nothing dfdfdfd

[Left C]

Originally Posted by ovenmit331

how often do the drop checkers need to be refilled?...

I refill mine every water change or every other water change.

[ovenmit331]

Originally Posted by Left C

I refill mine every water change or every other water change.

oh wow, i thought it was more of a three to six month thing... well then, now i know, and knowing is half the battle....

[Left C]

Originally Posted by ovenmit331

oh wow, i thought it was more of a three to six month thing... well then, now i know, and knowing is half the battle....

You can probably go longer than I do, but light can break down the solution and you can get some comtamination in it from various sources including the vapor. Changing it every week isn't a big deal. I made up a life time supply of the solution when I made it. The Red Sea CO2 Indicator only uses 1 mL at a time. A 500 mL known KH solution will last you over 9 years if you change it once a week and use 1 mL at a time.

[Werdna]

How about another thread on how to make the solution?

[ovenmit331]

Originally Posted by Werdna

How about another thread on how to make the solution?

good idea...