KH Director

[DungSl1nger]

So I have finally gotten my KH Director set up and let it run for a bit. At present it is reading a high of 12.9 but it has bounced from the 12-13 range down to zero and back up.

I crossed referenced this with my Hanna Checker. Over the course of my tanks life it has been consistent. The jump from the 8 to 9 range is due to 1 1/2 teaspoon per gallon of kalkwasser in the ato. I do weekly water changes of 9 gallons

my question is being new to this what do I start with to get to a closer number between the testing systems. J understand there is going to be a discrepancy but I don’t thing it should be this far off. Thank you!

 

[paul01609]

How did you measure the fluids?I did mine via scales that made a huge difference between ghl line calculater

 

[DungSl1nger]

The way GHL says to in the manual. I wouldn’t even know where to start with weighing the fluids.

 

[paul01609]

Mine was miles out until i weighed the fluid,or use a syringe for the ml.
there calculator was totally wrong including how much fluid the water filter held.
then when it’s all set just leave it for a couple of days to do it’s testing

 

[DungSl1nger]

Mine was miles out until i weighed the fluid,or use a syringe for the ml.
there calculator was totally wrong including how much fluid the water filter held.
then when it’s all set just leave it for a couple of days to do it’s testing

What equipment do you use to weigh the fluid? It might be my only choice. I triple checked lengths of the tubing. I also think I will need to do the me for the Ion Director when it makes it’s entrance to the market.

 

[Vinny@GHLUSA Verified Sponsor]

Some measuring cups are more accurate than others, but as @paul01609 mentioned, a digital scale will be a lot more accurate for measuring liquids. This is what I use for calibrating my pump heads:

Also, check the placement of your water sample tube in the sump. If you have it in an area where microbubbles are present, it will skew the KHD's results. The larger the bubble, the more skewed the result will be.

 

[DungSl1nger]

Some measuring cups are more accurate than others, but as @paul01609 mentioned, a digital scale will be a lot more accurate for measuring liquids. This is what I use for calibrating my pump heads:

Also, check the placement of your water sample tube in the sump. If you have it in an area where microbubbles are present, it will skew the KHD's results. The larger the bubble, the more skewed the result will be.

Vinny thank you. I have it in the return on the back (opposite side) of the return pump inlet about an inch from the bottom. I wanted to avoid the skimmer chamber because of the possibility of micro bubbles. I think I will give the scale a try. Do I just calibrate the pump then weigh the result? What other formula is used for conversion?

 

[paul01609]

That’s same one I used as well and I got a set of calibration weights to check the scales

 

[paul01609]

Don’t forget to remove the weight of the container you are dosing the fluid in to

 

[DungSl1nger]

That’s same one I used as well and I got a set of calibration weights to check the scales

Thank you. I’m going to give it a try.

 

[DungSl1nger]

Don’t forget to remove the weight of the container you are dosing the fluid in to

Ok thank you again.

 

[paul01609]

Mine was the same I couldn’t figure out why it was 2-3 dkh higher than my hanna

 

[Vinny@GHLUSA Verified Sponsor]

Vinny thank you. I have it in the return on the back (opposite side) of the return pump inlet about an inch from the bottom. I wanted to avoid the skimmer chamber because of the possibility of micro bubbles. I think I will give the scale a try. Do I just calibrate the pump then weigh the result? What other formula is used for conversion?

For piece of mind, if you wanted to you can also get a calibration weight like this one. It will verify the accuracy of your scale prior to each use.

When it comes to calibrating, what I first do is place the empty cup on the scale. I'm using a Doser 2.1 so I just use a specimen cup to collect the water. Press the TARE button on the scale, then begin the calibration. The tare button allows the scale to factor-in the weight of the cup which saves you from having to subtract the weight at the end.

The conversion is 1 gram = 1 ml
Easy enough.

 

[DungSl1nger]

Mine was the same I couldn’t figure out why it was 2-3 dkh higher than my hanna

Scale and weights are ordered. Yea I figured I would let it play out for a bit before chasing numbers. It seems people have had some issue with the setup. I don’t know if it’s the way the instructions are written or how my mind is wired. I went through many videos over the course of a week just so I wouldn’t make mistakes. It’s awesome you figured it out though.

 

[paul01609]

I was banging my head why it was so far out,even wasted a full bottle of the dkh checker.
been rock solid now for ages

 

[DungSl1nger]

For piece of mind, if you wanted to you can also get a calibration weight like this one. It will verify the accuracy of your scale prior to each use.

When it comes to calibrating, what I first do is place the empty cup on the scale. I'm using a Doser 2.1 so I just use a specimen cup to collect the water. Press the TARE button on the scale, then begin the calibration. The tare button allows the scale to factor-in the weight of the cup which saves you from having to subtract the weight at the end.

The conversion is 1 gram = 1 ml
Easy enough.

Awesome, I just got the scale and calibration weights. Thank you for the help. I’ll update this on probably Monday after a recalibration. I’ll check on the micro bubble possibilities as well.

 

[DungSl1nger]

I was banging my head why it was so far out,even wasted a full bottle of the dkh checker.
been rock solid now for ages

I feel your pain. In the mean time I might drop down to two checks a day I only have a few corals so I may be over shooting the need for it at the moment.

 

[paul01609]

I don’t have many I just test twice a day,I use hydrochloric acid and return waste back to my sump

 

[DungSl1nger]

I don’t have many I just test twice a day,I use hydrochloric acid and return waste back to my sump

I may use the left over doser to return what is taken out as I’m not dosing anything other than kalkwasser. Just pull from a gallon jug.

 

[Dr. Jim]

Just curious as to why some people prefer to weigh the water rather than measure it with laboratory graduated cylinders. Seems like the "weighing" method is indirect and allows for more error (scale error; calibration error) while simply putting it in a graduated cylinder gives you a direct measurement. (I'm sure either method is fine for our purposes however.)