Regal

Thought I’d share my DIY co2 results. I have two 2-liter co2 bottles on my 75 gallon and a single 20oz pop bottle on my ten gallon.

The before pictures were taken on 5-25-09. I had added DIY co2 a few days earlier. The after pictures are from today.

The Stargrass in the 75 gallon (middle of tank) and the 10 gallon (right side of tank) has really gone crazy.

The sword plants in the 75 gallon have grown differently with the co2. The one on the right side of the tank is growing leaves that are twice as long as before. The sword on the right seems to have responded to the co2 more than the others, I guess because it’s closer to the co2 output. The old leaves are looking bad so I’ve cut off a few of them off.

The red Ludwiga is growing differently too. It usually grows pretty slow with small leaves and not much red. With the co2 the leaves are huge, have lots of red and are growing faster.

I kept thinking the java moss in the 10 gallon wasn’t growing until I took the picture today and compared it to the one from three weeks ago.

The MTS situation in the 10 gallon is a little out of control. I’ve been over feeding big time to keep the adult mollies from getting hungry and snacking on the babies so there are about a million baby snails in there.

Attached Images

	before co2 75gal 5-25-19.jpg (83.8 KB, 170 views)
	after co2 75gal 6-19-09.jpg (145.8 KB, 161 views)
	before mollies with babies 5-25-09.jpg (69.5 KB, 159 views)
	after co2 10gal 6-19-09.jpg (124.4 KB, 156 views)

aquarist48

Your tanks are Beautiful!

Nate McFin

WOW what a difference. I am surprised in the 75 that you were able to see any results. What are you using as a diffuser?

Regal

Thank you! They are both a little neglected right now. I have been busy so I haven't been doing much with either one except weekly water changes and feeding everybody.

I am using this hydor system.

http://www.bigalsonline.com/StoreCat...s=12&offset=12

I just replaced their bottle with the two 2-liters. The diffuser is electric and breaks up the bubbles to the point that they're so tiny they're hard to see.

The 10 gallon just has a 20oz pop bottle with an air hose through the cap and an airstone on the end. The little one was slowing down so I refilled it about a week ago but the 2-liters on the big tank are still making bubbles I can see in the bubble counter.

enthusiast

suemvb,
could u tell me what all plants you've planted in that bottom right picture?

Regal

Sure, There is stargrass (Heteranthera zosterifolia ) on the right, Red Ludwigia (Lufwigia Repens) on the left, and Java Moss in the middle. The Java moss was pulled behind the intake tube on the filter and has since spread.

enthusiast

thanks! stargrass...I like that one, i will look it up! i c ur in ohio too? i'm in sidney, ohio so hi neighbor heh

Regal

Ya sounds like it! I have no idea where Sidney is though.

enthusiast

how did you measure out your sugar and whatnot that you used for your 2-liter bottles? i had 2 of them hooked up to my 75 as well but i stopped doing this as it seemed they only lasted between 1-2 weeks?

did you note how long yours seemed to bubble? i'm trying to get a good mix to get them going for a longer time... any tips on this? I've read that adding half a multivitamin pill gets it cookin too

Regal

I think I might have used the recipe on this site:

http://www.tropicalfishcentre.co.uk/Diyco2.htm

I have two 2-liter Mountain dew bottles together with a "T" connector and then the tubing goes into a 20 ounce Bottle (Mountain Dew too lol) to catch any bits that might otherwise end up going from the yeast bottles to the tank. I know that I filled the sugar to the bottom line on the bottle where the label would have started. Mine produces a steady stream of a few bubbles per second. Look on the internet for a way to make a simple bubble counter. Also, make sure you are using warm water to activate the yeast. When I had the little bottle that came in the kit on my tank I put the bottle in a bucket of water under the tank and put a teeny heater in the bucket. That increased the bubble output tremendously!

I don't want to sound like I think I'm an expert or anything, I'm just experimenting myself. The one thing I do know though is you want to watch your pH because the co2 will drop it. I know that with a 75 gallon diy co2 is supposed to be not enough to make a difference but it crashed my ph last year when I tried it. I have some coral in my canister filter and know the ph is staying pretty steady.