guppy man

I want to know how to make a co2 reacter with yeast and sugar. I tried before but I coudn't activate the yeast.

dvc_r

I don't know why, it's pretty straight forward: A 2 Liter soda bottle or a 24 oz Gatorade bottle works better because the opening is larger. Drill a hole a fraction smaller than the air tubing on the top cap, push through the tubing about an inch into the top and attach an air stone on the end.

Mix 3/4 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of yeast in warm water, the warm water should be filled to about 3/4 of the bottle and your set to go. It takes a few hours before you start to see the bubbles come out.

If it's not working check to see if there is a leak where the tube comes out of the top of the cap or if the cap is not screwed on tight enough. Most people put a bead of silicone around the tubing where it enters the cap, I don't, I just SQUEEZE it through nice a tight!

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navyscuba

here is a link to one way of making it.

http://cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_co2.php

dvc_r

That reminds me... You need a check valve, if you have one maybe it's in backwards,(just a thought).

Thanks navy

navyscuba

Haha Yeah make sure it work I got one that didn't work so my bottle almost exploded in the living room.

Nutter

Cut your airline on an angle before you squeeze it through the hole in the lid of the generator bottle. This will make it easer to get through & allow you to drill a smaller hole. With the smaller hole you will get a better seal & shouldn't need to use any sealant. If you do need to use a sealant to get an airtight seal, use hot glue instead of silicone. That way you can use it immediatley instead of having to wait a few days for the silicone to cure. Just make sure you don't melt a hole through your airline.

The other thing I always use is a smaller bottle between the yeast generator & the diffuser. The smaller bottle acts as a collection point for any overflow from the yeast generator. Because I use 2 x yeast generator bottles, it also acts as a collection point for the gas so that I still only have one co2 line going to my diffuser. I use 2 x generator bottles so that I have more co2 being produced & so that I can have more consistant co2 production. I make the yeast mix for one bottle one week & then make the mix for the other generator bottle the next week. Check valves between each generator & the collection bottle allow me to disconnect each yeast generator & make a new mix without losing pressure in the whole system. I would suggest yuo use a similar system to mine on your tank as it is a fairly large tank to run a DIY co2 system on. If you have any questions I will do my best to answer them for you. Here's pics of my co2 system.

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guppy man

Do you really need a check valve.

HitchHiker

Technically no, but should something happen then you may end up siphoning the water out your tank, or a lot of the water.

Nutter

If you have a check valve close to the yeast generator, it also stops you losing line pressure when you make up a new mixture.

Rearden

There are very few absolute's in this world but this certainly relates to one of them. When something goes wrong you want to be prepared for it.

Although I haven't done it lately I did get a rather pungent lesson on the power of yeast and sugar during my college days while attempting to ferment some home made wine...in my closet (what can I say, I wasn't a chem major).

Needless to say Mr. Boyle et al were correct, a gas will expand to fill the available space in seeking an equilibrium of pressure, and when there's a lot of internal pressure and not enough space...the gas will find a way to make some more space. In my case I ended up with a closet painted in apple jack.

dragonshark

hey guppy man this is a link to a post i did in a dif thred DIY co2 issue