I tried to build a pop bottle co2, but I think I got too much sugar and yeast in ther bottle because after a day or two, the airline was full of white stuff (probably my mixture). I Took out that CO2, got the ratios connected, and connected the airline to a powerhead instead of an airstone and it seems to be doing better.
The problem is that now I seem to have clearish-white cobweb looking stuff forming in the gravel Any Idea what this is? I don't want to take the gravel out and rinse it, because that would probably take all my tank water (It's only a 10 gal) and I wouldn't have anywhere to put my wifes glowlights and otos because the goldfish are still cycling the hospita/isolation tank.
If you know what it is, how do I get rid of it without hurting the fish or the $20 of expensive groundcover plant (HC) I've got in there trying to take hold?
Gravel Vacuum it out. I would test all your levels. If it is your mixture your going to need to do some water changes to get them back in check. You probably have too much sugar. How are you making it? Do you have a check valve installed?
that white stuff is probably your mixture that got into your water. it's very important to get it out as fast as you can. you'll also want to do several water changes in the next few days.
you might want to add in a "catch-bottle" so you'll notice/be able to trap the fluid that comes out. you might also want to not fill your bottle as high.
What I did was make a small hole in the lid of a 2litre pop bottle. It's small enough so when you shove the piece of air-line tubing through it creates a seal. Then add 2 cups sugar, half package of baking yeast(1teaspoon), I use red star, then add 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda. Then add warm not hot water and fill the bottle up to below where it starts curving. Then put the lid back on and connect a check valve to the airline and you can diffuse it with a diffuse online or put it in the intake of your filter and it will be chopped up with the impeller. Should last about 2-4weeks. Can buy a kh and GHtest kit to know the PPM and water hardness. Monitor your pH and make sure it doesn't go out of wack witht the co2. Change the mixture every 2-4weeks or whenever the bubbles slow down and keep an eye on your bottle, will have to replace tubing and other parts over time.
That's basically a common recipe all over the internet and forums so I did not come up with it.
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that's what I use, if you go down there's a post on DIY co2, griffin is this similar to what you use?
I don't know what a check valve is. could you explain more on that?
I will gravel vac it out tonight and let you know what the levels are after do the vaccuuming. I probably won't be able to check the levels until tomorrow, though. I'll let you know. the system is just like yours after I fixed it, but I had way too much sugar and yeast in there with the first attempt, which is what I'lll be cleaning up now.
i don't remember the exact recipe i used to make the diy co2, but it sounds similar to what i did. only difference was that i had another bottle in the line so that i could use it to catch anything that dripped out of the main bottle (to prevent stuff going to the tank or vice versa). another method i tried (might work better if you are having problems with the stuff staying in the bottle) is adding about 2 cups of sugar to jello, and filling the bottle with jello. when you're ready to use, mix the yeast with some warm water, and just put it on top.
a check valve, if i remember correctly, is basically just a "valve" that will only allow flow in one direction. so if you have it set up, you won't have a problem with tank water going into your bottle. but that really shouldn't be a huge problem if you keep your co2 going.
you'd pbby buy a check valve, for the second bottle, instead of having the tube coming out of the 2L bottle going into the tank, i had it going to a smaller bottle (.5-1 L) and then a tube coming out of that bottle going into the tank. you want to make sure that the tube coming in from the large bottle is slightly (like an inch or two) below the one going into the tank. hope that helps i'll try to see if i can find some pictures or something too if you don't understand
is kinda what i'm talking about. the smaller bottle in the middle is the one that would catch anything coming out of the larger bottles.
if you go that way and decide to use a check valve, you can save one by putting it on the output of the small bottle as opposed to the larger bottles. and obviously, you can use a different method for getting the co2 into your tank other than what was shown
What sort of diffuser are you using in the tank? just having the pipe bubbling in won't be a lot of benefit, since the co2 needs time to be absorbed by the water. what are you using?
the first setup was an airtube with airstone. the new and improved setup connects to a powerhead. I also have a glass cover over most of my tank to eliminate evaporation.
I still haven't got all the white stuff out and don't think I'll be able to without re-starting the tank, rinsing the gravel, etc. My wife did take readings, though and she said they turned out this way:
the only thing of concern there is the PH, which is still within limits although on the high side, so I wouldn't worry too much about the white, just continue with the water changes and keep your eye on the levels. have you tested your water supply to see what the level should be? If the high level concerns you, or the fish show any signs of distress, then you can use a product called PH Down to lower the level.
I wouldn't go taking the tank down yet, wait for a couple of days and see what happens. My guess is that it will disperse naturally, as it is mainly yeast, which is bio-degradeable and sugar, which dissolves in the water and will get flushed out during the water changes.
I know that when this happened to me on my early attempts at encouraging plants, I just let the filter remove it with no ill-effects on the fish, but that was in a 40 gallon tank, so the solution was far less concentrated.
Actually, the CO2 has taken the Ph down a full (point? digit? number?) The ph in my tanks used to measure 8.4, so maybe it's even helping things along to have the solution in there.
Sounds like you have no major problems there then, I would just let it clear on it's own now. I assume yopu vacuumed as much as you copuld out, so what's left isn't doing any harm by the look of it!
Just be careful adding pH buffers, it's best to let it stay stable then mess with it, usually most fish can handle it being slightly high or low and you can adjust it somewhat by adding certain rocks and driftwood.
found more white fuzz in the tank yesterday, so had to scrap the whole thing. moved the fish into another tank, replaced all the water, and re-set everything up. here's hoping my plants haven't suffered too bad from this.
Well a hard line like is used for UGF to attach the airstone to. You ad a hard line inside the bottle and make sure the outlet of the bottle is under water. Then when the solids from the C02 generator hit the water they stay there and only the C02 finishes the journey to your tank.
I'll attach a drawing of what it should look like. I have church this morning but after wards I will snap a pic of my seperator so you can see what I do to ensure clean C02 enters my tank.
you can do that, but you don't really need water or another liquid in the catcher bottle (unless you're also using it as a bubble counter) - just make sure that the co2 input tube is lower than the co2 output tube
I thought the water helped catch the solids so they would stay in the water instead of evaporating to the top of the bottle.. If not then it is a nice way to have a bubble counter..
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