DIY CO2

hi, can anyone give me some suggestions on making a DIY CO2 for my plants? Thank you!

 

HI , its easy to make Co2 ,have you ever made home made beer or wine because the gas that bubbles out of the top is Co2 .What I am going to do is get a 2 litre plastic bottle ,drill a small hole in the lid ,get a Peace of thin tube and seal it in the hole so none of the Co2 can escape ,get some beer or wine yeast add some sugar and warm water but leave about a 3" gap at the top and wait, it should start bubbling after about 1 day. It will be trial and error to start with to work out how much yeast and sugar but should not take long to work it out .When the bubbles slow down just put some more sugar in the bottle and shake this will feed the yeast for a little longer but the yeast will die so you will have to start again ,good luck boff.

 

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 gh test 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.

 

That sounds like a good recipe atm ,I will try it cheers .

 

Just what I got off another guy at a plant forum really, yours might work, but this isn'r really trial and error. Works pretty good.

 

This sounds like it would work. Just a note, you may not have to do a complete restart if you treat the CO2 farm the same way you treat an aquarium. A half water change when the bubbles start slowing will get rid of the waste products that would kill off the yeast, and you might be able to keep it going indefinitely.
Note: I don't know for sure. I'm basing this on the way that producers of various products that use fermentation, such as miso and sourdough, do their business. Every time a new batch of sourdough is made at the bakery, they set aside a small amount of the dough from the day and leave it in a warm place. The next day, when they make the dough, they introduce this "seed" dough into it. The process is repeated every day. There are San Francisco bakeries that have been using the same sourdough for decades, possibly even a century. I don't see why you couldn't do the same with this.

 

atm,

you said:

"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. "

how did you get the intake into the filter? did you just take a drill to it?

thanks,

cicatriz

 

I just pinched the tube and put it into the intake part of the filter. Let me get a pic of how I did it. That's the best I have, it basically just went into a slot that's part of the intake tube, you can also drill your tube also. Best is to buy a diffuser online, can provide some links if you want.

 

links would be greatly appreciated .

 

good simple kit, don't worry about the packets if you buy it, just make your own, or you can buy the diffuser

diffuser

chickadee uses this, ask her if you have any questions, though pricey

link to all co2 products from drs. foster and smith

head over to plantgeek if you are seriously interested in doing more than dIY co2 because I don't have too much expierence in that and people there could help you out more

 

that 20gal hagen kit looks really good... do you think if I picked up two it would be enough for my 47 gal tank, or will it be sparsely planted enough that the one should be good?

 

I would go with 2 for sure and make your own mix but have it alternating, that's if you want those. If you do then yup 2 should be good.

 

atm,

what do you mean by alternating?

 

Make one solution one week and the other another week so one solution will start to die off while the other is still going stron. Make sense?

 

ok - makes sense

 

Good hope all goes well

 

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 gh test 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.

How big is your tank? I have a 55 gallon and am trying to figure out how many to make, one or two.

 

You'll need 2... One can do about 30 gallons... Two can do about 60 gallons.. So 2 should be good for you. ;D

 

Cool. Thanks for the information. I'll be making this this weekend, I think.

 

Good deal!! I compiled a few links about C02 in my blog.. They can be found on the right side --> Some of them may be of use to you. ;D

 

You might need three, you'll have to watch your levels.

 

You might need three, you'll have to watch your levels.

True... I run 2 on my 29 gallon tank to keep the C02 around 20 to 28 or so... But I am playing with mixes as well... Sooner or later I'll find a good one.. ;D

 

You might need three, you'll have to watch your levels.

Ok...next dumb question....how do I measure that? I'll have to get what ever testing kit I need, but knowing what kit I need would be helpful.

Right now, I'm using a Jungle thing 4 times a week, since it's too small for the tank. They state that you should do it twice a week with these tablets.

I did get two grape sodas last night, at the grocery store...now I just have to drink them. LOL If I can figure out what to watch for, I might have to change my set up a bit. But, the nice thing about this set up, is that I should be able to add in more bottles and diffusers if necessary. Both MIP and common aquarium parts work together fairly well. I'm just more comfortable working with higher pressure stuff on the CO2 creation side of things.

I bought $10 worth of MIP parts from Menard's on Saturday. They're Brass and very cool to work with. I bought 20ft of 1/4in tubing as well, since it works with the MIP pieces. It's thicker walled than regular airline tubing, but holds much more pressure, something I'm sure I don't have to worry about.

Basically, I'm doing what I always do with these things...over-engineering. LOL

I bought:
20ft of tubing
5 - 1/4in Brass unions
1 - 1/4in Brass Tee
4 - 1/4/in brass inserts (These are inserted into the tube and then the nut and brass "O"ring is placed over it to make a very snug fit.
1 - package of 1in air stones (from LFS)

So far, in addition to the pop bottles, I'll be using a peanut butter jar, or smaller container( I haven't decided), to catch any water that's created by the process.

 

assuming you only have carbonate buffering (usually not the case, but unless you have a lot, it'll still work as an estimate), you need a pH and a kh test kit. I think both are in the master kit from api? i'm not sure since I got the tests separately, but a quick search should figure that out. there's a co2 chart that I'll post shortly (or you can google for it)

 

here's a chart, it has a calc too! however, it's kinda an old article, so the "good" range is a little low. you want to go for around 30 ppm

hope that helped

 

Very cool.

Yeah, that definitely helps.

I'm in the process of drinking my soda. LOL As well, I have a small change I'm going to make to the set up. I'll have to find the test kits, since I'm DIY'ing this all the way, no kits.
I might be buying a diffuser, but I am going to test it a bit to make sure that I don't over CO2 my fish.

At this point, I'm planning on using an air stone for diffusion, but testing will tell if I need a diffuser.

 

I tried an airstone. It didn't work. Go for a powerhead.

 

I tried an airstone. It didn't work. Go for a powerhead.

Did you attach anything to force the CO2 into the airstone? I've got an air pump's output going into my CO2 bottle, and then the output from the CO2 bottle going into a bubble wall. It seems to be working really well.

 

I had the worst disaster ever! The first day I put my co2 into the water, I left it in for too long! About 4 hours later, my 8 cardinals were floating in the water nearly dead! They were hitting the sides of the tank because of the water flow from my filter! I took out the CO2 and put in a air pump. Luckly all bar one survived! I'm too scared to put the co2 in again now...

 

Sounds like your Bubbles per minute was too high. If you release too much into there at one time, you will kill fish.

I bought three shutoff valves yesterday, two to slow down the release of gas from the 2 liter bottles, and 1 to slow the overall release into the aquarium.

I am still debating over how to diffuse it. I have one more 18in air stone/bubble wall, and I did buy a package of 1 in stone as well. Or...I can buy a diffussor. I might also play with hooking it up to the Jungle thing I bought....too many choices. LOL

 

I had the worst disaster ever! The first day I put my co2 into the water, I left it in for too long! About 4 hours later, my 8 cardinals were floating in the water nearly dead! They were hitting the sides of the tank because of the water flow from my filter! I took out the CO2 and put in a air pump. Luckly all bar one survived! I'm too scared to put the co2 in again now...

You might have have put too much sugar or yeast in. What was your mixture, in how big of bottle, in how big of tank?

Sounds like your Bubbles per minute was too high. If you release too much into there at one time, you will kill fish.

I bought three shutoff valves yesterday, two to slow down the release of gas from the 2 liter bottles, and 1 to slow the overall release into the aquarium.

I am still debating over how to diffuse it. I have one more 18in air stone/bubble wall, and I did buy a package of 1 in stone as well. Or...I can buy a diffussor. I might also play with hooking it up to the Jungle thing I bought....too many choices. LOL

Put airline tubing into filter intake, cheap and fairly efficient diffusion by the impeller.

 

You'd better be VERY careful restricting the flow from the C02 bottles if your using plastic containers... They WILL BLOW!!!

I think before anyone does DIY C02 they should do ALL the research which sounds to me is not getting done. Here are some good resources to read before doing DIY C02


https://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/diyco2.html

 

I tried an airstone. It didn't work. Go for a powerhead.

Did you attach anything to force the CO2 into the airstone? I've got an air pump's output going into my CO2 bottle, and then the output from the CO2 bottle going into a bubble wall. It seems to be working really well.

does this really work (have you tested it?) I would think that the surface agitation from an air pump would tend to offgas the co2? i'd be interested to know if that's the case here or not.

 

I tried an airstone. It didn't work. Go for a powerhead.

Did you attach anything to force the CO2 into the airstone? I've got an air pump's output going into my CO2 bottle, and then the output from the CO2 bottle going into a bubble wall. It seems to be working really well.

does this really work (have you tested it?) I would think that the surface agitation from an air pump would tend to offgas the co2? i'd be interested to know if that's the case here or not.

I would be interested too. It sounds basically like diffusing it through an airstone which does not give good results. The best way to see is to measure your ppm.

 

hI
I have tried making 1 - but using 1.5L bottle. I filled the bottle until it is almost full.
I did it last night, this morning I found small bubbles on top of the water but after sometimes it disappear.
So I added another 1/2 cup of sugar and shake it well. Then I left for office.

Now I am a bit worried that the content might pop out because instead of 3/4 full, I filled until almost full.

Any impact?

 

If you have an opening it should be ok, though the mixture may end up going into the tank or you may increase the co2 level in your tank and decrease the oxygen to the point when the fish are gasping for air. If there's white stuff in the tank when you get home gravel vac it out and do 50% water change, if fish are gasping for air at the top put in an airstone, if you have a mess all over your walls clean it up, if nothings wrong good for you, you may have figured it out

 

You'd better be VERY careful restricting the flow from the C02 bottles if your using plastic containers... They WILL BLOW!!!

I think before anyone does DIY C02 they should do ALL the research which sounds to me is not getting done. Here are some good resources to read before doing DIY C02


https://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/diyco2.html

Thanks for the info Gargoyle. I'll be using most of this, that's for sure. I like the diffusor/reactor. That's what I was really looking for.

 

No problem darkwolf29a it is the same diffuser and reactor set up I use and it is very efficient. ;D

 

Hay guy's I've been fighting green water so I added 9 plants and came up with this CO2 set-up out of stuff laying around.
I used
1-2liter bottle
1-20oz bottle
tubing
silcone
and a drill
ohh and piece of hard plastic tubeing to go through the caps
the reactor is
1-powerhead
1-old gravel vac
and some spare agle pads in the bottom of the tube.
Cost $0
The only thing u have to make sure u silicone the hard pastic tubeing in the cap well or got buy the right fiting for the caps, I'm all about $0 dallor right now lol!
The pic's pretty much say it all.

 

Does it work? If yes, can you gives us the blueprints?