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How many DIY CO2 bottles for a tank....

8K views 24 replies 12 participants last post by  wadesharp 
#1 ·
Is there a certain gallonage amount to follow when deciphering how many bottles to have for one tank?

I am doing a 75g tank, so figured 3 2L bottles would suffice?
Or are there other factors in deciding how many to set up?
 
#4 ·
How do I know if I am at a good amount of CO2?

For the DIY is there a point of a bubble counter if you cannot control it?

Can you have the CO2 lines go into the canister filter? or so you just stick the tube into the tank?
 
#5 ·
You'll know you're at a good CO2 level when your drop checker (if you don't have one, it's worth the $2-4 in the beginning until you get the hang of it) is at a solid yellow-green color. Or when your critters aren't gasping and your plants are growing swell.

I think it's a good idea to have a bubble counter - either homemade or purchased - just so you can have a sense of how to measure things.

You can definitely rig things up to flow into an in-line diffuser for a canister filter. Since it's DIY, I've never been able to see a lot of benefit on that front, though. I just use the standard ceramic diffusers from eBay and clean them once a week with bleach.
 
#6 ·
k...i spent like...forever watching youtube videos for diy CO2 diffusion and the only one that i really get is wit powerheads...im not stupid i just have visualization issues and do better being shown in person.

and if someone could answer these questions...they pile up and i hate asking cause i feel like i get ignored sometimes with all the questions. i just wanna do this right. and i do google this...but dont always find exact info i need

1. the ceramic diffusers, am i right in seeing their just glass bong/bulb looking things?
2. Does every 2L bottle need to have its own bubble counter?
3. Do you put check valves before or after the bubble counter? or before and after? if i have 3 set up?
4. bubble counters just say how much you have still going in tank, if any, right?
5. if fish are gasping it means too much co2 being put into tank? how would i adjust amount?
6. how do i turn it off at night? as i gather you dont run co2 when lights go out?

7. does the co2 bottle always have to be vertical to get best effect?
8. Would using something larger, like a water jug, work for diy co2? Make 3 batches at once in it, for example? Or would it put out too much or not work the same?
 
#9 ·
thats actually the set up i was looking at doing, too....but still a bunch of questions above that didnt get answered
 
#10 ·
1. Ceramic diffusers are the ones you see throughout the forum and on eBay. They're typically glass pipes with a bowl and a ceramic disc at the top through which CO2 diffuses via tiny bubbles

2. No

3. Doesn't matter. Whatever you think looks best. I use them after.

4. Bubble counters allow you to see how many bubbles per second are flowing from your reactor. There's nothing really precise about it but they do help you estimate how much CO2 you're producing once you're familiar and comfortable with the setup you've got

5. Make your mixture weaker if you want to reduce CO2 production. Or you can amp up surface agitation, run an airstone or remove the tube for a while.

6. You can't turn it off at night. You can remove it, however. Most just run an airstone after lights out.

7. Yes, vertical. Otherwise, your mixture will leak out.

8. You can use a larger container. Most use standard 2L bottles because they're rated for up to 90psi (actually higher, but that's how they ship with soda) and can easily handle CO2 pressures produced by yeast.
 
#14 ·
ive never tried ebay or aquabid and i dont have paypal..i stalk aquabid though it could get dangerous for me...but ya prob can find them cheaper, just to get an idea of what i can use
 
#15 ·
Broken piece of bamboo chopstick shoved into the end of the tubing works in a pinch.

It's a mildly unpopular belief, but I believe it takes some serious effort to harm your fish with DIY CO2. And though I know that many will disagree with me, I'd say you'll have to use a heck of a lot more than three 2L bottles to have enough CO2 to be worried about a CO2 overdose. Start with 3 if you'd like, but a 75g tank? Some folks have used a single 2L bottle on a 10g tank. But I'll defer to the cautious posters - start low and work upward.

Oh, and there's no reason to remove the CO2 setup during lights off. And I honestly don't think it's worth putting in an airstone (for that purpose, anyway) at night, but it can't hurt.
 
#16 ·
I gassed my panda corys in a 10g with a 1 gallon diy yeast water bottle and my sterbais with a rex grigg inline setup. So it can be done...

Here are my setups
2.5g=1-2L DIY Bottle w/ceramic diffuser
2 10g=1-2L DIY Bottle w/ceramic diffuser on one and a hagen elite on the other
2 20g=2-2L DIY Bottle w/an inline rex griggs reactor and a hagen elite on the other
35g=2-2L DIY Bottle w/ceramic diffuser

I should run drop checkers but I don't. All of the tanks have fish in them but are heavily planted.
 
#19 ·
o already got the ceramic diffuser, will try it if im not happy with this though.

and why is it better to have each line go into the seperator bottle? if im running 3-4 bottles it might be difficult to do unless its a giant lid
 
#23 ·
I am totally over DIY CO2 but wanted to give you one more piece of advice. If you have a bunch of bottles (4 came up), start them a week apart. That way, when one dies, it really doesn't have a big effect on CO2 levels. If you stagger them, you can get relatively consistent CO2 which is the major downside of a DIY setup. You can never get as consistent as pressurized but the more bottles, the more consistent it will be if you swap one out every week.
 
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