DIY Co2

Aqualady · 01-23-2013, 03:48 PM

Hello all, I am new here and this is the first thread I started. My tank is a 20h, moderately/heavy planted in a flourite and pool filter sand mix. I use root tabs and dose flourish comp/excel ferts I have (2) 13 watt cfl 65000k bulbs. Photosynthesis time is about 8-9 hours, mostly 8 though.

Mix and Equipment
I am using a 64 oz (1.89 liter) Heinz ketchup bottle 2 cups of sugar, 1/2 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp active dry yeast (warm not hot water was used).
This is the diffuser and bubble counter I have
http://www.amazon.com/Fluval-Ceramic.../dp/B004GCO35G
http://www.amazon.com/Fluval-88g-CO2...supplies_img_y

History
I been at this for about 3 weeks now. I was getting the gas build up and seeing bubbles maybe 1 every 2/3 secs but it was not going through my diffuser...since then I re-did mix a couple different times and still nothing different from the first. Yesterday I did a soap and water test on all external tubing connections and I did find a very tiny leak around one of the connectors on the bubble counter which was because I had to figure out that I was to pull the plastic thing over the tubing to seal it, so, now, no leaks nowhere. At this time I look into my generator bottle and I can still see little fine bubbles going up so I assumed the mixture is still working.

Today
Still nothing! What do I need to do or am I missing something? I have wasted 6 cups of sugar, 1 whole packet of yeast, some baking soda in 3 weeks.

Darkblade48 · 01-23-2013, 05:38 PM

I would triple check again to ensure you don't have any leaks. If there is one, chances are you have more.

Another possibility is that your CO2 setup is still not generating enough pressure to push through the diffuser.

james0816 · 01-23-2013, 05:50 PM

Did you check around the caps themselves for a leak? Not knowing what kind you are using of course. I had issues with 2L bottles and thus changed to Ocean Spray. Much, much better seals.

Anyway, if you have broken the seal on the bottle to correct anything, it can take a bit of time to regen. Are any bubbles coming out of the seperator bottle?

Another good way to check if things are moving along is if you have clear(ish) tubing and have a small amount of water (drop or two) in the tubing. The pressure will move the water drop along the way.

* EDIT * DUH...Didn't see the mention of the Heinz bottle until I re-read it. Curious to how good of a seal you will get with those.

Hardstuff · 01-23-2013, 06:08 PM

Money could be an issue, but my 2 cents is to start saving for pressurized CO2. I know some people like them but for me I had nothing but problems. Cloudy water, yeast getting into the aquarium, BGA all over the place & yes leaks. It is messy time consuming & unpredictable. I almost gas fish on several occasions. The ph can be unstable which is related to under fertilization or over, gassing. The bottles can explode as well making a bad mess.
Now I know there will be defenders of DIY coming to join this thread soon & all I have to say is I would never go back. My tank is stable ph is good ,crystal clear water & thriving plants with NO ALGAE. I would never go back to DIY. I do not worry about any CO2 related problems anymore provided a good diffuser or reactor is being used. If money is an issue I would save my pennies. If that sticky mess gets into your aquarium you will be sorry. Carbon filters should be inline before aquarium to help clean out unwanted yeast from getting in the tank. Most of the time even if no leaks are present the system will produce too much gas or not enough. The money you spend on yeast & sugar is more than the money spend on your yearly Co2 gas!

Aqualady · 01-23-2013, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darkblade48

I would triple check again to ensure you don't have any leaks. If there is one, chances are you have more.

Another possibility is that your CO2 setup is still not generating enough pressure to push through the diffuser.

Okay, I thought the same thing to check for more tiny leaks. I also went to buy some aquarium tubing since it is smaller in diameter (originally I had the 1/4 diameter bought from HD, just next size up not much bigger) and maybe I will have more of a snug fit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by james0816

Did you check around the caps themselves for a leak? Not knowing what kind you are using of course. I had issues with 2L bottles and thus changed to Ocean Spray. Much, much better seals.

Anyway, if you have broken the seal on the bottle to correct anything, it can take a bit of time to regen. Are any bubbles coming out of the seperator bottle?

Another good way to check if things are moving along is if you have clear(ish) tubing and have a small amount of water (drop or two) in the tubing. The pressure will move the water drop along the way.

* EDIT * DUH...Didn't see the mention of the Heinz bottle until I re-read it. Curious to how good of a seal you will get with those.

I am going to try either a 2 liter bottle or get an Ocean Spray bottle. I want to eliminate all leak possibilities. Do you think 1 or 2 bottles will give the pressure needed to push through my diffuser I mentioned in my op?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hardstuff

Money could be an issue, but my 2 cents is to start saving for pressurized CO2. I know some people like them but for me I had nothing but problems. Cloudy water, yeast getting into the aquarium, BGA all over the place & yes leaks. It is messy time consuming & unpredictable. I almost gas fish on several occasions. The ph can be unstable which is related to under fertilization or over, gassing. The bottles can explode as well making a bad mess.
Now I know there will be defenders of DIY coming to join this thread soon & all I have to say is I would never go back. My tank is stable ph is good ,crystal clear water & thriving plants with NO ALGAE. I would never go back to DIY. I do not worry about any CO2 related problems anymore provided a good diffuser or reactor is being used. If money is an issue I would save my pennies. If that sticky mess gets into your aquarium you will be sorry. Carbon filters should be inline before aquarium to help clean out unwanted yeast from getting in the tank. Most of the time even if no leaks are present the system will produce too much gas or not enough. The money you spend on yeast & sugar is more than the money spend on your yearly Co2 gas!

If I could have one, trust me I would already have it, since I cannot at the present time and do not know when I can, this will have to suffice, my plants cannot wait till my pockets allow it. I am using a check valve on the line from bubble counter to tank so I don't fear too much. But you said you were getting too much gas, did you change your recipe with less yeast? I heard that's all a person have to do if that happened. I do not know, I am new and learning so I have concerns, questions, doubts, beliefs that could be wrong that I want to address as I am learning.

I want to thank you all for taking the time to reply and suggest things from your experiences..If anyone has more thoughts, ideas, questions, and or different experiences good or bad please feel free to tell your story it may help me and others with our setup...

james0816 · 01-24-2013, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aqualady

I am going to try either a 2 liter bottle or get an Ocean Spray bottle. I want to eliminate all leak possibilities. Do you think 1 or 2 bottles will give the pressure needed to push through my diffuser I mentioned in my op?

I've never tried that particular diffuser so unfortunately cannot comment if it will work with DIY. I use glass nano diffusers and one bottle provides plenty of pressure to push through them.

newbieplanter · 01-25-2013, 03:47 PM

I had the same problem check this out all u gotta do is take the bubble counter off and run the tube from the reactor to the diffuser with a check valve into the tank its what i did this mornin and got bubbles comin out the diffuser/air stone. I just dont know if its completely safe for the plants but i seen it done like that on youtube.

Yankee · 01-28-2013, 05:05 PM

You can just take the diffuser off of the end of the tubing and set it in the water. If you see bubbles going straight to the surface... you're good to go

if not... There's a leak!

If you have a leak, try miniature bulk heads like this:
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXG849&P=ML

Just drill a small hole in the top of your 2L bottle and screw these in very tightly. It'll make switching your mix easier and also will help prevent leaks. You can also put some silicone on the ends of them as well before you screw them in to give you an even better seal.

Aqualady · 01-29-2013, 05:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yankee

You can just take the diffuser off of the end of the tubing and set it in the water. If you see bubbles going straight to the surface... you're good to go

if not... There's a leak!

If you have a leak, try miniature bulk heads like this:
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXG849&P=ML

Just drill a small hole in the top of your 2L bottle and screw these in very tightly. It'll make switching your mix easier and also will help prevent leaks. You can also put some silicone on the ends of them as well before you screw them in to give you an even better seal.

Awesome, thanks!

01-23-2013, 03:48 PM	#1
Aqualady Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma Posts: 87	DIY Co2 Hello all, I am new here and this is the first thread I started. My tank is a 20h, moderately/heavy planted in a flourite and pool filter sand mix. I use root tabs and dose flourish comp/excel ferts I have (2) 13 watt cfl 65000k bulbs. Photosynthesis time is about 8-9 hours, mostly 8 though. Mix and Equipment I am using a 64 oz (1.89 liter) Heinz ketchup bottle 2 cups of sugar, 1/2 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp active dry yeast (warm not hot water was used). This is the diffuser and bubble counter I have http://www.amazon.com/Fluval-Ceramic.../dp/B004GCO35G http://www.amazon.com/Fluval-88g-CO2...supplies_img_y History I been at this for about 3 weeks now. I was getting the gas build up and seeing bubbles maybe 1 every 2/3 secs but it was not going through my diffuser...since then I re-did mix a couple different times and still nothing different from the first. Yesterday I did a soap and water test on all external tubing connections and I did find a very tiny leak around one of the connectors on the bubble counter which was because I had to figure out that I was to pull the plastic thing over the tubing to seal it, so, now, no leaks nowhere. At this time I look into my generator bottle and I can still see little fine bubbles going up so I assumed the mixture is still working. Today Still nothing! What do I need to do or am I missing something? I have wasted 6 cups of sugar, 1 whole packet of yeast, some baking soda in 3 weeks.

01-23-2013, 05:38 PM	#2
Darkblade48 Moderator (View User Tanks) PTrader: (3/100%) Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Toronto Posts: 7,036	I would triple check again to ensure you don't have any leaks. If there is one, chances are you have more. Another possibility is that your CO2 setup is still not generating enough pressure to push through the diffuser. __________________ Anthony A Primer to Pressurized CO2 and A Primer to Planted Tanks Eheim Pimp #362 - Eheim 2213 x2, Eheim 2028, Ehein 2217, Eheim surface skimmer and Eheim autofeeder. Victor Pimp #33 - HPT272-125-350-4M

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01-23-2013, 05:50 PM	#3
james0816 Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (60/100%) Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: VA Posts: 2,013	Did you check around the caps themselves for a leak? Not knowing what kind you are using of course. I had issues with 2L bottles and thus changed to Ocean Spray. Much, much better seals. Anyway, if you have broken the seal on the bottle to correct anything, it can take a bit of time to regen. Are any bubbles coming out of the seperator bottle? Another good way to check if things are moving along is if you have clear(ish) tubing and have a small amount of water (drop or two) in the tubing. The pressure will move the water drop along the way. * EDIT * DUH...Didn't see the mention of the Heinz bottle until I re-read it. Curious to how good of a seal you will get with those.

01-23-2013, 06:08 PM	#4
Hardstuff Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: mesa Posts: 221	Money could be an issue, but my 2 cents is to start saving for pressurized CO2. I know some people like them but for me I had nothing but problems. Cloudy water, yeast getting into the aquarium, BGA all over the place & yes leaks. It is messy time consuming & unpredictable. I almost gas fish on several occasions. The ph can be unstable which is related to under fertilization or over, gassing. The bottles can explode as well making a bad mess. Now I know there will be defenders of DIY coming to join this thread soon & all I have to say is I would never go back. My tank is stable ph is good ,crystal clear water & thriving plants with NO ALGAE. I would never go back to DIY. I do not worry about any CO2 related problems anymore provided a good diffuser or reactor is being used. If money is an issue I would save my pennies. If that sticky mess gets into your aquarium you will be sorry. Carbon filters should be inline before aquarium to help clean out unwanted yeast from getting in the tank. Most of the time even if no leaks are present the system will produce too much gas or not enough. The money you spend on yeast & sugar is more than the money spend on your yearly Co2 gas!

01-25-2013, 03:47 PM	#7
newbieplanter Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (9/100%) Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Boston ma Posts: 255	I had the same problem check this out all u gotta do is take the bubble counter off and run the tube from the reactor to the diffuser with a check valve into the tank its what i did this mornin and got bubbles comin out the diffuser/air stone. I just dont know if its completely safe for the plants but i seen it done like that on youtube.

01-28-2013, 05:05 PM	#8
Yankee Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (1/100%) Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Oregon Posts: 235	You can just take the diffuser off of the end of the tubing and set it in the water. If you see bubbles going straight to the surface... you're good to go if not... There's a leak! If you have a leak, try miniature bulk heads like this: http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXG849&P=ML Just drill a small hole in the top of your 2L bottle and screw these in very tightly. It'll make switching your mix easier and also will help prevent leaks. You can also put some silicone on the ends of them as well before you screw them in to give you an even better seal.