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DIY CO2 w/BROWN Sugar. Oiy! :)

23K views 59 replies 33 participants last post by  kwheeler91 
#1 ·
So, I am pretty new to live aquatic plant keeping. I am working with a DIY system. I have a 2 liter soda bottle filled with water and sugar and have an air stone hooked up to my impeller. It is creating these tiny bubbles all around the tank. I have five tanks total but I only have two tanks with the DIY CO2 system. Here is the thing;

I ran out of white granulated sugar so I opted for brown sugar. I read of someone doing this before so I thought I would give it a shot. Whoah! What a major difference and a big improvement. I have been running it for a day and within eight hours nearly ALL of my plants are pearling. Even my crypts are pearling. I have never had pearling before. I swear my hornwort grew 1.5 inches just tonight alone (from 3pm until midnight)! It is pretty cool to see the pearling affect. I can see dramatic growth in just one day. At this rate I will be out of control very soon. Not that I am complaining. :hihi:

I only have experience with white granulated sugar. The only drawback I can see at this time is that the brown sugar is a tad more expensive. Here is my recipe:

I filled the 2 liter bottle just a tad over half way with warm fresh aquarium water from my water change. The water itself is roughly 86 degrees. Then I mashed about 1 cup of brown sugar with some aquarium water (just enough to get sugar and water to mix like a thick stew) in a large bowl (to get all the lumps smoothed out and to mix it up well). Then I poured the mixture into the 2 liter bottle with a funnel. Lastly I put 1 TSP of brewer's yeast and I connected it all. I think I will try to use some baking soda next time as I read that this helps to stabilize the pH. Is that right? I know I did hear of this.

Just thought I would share. :icon_lol:
 
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