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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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#33 ·
warmer temperatures will ferment faster, as well as produce more byproducts.

I may set up some experiments with different yeasts to see what I get the longest ferment from. I've been using bakers yeast, but I have some wine, champagne, and beer yeast as well. Typically the beer yeast is done fermenting a batch of beer in three days. The wine and champagne take a few weeks to a month, but the types and amounts of sugars available for beer and wine are a little different as well. Honey takes a couple of months, but that would be quite expensive.
I'll also have to check sugar content for the DIY method as well. The other problem for me is that I run these in smaller bottles. A 2L bottle is a bit difficult to hide where I am going to set my tank up, so being able to maximize run time will be paramount.

It's probably the citric acid in the cranberry juice that is inhibiting the yeast. It is added to juices as a preservative to inhibit bacteria growth to extend shelf life. It's also important to get a juice that doesn't have a lot of preservatives if you are going to try adding it to slow down fermentation for that same reason. Or at least start off with small amounts so you don't kill off the yeast right away.
 
#35 ·
2 cups of brown sugar, 1 tsp of yeast. that's it for me..
gotta say, it does seem like it puts out bubbles faster initially when you first start it up, as well as bubbles per second. i didn't count but i can tell by staring at my diffuser... it's a lot stronger than before.
 
#37 ·
Just started my first DIY on two tanks, one is a planted shrimp/oto/farlowella 20 long and the other is a 10g that is holding some moss and other stuff I don't care to have in other tanks but I want to grow.

I used brown sugar for it because of this thread, ~1.5 cups per tank (it's all I had), with 1/2 tsp of yeast and 1/2 tsp of baking soda. The yeast was just whatever the generic stuff was at Walmart, it had three packets of ~1.5-2 Tbsp of yeast for $.85, so I figured what the heck, and the sugar was $2. We had some baking soda, but I bought another small box for $1.

Within minutes of adding it all to the bottle and shaking, I was getting wonderful CO2. My diffusers (one ceramic and one limewood) are both pumping away, and drop checkers are beautifully green.

Gonna make another one soon for my cichlid tank. I decided against taking that one down, too, after I realized they were breeding and it'd tear me up to split them apart, and added some driftwood and an Amazon sword. Gonna make this tank green too!
 
#40 ·
Brown sugar won't give "more" CO2...white sugar is essentially 100% fermentable. The complex sugars and melanoidins, etc. in brown sugar will not be fermentable by normal yeast. I'd definitely echo what someone said further up that the lack of fermentability is causing it to be more steady, as all the fermentable sugar isn't readily available (which is the same reason behind the jello method)...some of it is bound up in other stuff which will eventually break apart over time, etc. I would venture that brown sugar and jello are two ends to the same mean. The problem with just sugar water is that the yeast can tear through it really quickly. You have a quick burst of CO2 output then it kind of sputters from there out. And that kind of quick fermentation will raise the temperature in the bottle, which could lead to yeast also putting out sulphurs, esters, etc. Not good stuff.

And champagne yeast is definitely the way to go...it's been selectively culled to be tolerant of higher alcohol AND higher pressure. You can get a packet that will last you a while for $0.85 at a homebrew store.

I really should pull some of my brewing software back out to see what the "perfect" mix of sugar would be
 
#41 ·
Ok, after a bit more research..."light brown" sugar is 100% fermentable. Dark brown is not. The light brown should still ferment slower, however, as there's longer sugar chains that the yeast need to make enzymes to break down, etc.

And 5 ounces (by weight...approximately 2/3 cup) of (wholly fermentable) sugar per 16 oz. water should yield a specific gravity around 1.115 or so, which will take you right about to the edge of what champagne yeast can ferment, about 15.5%

So 2/3 cup light brown sugar per 16 oz. water, plus a little baking soda couldn't hurt, plus champagne yeast would appear to be an "ideal" recipe...though it would definitely start slowing down near the end. Two bottles staggered would probably be your best bet.
 
#45 ·
That's also entirely possible. Regular sugar water isn't good for yeast at all. I'd still recommend adding yeast nutrients to any batch...they're cheap enough and you use just a pinch each time. Brown sugar may provide some extra "stuff" that the yeast need but certainly not all of it. That will allow yeast to build thicker cell walls and survive higher alcohol percentages. The closest parallel is micros...you don't NEED them but plants sure do better with them.
 
#46 ·
Anyone have complete data on their set up? Ex. recipe/container, temp, yeast type, bps, tank size would be a plus, how many bottles. Just more info than bps or temp or recipe for each individual set up, knowing only that you had 5 bps or the drop checker was green or works great! leaves a lot of variables unanswered. Not trying to sound rude or anything i just think it would help myself and others A LOT if someone could report more complete info
 
#47 ·
I have a simple 2L bottle I have the mix in, which goes via airline tube into a smaller bottle to make sure no liquid gets into my tank, and then out through another tube in that smaller bottle into my tank from there. I wish I had pics, I will snap some tonight if I can remember to.

My recipe is:
2 cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon yeast

I get the cheapest active yeast that Walmart has.

This is on a 20g long, drop checker stays green for about three to four weeks, and it would have significantly more CO2 in the water if my diffuser would diffuse instead of just blobbing bubbles out. I think it spits out two bubbles per second maybe? Idk for sure, I don't care about that sort of thing. So long as the drop checker is green you should be fine.


I will be moving from the 20 long (30x12x12) to a 26g bowfront (24x15x21) and I expect the drop checker to stay green in that tank, as well.

Also, my water is RO, but I have some slate in the tank to raise kH, kH is 15.
 
#49 ·
Jedi, what temp are you bottles approx? I know that has a lot to do with how much I makes. Yesterday I put the bottles under my stand on the side with the emersed setup, the lights heat the space up quite a bit so theoretically it will increase co2 production during the day and slow it at night. i cant seem to get above 1 bps with twp bottles even so if temp doesnt help I will try the brown sugar and champagne yeast.
 
#50 ·
That room I try to keep around 74-78. Temp fluctuates depending on how many computers are on in the room, and how many people are present. None of my tanks have heaters or chillers.

Are you using hot water or warm water? I see some places say hot water, this will destroy the yeast. Only use warm water. My mixes start producing CO2 5-10 minutes after making them.

I usually mix the brown sugar and baking soda separately in the 2L bottle, filling up about halfway with water, and shaking the bajeezus out of it til the sugar is completely dissolved. I then add the yeast and the rest of the water and shake some more bajeezuses out of it, then put my cap with the tube on it and it's ready to go.
 
#51 ·
I use warm water I even drop a couple drops of prime in it. My water is hard so I dont worry about baking soda. Making it work isnt the problem just want more co2 without more bottles. More than two would be into PITA territory. I will try brown sugar, gonna wait a little while til one of my bottles starts puttering out so I dont waste whats already made. Its been kind of cool here though lately so that vould be whats holding it back as well.
 
#52 ·
How old/new is your yeast? Also, how are you activating it? I've found that this has made a big difference for me!

I get a bowl with some pretty warm water, add a spoonful of sugar, and then however much yeast I need. Then, I whisk it all together with a fork as if I were beating eggs for an omelet. This gives the yeast lots of oxygen, which it needs to start activating.

I whisk, then I let it sit for a minute. Whisk, and sit. I keep doing this for 5-10 minutes until there is a nice head of foam over the mixture. I hold the bowl to my ear to make sure there is lots of fizzing going on, and that's when I add it to whatever mixture I'm using. Properly activating the yeast plays a big role.

Is there any particular reason why you're using Prime with the yeast? I wonder if that has something to do with it. I can't see a reason to use it.

Also, trying the baking soda can't hurt.

I also use more yeast than most people. Anywhere from one to two whole teaspoons, depending on my room temperature on any given week.
 
#53 ·
I put the yeast, sugar, prime, and water in in that order. Cap it and shake the hell out of it for a couple minutes. I think it does pretty well activating. I use prime to neutralize chlorine and chloramines, but if thats not neccessary I wont put it in anymore.

There isnt a reason to use more yeast since its a microbe that quickly multiplies and I stagger my bottles so lag time isnt really issue, which would be the reason to use more yeast initially, a quicker start time at full production rates.

I also dont use heaters in my tanks. Its only around 72 in here at the moment. I did this a few years ago during the summer and it was like 80 or more in the house and co2 was pouring out of that thing. I didnt have the bubble counter hooked up at that time
 
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