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DIY CO2 Gel?

6K views 4 replies 4 participants last post by  tug 
#1 ·
I ran across a video.. actually a couple, that were using a DIY mix of sugar, yeast, and gelatin. Unfortunately, (for me), I can't speak spanish and all the videos that are on the subject are in spanish.

Anyone have any info on this? One of the videos shows something about 15 days later and still producing well.. seems like a nice alternative and would allow me to skip out on the gas separator part of my DIY for my 10gallon tank.

So anyone tried it? Know the recipe? I'm interested...:icon_ques
 
#3 ·
Hi,
I'm not sure of what you mean by a gas separator, but you still add water to the reactor. As I remember, the gelatin is made (Knox gelatine "Knox Blox" + sugar) and poured into the reactor, allowed to harden over night and then water/yeast is added to the reactor. It sounds effective, but hard to clean and you can get longer fermentations without all the extra steps using yeast with a higher tolerance for sugar/alcohol and by adding Fermaid K (the bomb) a blended yeast nutrient. What the gelatin method demonstrates is that the sugar can just sit at the bottom of the reactor - no stirring/mixing required.
 
#5 ·
How hard is the clean up after the fermentation with gelatin? What is the recipe, average home brew formula + Knox blox? I am not sure I see any advantage over a well thought out recipe, less the gelatin.

My home brew lasts over three weeks before I switch it out. I could use it for longer periods but switch it out to keep the CO2 levels consistent. I suppose I could add an extra step, gelatin. But, would it lengthen the time of fermentation any more then what I now have? Most of the fermentation and all the problems are still going on in the water of the reactor. Alcohol levels would still determine the end of fermentation. My guess is that even though they need to break it down, the added protein does sustain the yeast in a way simple sugar does not. Solution, add nutrients to the recipe and see if it works just as well w/out the gelatin.

Just another option with or without gelatin.
Leave some room at the top of a one gallon container and add about,
3.7L tank water (lots of good stuff in fish waist to feed yeast)
1mL pH stabilizer (pH ~5.2 is a good range for yeast)
4 cups (1L) sugar
(4:1 ratio of water to sugar works well with champagne yeast - how much sugar is used depends on the yeast)

1/2 tsp Champagne yeast

1/16 tsp Fermaid K, for a well balanced diet.
(this stuff is the bomb for stuck fermentations)
Rehydrate and add Fermaid K after 1/3 sugar depletion or after one weeks time.

Fermaid K, is a blended yeast nutrient containing, Magnesium Sulfate, Inactive Yeast, Thiamine, Folic Acid, Niacin, Biotin, Calcium, vitamin B5 (Pantothenate) and DAP (Diammonium phosphate).
 
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