Hey guys, I'm have a problem..yes I searched.

I made a spice bottle style bubble counter, and when I hook everything up, water just comes into the line from the reactor (the line where co2 is suppose to go INTO the reactor) and fills up the bubble counter. I guess i'm doing something wrong? How do I resolve this issue?

Thanks in advance

Adrien

It sounds like your filter is pushing water back down the line. I assume this is before you turn on the CO2. Try turning on the CO2 before hooking the tubing to the reactor (or closing the bottle, whichever is easier). If it is happening with the CO2 on, then there may be a leak or the CO2 pressure is not high enough. What diameter line are you using for the CO2? It should be fairly small (airline diameter or less).

Kevin

Or use a checkvalve which prevents backflow.

So put a check valve in between the out line from the counter to the reactor?

I considered that, but I didn't see it done in any of the diagrams I looked at, so I thought I was doing something wrong.

Right now it's DIY CO2 so I can't really adjust the pressure. I'm already looking into a pressure system, as I don't like fiddling around with this yeast/sugar stuff.
Also, I'm using top fin silicone air tubing.

I'll pick up another check valve, thanks for the advice fellas.

Adrien

Yeah, checkvalve close to the reactor, so the tank water stays in the tank

If I remember correctly silicone tubing isn't the best when it comes to CO2, you might want to replace that with vinyl or even some dedicated CO2-proof tubing.

That happened a lot to me with the DIY. I figured out I had a leak somewhere.

At the end, the problem was in the bubble-counter, the cap was not sealing properly. I had to ditch the original cap, and get a rubber stopper, the kind used in chemistry labs.

To figure out where the leak is, mix a little soap in water, and apply anywhere there might be a leak. With your finger plug the end of the hose going into the tank so that no air escapes that way, and give the yeast bottle a good shaking. The soap will start bubbling where there are leaks.

I tought that I had finally sealed everything up, but overnight the water would creep slowly towards the bubble counter, and during the day, when the yeast got warmer and produced more CO2, I would get about 2 bubbles a minute. That meant most of the CO2 went into the room, not the tank. After I got the rubber stopper, I get about a bubble every 5 seconds. (250 ml yeast mixture for a 5 gallon tank).

Wasserpest: I was going by this article (https://www.plantedtank.net/co2.html) so that's why I chose the Silicone.

Salamastre: Thanks for the tip!

Adrien

The reason for this overnight water creep is the CO2 dissolving into the water.

Yeah I know, many people use silicone tubing, but I think it could almost be used as a diffuser

http://www.coleparmer.com/techinfo/t...m&Title=Search

Not sure how bad it is in real life, but I have replaced my silicon tubing with vinyl and Hagen bubble ladder tubing and feel like getting more bubbles. Anyone cares to test this?

Hmm. I'll look into upgrading my tubing when I switch to pressurized.

Adrien