Co2 QUESTION FOR 75 GALLON

Wasserpest ran DIY on his 100G, if I remember correctly.

Running DIY on a big 75 is do-able. It is certainly going to take more than one (or two) 2 litre bottles of DIY, and it is going to take a lot of attention to those bottles on your part, but it is workable.

Question for you. Why DIY as opposed to a pressurized CO2 set up?


Mike

i ran it for about a year on a big 5 gal water jug filled 3/4 of the way a bag of sugar and like a table spoon of yeast into a power head it worked but it was a pain in the arse and it had its problems first off it still wasint really a sufficent ammount of co2 as alge was still occuring. I ran 4 28 watt Normal output coralife T5's and 1 55 wat power compact and dosed tropica mastergerow weekly did water changes every 2-4 weeks. its alot of work but its possible. I gave up after about a year and switched to pressurized it made a huge difference. good luck. if you have any specific questions drop me a pm.

Pressurized Co2 is not an option for me because of cost, Its just not in my budget right now

Pressurized can be cheaper than you think.

Rex is right, but the initial cost is probably what's holding you back. It's going to be around $150-$200 initially, if you consider the Co2 tank (plus fillup), regulator combo, diffuser, Co2 tubing....
After you have all that stuff, you'll only be spending peanuts per year (or more). ~$20 for a fill-up, depending on where you go and you only have to do that once a year or so.

I run 2 1-gallon gatorade jugs on my 65 with the Hagen ladders and it's plenty. I run DIY because I had a bad experience with the tetra/dupla kits that were out in the early 90s. I'm sure the newer equipment is far superior and you will get better results if you go pressurized, but DIY is doable and not that bad (in terms of keeping it up).

It is doable. A lot of work, but definately worth it if you're serrious about growing plants and can't afford pressurized. However, 2x 2 liter won't be enough for a measurable difference. I run 2x 2Qt and 2x 1 gallon, (3 gallons total) on my 55.

You'll also want to stagger them so they're not all ramping up, reaching maximum production, then slowing down at the same time.

I tried it on my 75 gal for about 6 mo, BIG pain in A. Algae out breaks and cloudy water.
If you try it, I would suggest supplementing w/ excel.

I'm currently in the same boat. I am using 2 juice bottles right now on my 72 gal bow only until I have the extra money to spend on a pressurized setup. The DIY is a pain when you get into mulitple bottles but that initial payout for the pressurized system is rough.

I ran diy co2 on a 75 gallon for a couple months, until I got sick of messing with mixing up a new mix every couple weeks. I finally decided to put out the money and buy a pressurized setup. I looked around for a couple years and found a pretty good deal on a setup used. Just be patient!

born2lovefish said:

I ran diy co2 on a 75 gallon for a couple months, until I got sick of messing with mixing up a new mix every couple weeks. I finally decided to put out the money and buy a pressurized setup. I looked around for a couple years and found a pretty good deal on a setup used. Just be patient!

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Yeah thats what I am doing now is looking out for a used setup or a great deal. If one never comes up I will buy new it will just take a little longer. No biggie.

Craigslist for some pretty good deals.