[ichthyogeek]

So I found this video:

And it made me curious about using the CO2 derived from alcohol fermentations. Has anybody tried setting up a system where the outgassing of a fermenting liquid (kombucha, beer, mead, etc.) is used in an aquarium to supplement it with CO2?

 

[Mark Fisher]

This is an old article on generating CO2 for an aquarium with sugar and yeast: https://www.thekrib.com/Plants/CO2/co2-narten.html

 

[davemonkey]

Has anybody tried setting up a system where the outgassing of a fermenting liquid (kombucha, beer, mead, etc.) is used in an aquarium to supplement it with CO2?

I did it for awhile in a low tech set-up. I had a powerhead in the tank, and ran tubing from my wine fermentor into the top of the powerhead to disperse the bubbles. It was fine during the initial 5-7 days of ferment, when things were really going fast, but the ferment eventually slows down and bubbles become sparse (just the nature of fermentation). So, if you were really relying on it, you'd probably be disappointed, and even have negative results, because you won't reasonably be able to provide consistency. But if you aren't relying on CO2 in the fist place, it makes for a decent "boost" for a couple days.

A word of warning: make sure you have enough head space in your fermentor to avoid the must (or any solids in it) from foaming up and into your tubing. If this happens, one of 2 things will result:
-You will get must (of the wine/beer/whatever) in your tank, and it will mess things up in a hurry;
-Your airline will clog and your fermentor will become a bomb...and you may end up with splattered wine all over the living room, ceiling, walls, carpet....a lesson I learned the hard way. :wink2:

 

[sudhirr]

If you are going the diy route the citric acid and baking soda reactor system is much better. Stable and consistent co2 delivery can still be a problem you would need to check on this every day and make adjustments as required but the system is pretty safe if you keep to the prescribed mixture.

My exp with setting this up: https://aquabang.blogspot.com/2020/07/my-first-experience-with-co2.html


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ichthyogeek]

Really, I'm just curious on if it can be done. I'm a bigger fan of low tech tanks anyways, and if I choose to make some fizzy beverages, I'd like to use as many products as possible (including the waste products, like CO2, and yeast!)

Bump: I will keep in mind the "do not allow fizzy beverage to become alcohol bomb" mantra. I was incredibly inspired by the water trap thing, which looks like a bubble counter (and I guess it basically is?), so hopefully the musth(?) wouldn't get put into the tank, and I wouldn't deal with an explosion of alcoholic beverage.

 

[sbo80]

it works kinda. I did it with bread yeast and table sugar in gatorade bottles for a few months (many years ago). It's problematic because, as said, it's inconsistent. It spikes quickly and fizzles out over the week. I changed my bottles every weekend. It also doesn't generate enough consistent pressure to use a typical diffuser, so you need to use a bell or similar. Overall it was grossly inefficient, mountains of work, and went through lots of sugar. There are several small-scale CO2 systems out there these days if you aren't into getting a 5lb tank and a dual gauge regulator. Any of them are worth every cent over the DIY route. Now if you really are trying to steal the CO2 off an actual ferment, that might be worthwhile just for grins. Run an airline off the check valve on a carboy. You should try it and post up some pics and the results (of the beverage also!).