[anonapersona]

I never boil

I never boil the water, just use tap water, not hot, not cold, just skin temp-ish.

If the mix smells "like death" then you need to clean everything well, you've gotten some bacteria in there that is not good.

If you shake the unit to mix, you risk getting yeast in the tubing and you will have more yeast-snot form on the end of the tubing in the tank where it can interfere with the bubbles staying on the ladder. If you get much snot, clean the entire cap and tubing well in hot water.

Check your phone book for home beer brewing supplies, you may be surprised how many there are. They will carry probably a dozen or more types of yeast and various yeast nutrients that have assorted chemicals. I tried testing a few and gave up. Some like cold, some tolerate heat, some float as they are used up, others fall to the bottom as they are used up. Bread yeast plus baking soda works fine. Wine and beer yeast don't seem to like baking soda, I suspect they have different tolerances for alkalinity/acidity. The mix goes very acid as it is used up -- do not open a canister and add baking soda after it has been going! (scenes from the old erupting volcano trick)

 

[Cheeseybacon]

I tried something different today when I changed my vat o' C02 crap. I added the sugar, water, and yeast, all mixed together and such as per usual. Then I sprinkled a small tidbit of yeast on the top of the water, leaving it totally undisturbed, and then closed it up. Within half an hour, I had a steady stream of bubbles going. I have never in my life see the reaction start so quickly and with such gusto. Give it a try the next time.

 

[anonapersona]

I tried something different today when I changed my vat o' C02 crap. I added the sugar, water, and yeast, all mixed together and such as per usual. Then I sprinkled a small tidbit of yeast on the top of the water, leaving it totally undisturbed, and then closed it up. Within half an hour, I had a steady stream of bubbles going. I have never in my life see the reaction start so quickly and with such gusto. Give it a try the next time.

I'd never given any thought to the order of adding things... I always added the sugar, then baking soda, then water. Then I added the yeast and I watched for a minute until it fell, then rose again. Then I'd walk over to the tank to hook it up. Usually the gas would begin to visibly move down the airline into the tank in minutes.

 

[cake fan]

I used your recipe anonapersona and I must say that I stirred it up a bit and within 30 minutes I had really nice bubbles. My hagen set up is new so the bubbles don't glide perfectly yet but I've read that it just needs to build up some slimey coating then it will. Great recipe roud:

How long does yours last on average?

 

[anonapersona]

embarassed to say

When I did it regularly it lasted 3 weeks.

I'm embarassed to admit that I have not been regular at refilling it at all! The Hagen unit has a series of small paper tags that I add that says what the recipe was that I used (whether bread yeast or beer or champagne, volume, baking soda volume - I varied these a lot over the past years) and I note when I refilled it, if I washed the bottle.

When I do check it now I often see that it was 2 or 3 months since I last refilled but that is because I just let it die completely. Sometimes it would still be going, and the tag would say 6 weeks or 2 or 3 months and I have to think that I just neglected to change the tag then, "Naw, that can't be right!" But, when I was obsessive about it, it would last 2 1/2 to 3 weeks. And I'd change it when it got to only 3 bubbles on the lader at one time, since that was pretty close to how many bubbles there were per minute. I'd start at 6 or 10 bpm and decline to 3 then I'd change it.

I am overextended in fish tanks now for the 2 discus tanks take up most of my time devoted to getting my hands wet now with their 3x/week water changes. The little 10 gallon was getting ferts and new CO2 only if it looks like the vals are dying back. The broken line tetras in there were always hiding in the thick plants and I often forgot to feed them. I'd tend it when the Whisper mini got so plugged up it overflowed back by the input line or if the ambulia or water lily took over the tank. So it was terribly neglected and I just recently broke it down, sold most of the plants at auction and sold the tank and Hagen and lights and flourite locally. I still have one Hagen not in use now.

My advice is to add the sugar (never overfill the sugar), then 1 teaspoon baking soda, then skin temp or a bit warmer water, then 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon bread yeast. And watch until the yeast falls then rises again in the water. Seal it up, give an extra 1/4 turn. Put the ladder as high as possible in the tank in an area of good flow.

If you do experiment, just keep good notes of what you did and how it worked. I've used beer yeast, with yeast nutrients from the beer brew store, I've used champagne yeast. I found the bread yeast plus baking soda worked dependably. Sometimes I'd not rinse out the jar, just pour it out and refill, but I never got a true opinion on that, whether it was good or bad, seemed to go both ways either worked great or bad early. Just have fun with it. Eventually you'll see what you think is best.

 

[stanley]

Just thought id add that i recently bought a little heater pad from the home brew shop on line works wonders !£20 WELL SPENT!!Just plug in and it keeps the yeast nice and worm,much better output.

 

[Kris]

hey --
i added some yeast on top per cheeseybacon's post and it has really ramped up the output!
the bubbles are coming out in batches of three and then a brief pause and then three more. it may burn out faster, but...
i did boil the water sugar mix (and then ended up adding more water to meet the level inside the bottle)
kris

 

[GTApuffgal]

I tried Champagne yeast with baking soda and got nothing... Went back to the dependable bread yeast and baking soda (1/2 teaspoon yeast and 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, and I mix up the yeast and lukewarm water first and let it sit while I mix up the rest of the ingredients), but I might try the champagne yeast again. I also tried the packet that came with the system, but got no action. Although there was an issue of no check valve and water flowing back into the canister, so I'll probably give that another try too. Will post results here.

I am finding that the bubbles are travelling through the ladder at the rate of about 10-11bpm, however, they are cruising straight to the surface of the water upon exit. I pushed the ladder as low as it would go in the tank. Should I raise it closer to the surface? There are a lot of little bubbles all over my water surface. Is this normal/good? Or am I losing it all???

 

[Wasserpest]

they are cruising straight to the surface of the water upon exit. I pushed the ladder as low as it would go in the tank. Should I raise it closer to the surface? There are a lot of little bubbles all over my water surface. Is this normal/good? Or am I losing it all???

Nah, you are not losing it :icon_bigg That's a sign that what you are injecting is not CO2 but air. Normal for a new batch for a day or two. Unless you have foaming problems, make sure you fill the sodabottles up pretty high. I usually leave only like two inches air space from the cap. Otherwise it can take a couple of days until the mixture has replaced all the air and produces pure CO2.

Bubbles go up my ladder and become so small that they get stuck in the upper area, and a few bubbles combine their forces before they finally reach the surface. Sign that 99% or what percent of the CO2 is being dissolve.

Give it a little time roud:

 

[GTApuffgal]

Thanks Wasserpest!

 

[john b.]

try this one

Ive been experimenting a bit lately with different recipes for my hagen unit and thought I'd post some ideas. I add the same amount of everything that most people have been(sugar up to the line,1/4 tsp. yeast,1 tsp. baking soda and fill to the top line on the cannister). To this I added a half of multi-vitamin crushed up because I read somewhere that it gives the yeast something more to feed off. It seems to work well, the mixture lasted longer then usual.I think I read about it in TFH magazine a few months back. They also suggested adding either mollases or frozen fruit juice. I didn't have the mollases or fruit juice so I added a tsp. of frozen Italian ice which seems to work even better then the vitamin. Give it a try next time you refill your recipies and post the results. Good luck,
John

 

[heizenberg1980]

I never had much luck with it. I tried it 6 or 7 times, with 2 liter bottles and the provided "bottles". I tried to be very scientific with it each time. I had 2 bottles and ladders mixed at exactly the same time with exactly the same water and formula. Sometimes it would work very well, sometimes it would be a dud. Seems like the trick was to have the water hot enough to help the yeast along but not too hot to kill it. I never had one last for more than a week or so. It was a big production, and an even bigger mess every single time. I invested in a 10 lb pressurized co2 tank with regulator, and have never looked back. I use an Up-Aqua atomizer with a "bazooka" tube to diffuse the co2 directly into the return hose from my canister filter. I rigged the return so it came out halfway deep in the water of my 75 gallon tank. The bubbles come out almost microscopic. It works great and minimal equipment in the tank makes it look great! After setup cost is about 10 bucks every 2 1/2 months to get the tank filled. About 2 minutes with some teflon tape and a wrench, 5 minutes to dial it in and... done. Besides that, the look of wonder on the guys faces at the welding shop makes me laugh everytime. My point is I guess it all really BOILS (see what I did there?) down to whats your time, effort, buying yeast, pounds of sugar, etc... really worth? Ask yourself, why don't I ride a bicycle to work everyday? Because the car has been invented... I didn't mean to ramble or be a wizenheimer, but it really is much much better.

 

[John LeVasseur]

I'm gonna add some points on this for those reading it for the first time.

Baking soda kills yeast. Not the baking soda per se, but once it breaks down it's the sodium that is toxic. So adding it as a buffering agent to hard water (or any water) just kills the yeast a few days earlier. Adding baking soda is a common myth and in fact is counter productive in the long term.

"The big three" things with yeast. Use sucrose, try to be sterile (bacteria and yeast do not get along), and dry yeast should be mixed in water at about 104 degrees (F) and only after the yeast has reached room temperature (if refrigerated).

That's pretty much it. Here's a link if want to know everything about yeast with a lot more details and specifics.

DIY CO2 System for Planted Aquarium

- John LeVasseur

 

[Wasserpest]

Welcome to the Planted Tank John. Your article has helped countless aquarists to better understand DIY CO2. Thanks for that!

Isn't 104F a bit on the high side? I would stay closer to the 90F range to get the yeast jump-started. Or just room temps if there is no rush.

 

[RWaters]

John LeVasseur?! OMG. I've been around long enough to remember that name. Welcome, or is is welcome back?