[iKine]

Yup, yet another post regarding DIY co2. deal with it.


Anyways, I was to understand that a 2L system should produce co2 for 3 weeks (give or take). Im lucky (very lucky) to get 6 maybe 7 days before its dribbled to nothing.

My recipe is as follows

2 cups of sugar
1/4tsp bakin' soda
1/2tsp yeast
luke warm water to the beggining of the top curve


Now, i dont mind changing it or anything. I'm just wondering if there is a better way to do it so I can spend more time enjoying the tank rather than making a big mess on account of said tank.

 

[audioaficionado]

I never got more than 1.5 weeks of good flow from a single jug.

Try setting up two bottles and change one of them every week for a more even flow. It shouldn't take more than 5 to 10 minutes to do this operation.

Red wine yeast with some phosphorous based yeast nutrient might kick it up another notch or two. Look in a beer/wine home brewing store.

 

[jasonpatterson]

It goes faster the warmer you keep your house. I'm not sure what's going on honestly, I get 2-3 weeks from a similar recipe. Very small leaks might be the cause, or if you're trying to force the system to diffuse through something that requires a good bit of pressure. Dunno otherwise.

 

[iKine]

Its connected to the intake line of my canister, it shouldnt take much if any pressure to feed it into that line.

Ill play with my recipe a bit and see if I cant make her last a bit longer. Maybe ill just get off mu buttox and take a look into some sort of paintball system.

 

[DarkCobra]

I get just about two weeks from:

1.5 cups of sugar
1 tsp. of yeast (Fleishmann's ActiveDry)
1 tsp. of baking soda
lukewarm water to beginning of curve

Make sure you're not using "rapid rise" yeast varieties. They have a fast peak and fast burnout.

I'm pretty sure that two cups of sugar is more than common bread yeast can consume. You can tell how much sugar is left by tasting the solution after production drops sharply.

Shake well after putting everything in the bottle. I tried skipping it once and found it produced both poorly, and for an abnormally short period.

 

[jreich]

Its connected to the intake line of my canister, it shouldnt take much if any pressure to feed it into that line.

Ill play with my recipe a bit and see if I cant make her last a bit longer. Maybe ill just get off mu buttox and take a look into some sort of paintball system.

do your self a favor and skip the whole paintball idea, and save up a few more bux and buy a real deal regulator. shop around on here and [Ebay Link Removed] usually lots of good deals on that stuff floating around.
with my diy i used to run that same exact recipe except i used 2 1 gal juice bottles with handles on them and rotated which one i swaped out on a weekly basis. i believe the extra volume in the juice bottles gives the yeast a little more buffer so they dont get drunk to death so fast. And the handles made everything nice and easy to cary around when cleaning / refill.

 

[herns]

1/2tsp yeast

Try wine yeast LALVIN EC-1118. Ferment faster than other yeast found in a grocery store. You can get from e-b-a-y.

 

[somewhatshocked]

Lalvin EC-1118/Champagne yeast is great in DIY setups like that. With the same recipe, I get - at minimum - an entire month of CO2 when the ambient room temperature is at about 70F. In the winter months when my room temp drops into the 60s? I still get about 3 solid weeks of CO2 until the solution starts to die off.

The real advantage of wine/champagne yeasts, in my personal opinion and experience, is that they do well in lower temperatures and can withstand alcohol a bit more than standard baking yeast.

 

[dmattbfan5]

do your self a favor and skip the whole paintball idea, and save up a few more bux and buy a real deal regulator. shop around on here and [Ebay Link Removed] usually lots of good deals on that stuff floating around.
with my diy i used to run that same exact recipe except i used 2 1 gal juice bottles with handles on them and rotated which one i swaped out on a weekly basis. i believe the extra volume in the juice bottles gives the yeast a little more buffer so they dont get drunk to death so fast. And the handles made everything nice and easy to cary around when cleaning / refill.

I have to agree jreich. Getting a real 5lb aluminum cylinder/ regulator setup is the best way to go. I looked up weldshops and called around for a tank. The cheapest I found was $48 for the tank, and $62 for a brass regulator with check valve, needle valve, and bubble counter. It's been 3 months on one tank so far at 3bps keeping my ppm right around 30 or so. The other nice part is that the refill is only $8.69. I could never go back to yeast!!!!!!

 

[audioaficionado]

I used DIY yeastie-beastie CO2 for 3 months while I saved my bux for my present pressurized CO2 setup that cost me $300 for the regulator, post body kit, 20# CO2 tank and an inline Cerges's CO2 water reactor.

Shop hard, ask plenty of questions and eventually you can upgrade to pressurized. Nothing wrong with using DIY CO2 while you are working on building your system.

 

[somewhatshocked]

audioaficionado: Gotta +1 that. It's a great way to learn about CO2 and to save cash for exactly what you want - once you figure out exactly what you need, of course.

 

[BlueJack]

I've used Lalvin K1V-1116 and gone 5 1/2 weeks before changing.

My DIY CO2 setup is a little different though.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/diy/134674-winning-diy-co2-regulator.html

 

[iKine]

thats a slick system you got there jack.

Alright, well ill stick to my week tops co2 for now. Start scrimping some pennies to save up for a perssur.... wait... christmas isnt to far away... hmm...