Finally built a DIY Co2 system but?????

[pitchblack]

finally got around and built a co2 system. It seems to be working quite well. Just a bottle with some sugar, yeast and warm water. It releases a strong release of bubbles. Prob about 1 per sec. Will this eventually affect the parameters of my water.

thanks for you feed back

[wyldchyld01]

hey,

yeah i've found that there can be an initial drop in ph, but in my case it was only minor.

don't forget that with one bottle the bubbles will eventually stop so keep an eye on it, you might find hooking a couple of them inline with each other but started on different days will mean less changeover requirements,

i think ryan had a good pic of his nice blue bottles on top of the tank and diffuser on this forum if it will help.

Brenton

[milt master p]

Will this eventually affect the parameters of my water.

Adding Co2 to the water will affect your water parameters immediately by causing a drop in pH. To help stabilise the pH of the water I recommend adding a bit of crushed coral to the tank. This will add carbonate which acts as a nice buffering system in the presence of CO2 gas. However carbonate evidently will interfere with discus egg fertilisation. But then again I wouldn't run CO2 on a tank I was trying to breed discus only in a planted tank is it really needed.

[jim]

depends how big your tank is...
I have 2x 2ltr bottle going all the time for my 4 ft tank...can not see any effect on the water parameter..
but certainly can tell plants are growing very well..

[kalebjarrod]

I found my tanks where big enough to cope with 3 bottle running inline with no adverse effects to pH

although till you are satisfied with your ssytem check the ph twice daily and record your actions so you know what is happening

your plants will be lving you soon :wink:

[pitchblack]

thanks for the feedback ppl. Ive oly ran the one initial bottle but thibk ill upgrade to two. I dont have a diffuser just the hose running into a air stone under the filter outlet so that it mixes with the water as its propelled out of the filter is this enough or do I have to do more to diffuse the co2 properly??????

[kalebjarrod]

i did the same thing for awhile.

it did work, so stay with it for awhile

you will get better results from a diffuser, but start slow, get used your brew first

[Merrilyn]

Ryan, pitchblack had a problem a few nights ago with stuff from the bottle leaking into his tank. It wiped out half of his discus. Can you give us all some tips on setting up the Co2 without getting problems.

[pitchblack]

I dont think it was the stuff from the bottle???? But I could be wrong anyway how is a good way to diffuse it?????

[kalebjarrod]

they stuff that leaked was a yeast build up

Did you fill the bottle's or only halfway?

NEVER SHAKE YOUR BOTTLES, you turn your back and they over react and start to froth

also i put empty bottle at the front of my two brewing bottles, this catches anything that overflows from the back bottle. i normally never have an overflow unless i knock one on its side accidentally.

i actually had one of my first attemps of DIY flow into the tank, i didn't lose any fish but i did have a BIG mess on my hands.

http://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/diyco2.html

that is the site i always try to find, explians the whole thing, even has a diagram of how to setup your bottles right :wink:

i don't think it was the way you diffused it, al method of diffusing still require silicone hose's to go into the tank.

[pitchblack]

No I onlt filled the bottles half way. but it still doesnt expalin why the nitrate whet up to 160ppm in a matter of four hours give or take. Going to try it on another tank im setting up just to grow plants before Im game enough to put the device into the house tank. Do you use a reactor like explained in the site you listed????

[Woll]

Just a quick word of warning using these bottles.
Not only can you release CO2 but the y can release ethanol as a gas aswell which isnt good at all for fish and aslo yeast cells so you could end up with a fungal infection.

[wyldchyld01]

just a note to the above link by kalebjarrod, took me an hour to build, plugs in bottles are airline pipe joiners. minor silicone used only on the inside of overflow bottle (little one) but i used a bit of water in there as a bubble counter and found this restricted the outflow to the tank considerably, to the point of me having to half the pipe into the tank and use a less fine airstone even though there should have been more co2 output and greater pressure.

until i can buy a co2 extinguisher this sort of setup will have to do, haven't ever had probs with it before and now that i've got this new design up and running (1 hr fully from scratch with what i had around the place, please) i'm sticking with it.

if i had a camera you could see three runners from one side of a four foot tank to the other from amazon swords and ozelot swords, definitely use co2

Brenton

[jwight]

I have a turbo co2 venturi thing and I was looking to replace its ingredients without buying the refill kits. What type of sugar and yeast do you recommend.

[wyldchyld01]

re the above jwight. i just used your cheapest sugar (put in my coffee type stuff lol) and standard dried yeast.

haven't ever had the probs that the others have yacked on about although from their accounts i'd believed it happened.... this new system works well, i am getting 1-2 bubbles per second on 3 litres inline system (2ltr plus 1ltr bottles). glad i made the change. the original 1 ltr bottle in similar setup made a huge change to the tank

yours

Brenton

[kalebjarrod]

co2 is often the difference between survival and growth :wink: