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DIY c02 for your aquarium

5K views 24 replies 6 participants last post by  zof 
#1 ·
Hey everyone I was wondering if anyone would be intereseted in me posting a How to for a DIY c02 setup. I'm about to reset mine and could take the time to explain what I did and how mine works. They are really simple I'll post pics and everything. If anyones interested LMK!:)
 
#6 ·
Weird... I just made my DIY CO2 system for the 29 gallon in my room.

What were all of your experiences in how long it took for the bubbles to appear? I set it up a half hour ago and I have nothing so far.

2 liter bottle with 2 cups of sugar, 1 teaspoon of baking soda and .25 teaspoon of yeast.... producing nothing so far.

Any suggestions on what I maybe did wrong or am I being impatient?
 
#11 ·
With the check valve you should be able to blow air easily in one direction but no in the other, If it is a clear valve the air flow should be in the direction of the taperd end of the valve inside.

As for the yeast, I would start over. Here is the recipe I use. I've tried a couple different ones and this is the best so far:

Make sure your bottle is clean. I just rinse mine with hot water each time I redo it.
Fill the bottle 2/3 full with warm water
Add 2 cups sugar and 1 tsp baking soda to the bottle and shake until completely disovled.
Take 1/2 cup very warm water and add 1/2 tsp yeast, stir briskly to disolve.
Let the yeast sit for 10-15 nimuntes to activate. (it will become really foamy)
Add the yeast mixture to the bottle (no need to mix) and within 24 hours your should see it starting to work. It will be slow at first but it will increase over the first couple days and should last about 3 weeks or so.

What size is your tank?
 
#15 ·
Alright... so 24 hours later and still no bubbles. I have approximately 5 feet of aquarium tubing between the bottle and the tank... should I shorten it?

Also was just going to use an air stone as my "diffuser" but decided to leave the end open until bubbles appear out of the tubing... good or bad idea?

Thanks!
 
#19 ·
well, i took off the airstone to see if anything would come out and I came to a bubble sitting at the end of the line. No major bubble stream yet.

I sealed the bottle with aquarium silicone around the line so I'm pretty sure that it is air tight.

I tested the check valve to make sure air could get to the end of the line by slightly squeezing the bottle... it did very easily. Also tested the line with an air pump, no leaks at any point.

I still hear the fizzling in the bottle, so I know that gas is being produced but I do wonder if it is escaping via something else.

I'm using Red Star Dry Active Yeast.
 
#22 ·
Motor should be fine, but co2 is know to do nasty stuff with plastics, so the impeller might be effected, but I doubt it would be an issue, a bigger issue would be the fact the bacteria that works in our filters typically like an oxygen rich environment, so it might be a bit detrimental as far as biological filtration goes. Best place would probably be next to the outflow so it pushes the bubbles down more and they have more time to exchange gases with the water.
 
#23 ·
One more question... I'm guessing that my Ram is having a hard time breathing with the increased amount of CO2 in the water because he is hovering in a cover near the surface.

I guess I need to decrease the amount of CO2 output, can this be accomplished by decreasing the amount of yeast I add to the bottle in the beginning?

Thanks,
 
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