Murphy's law strikes

yeast is done, 2 weeks +1 day, just as I start double shifts this week,
sigh, maybe tomorrow morning I can find some spare time to clean the reactor
instead of posting.

"Phil Dietz" wrote in message
om...
"Philip Ash" wrote in message
...
My bubbles dont seem to be getting any smaller as they reach the top
though,
(as i observed at the LFS).


Mine didn't either, until I fiddled with it.

I pushed the bubble stair-case down an inch and at a slightest of
angle.

Now the bubbles reduce in half...then in half again before exiting.
(Enter as a bean and leave as half-BBs).

The bubbles move much slower as well. I have 4 or 5 bubbles in the
device at the same time.

"Cichlidiot" wrote in message
...
I got one of these on a whim the other week because I could more likely
convince my roommates to allow it than DIY. I also only wanted moderate
CO2 injection since it's for a rift lake tank. It seemed to me at first
like it wasn't producing, but then I noticed the issue. The water pressure
was just too much for the CO2 to push all the water out of the tubing. I
took a 6mL feeding syringe which was just the right size for the tubing
and used it to push all the water out. Then I pinched the line closed as
much as possible before putting it back on the canister. Within minutes, I
had bubbling going.

One thing I have noticed that deviates from the LFS setup of this system I
saw is that my bubbles get stuck mid-way up the diffuser. I'm not
complaining much. This allows more contact time between the CO2 and water.
I think the reason is that I don't have the diffuser perfectly straight on
the side of the glass. It is slightly tilting down on the side away from
the CO2 tubing.

I do have to say even though I'm only getting moderate CO2 injection (I
have just one unit on a 40 gal, about 2-3 bubbles per minute) I am seeing
the results. Within a couple days of putting it in, all 10-20ppm of
nitrates from the tap water were sucked away (main reason I put plants in
a rift lake tank). The crypts stopped melting and started to pearl and put
up new leaves and runners. The java ferns are putting out plantlets and
new leaves like crazy. Now a couple weeks later, my algae problem is under
wraps. There's still a thin layer of green algae on the rocks and tank
sides, but nothing near the algae mess there was at first (which was
another reason I decided to follow my whim and try this system.. at $30,
it couldn't hurt to try it to see if the algae would be controlled).

I hope to have some updated pictures on this tank's website to show the
system at work, but I need to get some film for my SLR, so it'll be a week
at least. If you want to see how the tank looked when it was freshly set
up, the URL is http://www.shwaine.com/fish_40g.html. There's been
considerable growth in the crypts (the tallest ones are just about as tall
as the rock pile now) since adding the CO2, although I may pull the
aponogeton bulbs. They just aren't happy even with the CO2 it seems.

well that answers one question as I thought these systems were good for
tanks only up to 20g.

Rick

I have posted some pics of the tank in alt.binaries.aquaria


Phil.

"Phil Dietz" wrote in message
om...
"Philip Ash" wrote in message
...
My bubbles dont seem to be getting any smaller as they reach the top
though,
(as i observed at the LFS).


Mine didn't either, until I fiddled with it.

I pushed the bubble stair-case down an inch and at a slightest of
angle.

Now the bubbles reduce in half...then in half again before exiting.
(Enter as a bean and leave as half-BBs).

The bubbles move much slower as well. I have 4 or 5 bubbles in the
device at the same time.

(Phil Dietz) wrote in message . com...

Mine didn't either, until I fiddled with it.

I pushed the bubble stair-case down an inch and at a slightest of
angle.

Now the bubbles reduce in half...then in half again before exiting.
(Enter as a bean and leave as half-BBs).

The bubbles move much slower as well. I have 4 or 5 bubbles in the
device at the same time.

Tonight I noticed 10-11 bubbles moving up at the same time...
and the bubbles moving very slow...3 or 4 secs per step...
and the bubbles shrink to specks.

It's a great buy and the whole setup looks nice.

I like mine too.I just wish I knew what kind of yeast they use so I
could get it from a cheaper
source. I bet it is a champaign yeast,but what strain?

Bruce


http://community.webtv.net/BruBz/BrucesBeatlePage

well mine tan for about 3 weeks on the 1st pack of yeast, finally changed it
last night, and for sure it's Champaign yeast, smelled like it, didn't want
to taste the alcohol in the reactor to be totally sure but without the co2
in the liquid could it really be Champaign?


"Bruce Butz" wrote in message
...
There are several new posts about this system.
Mine has been running two and a half weeks now and still going strong.
Here are a few things I have learned.

1.Hang the Reactor on the tank .This shortens
the tube length and gives bubbles more often than putting the Reactor
below the tank with a long tube.

2. The "Stabilizer" is baking soda.If you have hard water don't use the
whole package.
I use half a package or about one half tsp.

3. The slower the bubbles move up the ramp the better.So experiment with
the placement
of the bubble counter/diffuser.Mine is off axis
from vertical about five degrees.
With the bottom just slightly closer to the edge
of the tank than the top.
But yours may differ.

4. If you use your own Yeast. Use champaign
yeast rather than wine or bread yeast.
It takes longer to start but will last longer.
Three packs of champaign yeast are supplied
with the unit.

Hope this helps.

Bruce


http://community.webtv.net/BruBz/BrucesBeatlePage