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#1
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DIY CO2 Instructions?
I am setting up a new 60g plant tank and want to try to us CO2. Is a
DIY set up appropriate for this size aquarium. If so, what type of DIY set up do you recommend (recipe, bottles, tubing, ...). My LFS sells the Nutrafin CO2 system for $30 and I was considering purchasing it just for the diffuser and tubing? Good or bad idea? Leigh, if you read this message, I think your posts are very informative and your web page link is great-THANKS! Thanks, dpots |
#2
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DIY CO2 Instructions?
Leigh, if you read this message, I think your posts are very
informative and your web page link is great-THANKS! Thanks! As for CO2...you'll find as many recipes for DIY CO2 as there are people who use it. For a 60 g tank, you will probably want to run two bottles (staggered, so one is reaching its peak while the other is petering out). And many people prefer wine yeasts for steady, long-term CO2 production, as opposed to bread yeast. Use large glass juice bottles instead of plastic soda bottles. They are lower and heavier, and less liable to tip. I think most people use that greenish silicon tubing. It leaks less than regular vinyl tubing. There's also special CO2 tubing, but it's expensive and not commonly available. A lot of people like the Nutrafin system's diffuser. If you want to buy it for that, though, consider buying online. Pet Solutions has it for $19.99. Leigh http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/ |
#3
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DIY CO2 Instructions?
i second leighmo's tip on the juice bottle. it makes a huge difference in
stability... my recommendation is to make a glueless attachment of the co2 line to the top by drilling a hole smaller than the line in the center of the top, cut the line on an angle and then poke/pull it through the hole with a pair of pliers. this will make a leakproof fitting without the need for glues which always end up leaking after a time. good luck jtm -- Remove NOSPAM for email replies |
#4
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DIY CO2 Instructions?
I use a 1gal wine jug (glass) for my DIY method... Basically you can buy a
cheap jug of wine for about $6, get a stopper at Ace hardware for about $1.70, tubing for about $2, and the DIY recipe ingrediants. (about $4 which will last a year or more) I also bought a Tetrafin check valve since I have my bottle in the tank stand (these cost about $2) (this prevents resverse siphoning). Anyway, the options are really limitless, but here is the recipe for DIY co2: for a 2 litre bottle concoction: 6 cups water 2 cups sugar 1 tspn yeast (NOT the quick rise stuff, but either bakers or brewers yeast) for a 1 gal container: ~12 cups of water (fill until a little over 3/4 full) 4 cups sugar 2 tspn yeast. (again, NOT the quick rise crap) These concoctions should last about 2 weeks per batch. If you use this in a 60 gal aquarium (mine is 63gal), MAKE SURE you have a co2 test kit handy... I found out after a couple of weeks that my co2 levels were in excess of 50ppm which is toxic for fish... -Jason "dpots" wrote in message om... I am setting up a new 60g plant tank and want to try to us CO2. Is a DIY set up appropriate for this size aquarium. If so, what type of DIY set up do you recommend (recipe, bottles, tubing, ...). My LFS sells the Nutrafin CO2 system for $30 and I was considering purchasing it just for the diffuser and tubing? Good or bad idea? Leigh, if you read this message, I think your posts are very informative and your web page link is great-THANKS! Thanks, dpots |
#5
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DIY CO2 Instructions?
Yeah, I second that. MUch easier and works way way better in the long run.
In article , "Jim Miller" wrote: i second leighmo's tip on the juice bottle. it makes a huge difference in stability... my recommendation is to make a glueless attachment of the co2 line to the top by drilling a hole smaller than the line in the center of the top, cut the line on an angle and then poke/pull it through the hole with a pair of pliers. this will make a leakproof fitting without the need for glues which always end up leaking after a time. good luck jtm __ "Insert witty comment here." -John |
#6
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DIY CO2 Instructions?
What is the best way to control the output of bubbles on DIY units? Don't
you need to watch your PH levels and adjust bubble flow? How would you do it with this type of setup? "Jason" wrote in message ... I use a 1gal wine jug (glass) for my DIY method... Basically you can buy a cheap jug of wine for about $6, get a stopper at Ace hardware for about $1.70, tubing for about $2, and the DIY recipe ingrediants. (about $4 which will last a year or more) I also bought a Tetrafin check valve since I have my bottle in the tank stand (these cost about $2) (this prevents resverse siphoning). Anyway, the options are really limitless, but here is the recipe for DIY co2: for a 2 litre bottle concoction: 6 cups water 2 cups sugar 1 tspn yeast (NOT the quick rise stuff, but either bakers or brewers yeast) for a 1 gal container: ~12 cups of water (fill until a little over 3/4 full) 4 cups sugar 2 tspn yeast. (again, NOT the quick rise crap) These concoctions should last about 2 weeks per batch. If you use this in a 60 gal aquarium (mine is 63gal), MAKE SURE you have a co2 test kit handy... I found out after a couple of weeks that my co2 levels were in excess of 50ppm which is toxic for fish... -Jason "dpots" wrote in message om... I am setting up a new 60g plant tank and want to try to us CO2. Is a DIY set up appropriate for this size aquarium. If so, what type of DIY set up do you recommend (recipe, bottles, tubing, ...). My LFS sells the Nutrafin CO2 system for $30 and I was considering purchasing it just for the diffuser and tubing? Good or bad idea? Leigh, if you read this message, I think your posts are very informative and your web page link is great-THANKS! Thanks, dpots |
#7
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DIY CO2 Instructions?
controlling the output by restricting the flow isn't a great idea for a
variety of reasons. you're better off adjusting the co2 concentration by the efficiency of your diffuser or perhaps the size of your bottle. btw, adding too much yeast at the start will get production started at a high level and depending on your brew and yeast type cause a quick fall off thereafter. yeast population will grow over time so adding too much at the start is a bit of a waste. use the minimum necessary to start co2 production at a comfortable level. jtm -- Remove NOSPAM for email replies "SlimFlem" wrote in message news:YHlR9.548545$P31.182441@rwcrnsc53... What is the best way to control the output of bubbles on DIY units? Don't you need to watch your PH levels and adjust bubble flow? How would you do it with this type of setup? |
#9
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DIY CO2 Instructions?
I'd like to add my $.02 worth on DIY systems...
Here's my recipe for a more (IMHO) successful DIY CO2. Since switching to this method, I've had far better success with DIY CO2. Instead of changing bottles every two weeks or so, I'm changing them every 6 to 8 weeks. Use a small plastic soda bottle. I bought a 6 pack of 24oz Wild Cherry Pepsi's. The 1-liter bottles also work well, but don't use anything larger! Drill a hole in the top and insert a silicone air line just like you would for a 2 liter bottle. I like to seal the airline with silicone just to make certain there's no leaks. I discovered a while ago that after a time, the silicone would leak around the edges of the joint if I didn't. For my yeast recipe, put a little warm water in the bottom of the bottle (about 1/4 cup) and add 1/4 teaspoon of yeast to the mixture (BTW, I've discovered no difference between the quick-rise, bakers and champagne yeast using this method). Cap the bottle and shake well to mix the yeast. Now fill the bottle half full with sugar, then about 1/4 full with water and a dash of baking powder. That should leave about 1/4 full of air. Gently invert the bottle a few times to make sure all the sugar is wet, but _not_ dissolved. Leave the bottle in a sink or tub for a couple of days, so that when the yeast starts reacting, any overflow doesn't make a mess. Attach to an airline with a check valve and an airstone at the end and place so the bubbles get swirled around by the filter outflow. For the check valve, I use one's I found at Petsmart that have a small chamber filled with filter floss, which acts as a miniature drop container (for the occasional bubble that goes up the tube). Each bottle puts out about enough CO2 to keep a heavily planted 20-30 gallon tank at around 15ppm and in my home tanks (2 20gals, 2 30gals and a 5) they last around 7 weeks (some only six, some up to 8). If you have a larger tank, add more bottles. I built a bracket for the bottles on the inside of my stands, so I don't have to worry about them getting knocked over and hence, don't use any sort of drip container in case the mixture overflows. If you decide to use one on your setup, I recommend using a tiny container (I like those miniature water bottles I get on airplane flights), otherwise the mixture will peter out sooner. Well, FWIW... -Owen Graupman "Jason" wrote in message ... I use a 1gal wine jug (glass) for my DIY method... Basically you can buy a cheap jug of wine for about $6, get a stopper at Ace hardware for about $1.70, tubing for about $2, and the DIY recipe ingrediants. (about $4 which will last a year or more) I also bought a Tetrafin check valve since I have my bottle in the tank stand (these cost about $2) (this prevents resverse siphoning). Anyway, the options are really limitless, but here is the recipe for DIY co2: for a 2 litre bottle concoction: 6 cups water 2 cups sugar 1 tspn yeast (NOT the quick rise stuff, but either bakers or brewers yeast) for a 1 gal container: ~12 cups of water (fill until a little over 3/4 full) 4 cups sugar 2 tspn yeast. (again, NOT the quick rise crap) These concoctions should last about 2 weeks per batch. If you use this in a 60 gal aquarium (mine is 63gal), MAKE SURE you have a co2 test kit handy... I found out after a couple of weeks that my co2 levels were in excess of 50ppm which is toxic for fish... -Jason "dpots" wrote in message om... I am setting up a new 60g plant tank and want to try to us CO2. Is a DIY set up appropriate for this size aquarium. If so, what type of DIY set up do you recommend (recipe, bottles, tubing, ...). My LFS sells the Nutrafin CO2 system for $30 and I was considering purchasing it just for the diffuser and tubing? Good or bad idea? Leigh, if you read this message, I think your posts are very informative and your web page link is great-THANKS! Thanks, dpots |
#10
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DIY CO2 Instructions?
Question, I want to start some CO2 tomorrow so I am going to make 2 DIY
bottles for my 75. I saw on this site, http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/H...37/index.html, that the airtube can be stuck in a powerhead. It seems like since the "air port" on the powerhead sucks air in, it would also suck from the CO2 bottle. Will the check valve prevent this? I would like to do this, but need some more experienced person to tell me about this method first. thanks. "Jim Miller" wrote in message ... controlling the output by restricting the flow isn't a great idea for a variety of reasons. you're better off adjusting the co2 concentration by the efficiency of your diffuser or perhaps the size of your bottle. btw, adding too much yeast at the start will get production started at a high level and depending on your brew and yeast type cause a quick fall off thereafter. yeast population will grow over time so adding too much at the start is a bit of a waste. use the minimum necessary to start co2 production at a comfortable level. jtm -- Remove NOSPAM for email replies "SlimFlem" wrote in message news:YHlR9.548545$P31.182441@rwcrnsc53... What is the best way to control the output of bubbles on DIY units? Don't you need to watch your PH levels and adjust bubble flow? How would you do it with this type of setup? |
#11
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DIY CO2 Instructions?
"use the minimum necessary to start co2 production at a comfortable level."
Jim, what is your minimum level mixture and what size tank do you have? How many bottles do you use at once to give a comfortable level? How often are you checking PH? Thanks, "Jim Miller" wrote in message ... controlling the output by restricting the flow isn't a great idea for a variety of reasons. you're better off adjusting the co2 concentration by the efficiency of your diffuser or perhaps the size of your bottle. btw, adding too much yeast at the start will get production started at a high level and depending on your brew and yeast type cause a quick fall off thereafter. yeast population will grow over time so adding too much at the start is a bit of a waste. use the minimum necessary to start co2 production at a comfortable level. jtm -- Remove NOSPAM for email replies "SlimFlem" wrote in message news:YHlR9.548545$P31.182441@rwcrnsc53... What is the best way to control the output of bubbles on DIY units? Don't you need to watch your PH levels and adjust bubble flow? How would you do it with this type of setup? |
#12
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DIY CO2 Instructions?
Important note: If you use the venturi on your powerhead, do not repeat not
use a flimsy soda bottle! The powehead is just powerful enough to partially collapse it. I am too embarrassed to repeat my story again, so just trust me and use a juice bottle. The check valve will not prevent the powerhead from drawing CO2 from the bottle. When you first start it up, there will be a lot of bubbles as the venturi evacuates air from the bottle. This will actually accelerate the transition from aerobic to anaerobic CO2 production (a good thing or, at least, not a bad thing). kush SlimFlem wrote in message news:5trR9.549947$WL3.147894@rwcrnsc54... Question, I want to start some CO2 tomorrow so I am going to make 2 DIY bottles for my 75. I saw on this site, http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/H...37/index.html, that the airtube can be stuck in a powerhead. It seems like since the "air port" on the powerhead sucks air in, it would also suck from the CO2 bottle. Will the check valve prevent this? I would like to do this, but need some more experienced person to tell me about this method first. thanks. "Jim Miller" wrote in message ... controlling the output by restricting the flow isn't a great idea for a variety of reasons. you're better off adjusting the co2 concentration by the efficiency of your diffuser or perhaps the size of your bottle. btw, adding too much yeast at the start will get production started at a high level and depending on your brew and yeast type cause a quick fall off thereafter. yeast population will grow over time so adding too much at the start is a bit of a waste. use the minimum necessary to start co2 production at a comfortable level. jtm -- Remove NOSPAM for email replies "SlimFlem" wrote in message news:YHlR9.548545$P31.182441@rwcrnsc53... What is the best way to control the output of bubbles on DIY units? Don't you need to watch your PH levels and adjust bubble flow? How would you do it with this type of setup? |
#13
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DIY CO2 Instructions?
May I?
Rule of thumb: one 2-liter soda bottle per 25 gallons. Basic recipe: to each two liter soda bottle, 1-1/2 cups sugar, 1/4 teaspoon yeast and enough warm-not-hot water to fill to the shoulder, 1/8 teaspoon baking soda optional. kush SlimFlem wrote in message news:8yrR9.552192$P31.184467@rwcrnsc53... "use the minimum necessary to start co2 production at a comfortable level." Jim, what is your minimum level mixture and what size tank do you have? How many bottles do you use at once to give a comfortable level? How often are you checking PH? Thanks, "Jim Miller" wrote in message ... controlling the output by restricting the flow isn't a great idea for a variety of reasons. you're better off adjusting the co2 concentration by the efficiency of your diffuser or perhaps the size of your bottle. btw, adding too much yeast at the start will get production started at a high level and depending on your brew and yeast type cause a quick fall off thereafter. yeast population will grow over time so adding too much at the start is a bit of a waste. use the minimum necessary to start co2 production at a comfortable level. jtm -- Remove NOSPAM for email replies "SlimFlem" wrote in message news:YHlR9.548545$P31.182441@rwcrnsc53... What is the best way to control the output of bubbles on DIY units? Don't you need to watch your PH levels and adjust bubble flow? How would you do it with this type of setup? |
#14
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DIY CO2 Instructions?
i've currently got a 46oz bottle which i use 1.5 cups sugar and a half
teaspoon of yeast and a pinch of baking soda in. i don't worry much about the proportions since it always runs for a bit less than two weeks and i just change it when i do my bi-weekly water changes. i'm sure if i cared to i could optimize this but it just isn't worth it to me. i used to check my co2 levels daily until i decided they don't go too high and they just dwindle away when the bubble rate gets too low. i run my co2 directly into the intake of my system3 which is really simple. i was fiddling around with diffusers and had settled on the Rena 2" when i discovered that the System3 impeller did a sufficient job with nothing additional in the tank. the rena was definitely better however. i tried limewood diffusers and a variety of "airstones" but the rena was by far the best. it produced a pretty mist of bubbles; very nice. now that i've got a different plant arrangement in the tank i may actually go back to using it. if you decide to use the rena make sure to trim the little rubber gasket lip at the top since it tends to collect some of the mist into larger bubbles. my system 3 is three gallons. i suspect that you'll want a better diffusion mechanism as well as a 64oz or multiple 64oz bottles if you don't have a efficient diffuser. the one sold by aquatbotanic looks to be a great way to go for a larger tank such as yours. i'd stagger the start times for your bottles and change them every other week. good luck jtm -- Remove NOSPAM for email replies "SlimFlem" wrote in message news:8yrR9.552192$P31.184467@rwcrnsc53... "use the minimum necessary to start co2 production at a comfortable level." Jim, what is your minimum level mixture and what size tank do you have? How many bottles do you use at once to give a comfortable level? How often are you checking PH? Thanks, |
#15
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DIY CO2 Instructions?
agreed! i never recommend a soda bottle rather a juice bottle. they have
full width bottoms for stability, wider mouths for filling, less flexible sides with handholds for carrying. they're also typically shorter for a given volume which makes them more likely to squat behind your aquarium. do you really want yeuccky brew on your carpet or in your aquarium thanks to your cat? jtm -- Remove NOSPAM for email replies "kush" wrote in message ... Important note: If you use the venturi on your powerhead, do not repeat not use a flimsy soda bottle! The powehead is just powerful enough to partially collapse it. I am too embarrassed to repeat my story again, so just trust me and use a juice bottle. |
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