help with natural plant co2 by hagen

[valerie]

I just bought the c02 plant system by hagen and i'm reading teh directions. It says to fill up to the first mark with sugar but i can' t figure out what mark they are talking about.

Where do you fill the sugar up to?

[anonapersona]

Start pouring sugar in until the lower rib is covered, it is 1/2 cup of sugar. Then fill with water to the upper rib, 2 cups I think.

[valerie]

but there is a picture in teh instructions tha tshows to fill it somehwere below the bottom rib.I guess i wil jsut try 1/2 cups sugar.

[thom336]

i fill mine to the first ribs, and it works like a dream. i have never had better plant growth since i started using this hagen CO2 system, and would reccommend it to anyone. but i admit the instructions are a bit confusing....

[valerie]

ok i figured it out,the ribs are in teh inside, duh:D I got it now.i filled it yesterday but still don't see any bubbles,how long should it take?

[anonapersona]

Go back and give the lid an extra half or quarter turn!

It still happens to me sometimes, it seems tight, but no action, then I go give it one last quarter turn.

Also, the first time you use it, it seems to take longer to start, maybe a day or two. On the second round, rinse out, but not really well, some of the yeast will be dormant in the bottom of the generator and will wake up when given sugar and fresh water.

When it starts, the bubbles will get stuck a lot. I don't know why, they seem to stick to the diffuser, but after a day thebubbles will be rounder and roll along just fine. If not, then tip the diffuser to level it so they climb each ramp at the same speed, left then right. when I cleaned my diffuser after an algae outbreak, the stickiness was back for awhile then passed.

I suggest that each morning you test the pH of the water and count the bubbles with a stopwatch. When the bubbles have stablized and the pH is stable, then you can just count the bubbles each week and when they have begun to decline, test the pH again. I found that after 3 1/2 weeks the system was not able to maintain the pH at 7.6 and it began to climb back to the 8.2 of my tap water. So I change out the bottle when the pH is at 7.8 which is when the plants begin to be unhappy and algae appears. Your milage may vary, so test and make notes.

[valerie]

has anyone come up with a recipe for jsut using plain yeast and sugar in the hagen co2 bottle like a regular DIY co2 bottle? Since it can end up costing a bit 10$ for 3 refills.

COuld you jsut use the same amount of sugar and water but add say about 1/4tsp of yeast?Just wondering since i remember from another thread i started about this co2 thing someone said you can jsut make your own mix

update: still only producing a couple bubbles a minute(haven't really timed it but they don't come out very much at all). I have tried tightening the lid

[anonapersona]

In the packets you'll find 1/8 teaspoon yeast and the other contains 1 teaspoon of what is mostly baking soda plus some unknown stuff that is also white and tastes salty.

My experiment using the packets with extra sugar failed, it was slow and died faster.

My experiment with baking yeast plus baking soda and salt was not very good. No notes so I can't really report the findings.

My experiment with 1/4 teaspoon ale yeast plus 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon yeast nutrient seems to be working well. One bottle is going strong, the other is a lower rate with the same mix. So, I'm still working on it. The ale yeast and yeast nutrient comes from a beer making store. $1 for the yeast (guessing 8 or 10 doses) and $2.65 for the nutrient (maybe 1/4 cup)

Let me know what you try and how it works.