DIY CO2 for a ~60g :|

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courtneypie

courtneypie

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Sometime in the future I'd like to set up some DIY co2. My tank was advertised as a 60g, but AqAdvisor tells me it's around 65g. Who knows?

From what I understand, I'd need maybe three 2-liter bottles of mixture to generate enough co2. Space isn't an issue as I could easily put them behind the tank or in the cabinet part of the stand. Would this be sufficient? The plants I currently have are low/med. light plants (Am. sword, java moss, java fern, crypts, anubias, dwarf sags, clover, vals, etc.), and I'm getting some T5 lighting in about a month to replace the crappy lighting that came with the tank.

Since I honestly don't know that much, I'm leaving this here because there's a high chance there's something I missed, or something that needs to be corrected in my plan. What do you guys think? ^w^
 
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prober

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I have always heard that it is difficult to do on a tank larger than 20 gallons. Having said that, I still think it is doable.

I just started one in my 20 gallon tonight. Just a single bottle. I plan on getting a drop checker in the next few days to get an idea if I am doing anything at all with this setup, and eventually I am sure I will be headed for a pressurised setup. But for now we will see.

It certainly would be feasable to do however you will need a good way to get the gas into the water. A powerhead driven reacter would be a good way to go I think. There is a design floating around the internet somewhere that shows one, let me see if I can find it. Here it is http://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/diyco2.html#3

What I like about this is that it is cheap and would seem to be effective. The only downside is that to work properly it would need to be almost vertical and the outflow might stir up your sand or gravel. I haven't tried it yet but I think I am going to build one and use the weakest powerhead I can. If that doesn't work then I may eventually get a canister filter, I think that works pretty well from what I have read.

Your cost for a three bottle system would probably be less than $50 not counting a powerhead or reacter. The only expensive part is the bulkhead fittings for the bottles which only cost around $4 each. A one bottle setup requires 3 fittings.
 
DGC

DGC

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I have an 80g I use 4 2l bottles but I need to change them every week, it takes a little time to get the mix right, a drop checker is what you will need. I use flourish excel as well.

Diy is tricky if you can go pressurized - I can’t for now due too initial costs.

If you don’t keep it stable I then - Welcome to the wonderful world of BBA
 
courtneypie

courtneypie

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prober said:
It certainly would be feasable to do however you will need a good way to get the gas into the water. A powerhead driven reacter would be a good way to go I think. There is a design floating around the internet somewhere that shows one, let me see if I can find it. Here it is http://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/diyco2.html#3
Click to expand...
That website is really informative! I was also thinking that I'd need to get a powerhead, but I've seen some that aren't that expensive. I think I could cover one up pretty well, too.

prober said:
Your cost for a three bottle system would probably be less than $50 not counting a powerhead or reacter. The only expensive part is the bulkhead fittings for the bottles which only cost around $4 each. A one bottle setup requires 3 fittings.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I'll be doing this and getting better lighting when I get my financial aid refund in about a month. Compared to the lights it won't be so bad. :3

DGC said:
I have an 80g I use 4 2l bottles but I need to change them every week, it takes a little time to get the mix right, a drop checker is what you will need. I use flourish excel as well.
Click to expand...


I've been dosing with Excel for about a week now without seeing much of an effect. I didn't do the original major dose (just a regular one to start with) since I have anacharis. Nothing seems worse, but nothing seems better. It hasn't been that long, though.
 
tanker

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DGC said:
I have an 80g I use 4 2l bottles but I need to change them every week, it takes a little time to get the mix right, a drop checker is what you will need. I use flourish excel as well.

Diy is tricky if you can go pressurized - I can’t for now due too initial costs.

If you don’t keep it stable I then - Welcome to the wonderful world of BBA
Click to expand...

I agree. It can be done, but.......
 
DGC

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DJDrZ

DJDrZ

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I did DIY CO2 on my 72G tank. It can be done, but it requires a LOT of effort. Maybe I didn't have enough bottles going; I had 2x2L, and a third at first, it was very tough, even with staggering them. I finally went pressurized (scan craigslist for deals, especially after Xmas). I got a great regulator for a really good price and a friend had a full CO2 cylinder he wasn't using. Of course, I have limited maintenance plants, but may increase on Monday when I go to TFP.
 
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