Diy Co2
- Thread starter fballguy
- Start date
get some regular aquarium air hose.
get a 2 liter bottle.
get 2 cups of sugar.
get 1/2 teaspoon of yeast.
get a drill with a bit slightly smaller than the diameter of your air hose (I think I used 1/8" drill bit)
get a pair of needlenose pliers
take the cap from the bottle, and drill a hole in the middle. just make sure it's smaller than your air hose.
snip the end of the air hose at an angle, poke the point through the hole. grab it with your pliers and pull until you have about 1-1.5" through the cap. cut the hose to the length you need to get to your diffuser.
dump the 2 cups of sugar in your bottle, then fill up with hot water to the top of the label. get another soda bottle cap, screw it on and shake for a little bit to get the sugar dissolved (or mostly so)
activate your yeast by soaking it in warm water for 10 minutes. once 10 minutes is up stir it a little to mix it properly. then pour it into your sugar/water mixture.
cap the bottle and shake for a bit to mix it well.
take the cap off, screw on the cap with the hose stuck through it, making sure it's nice and snug.
run your hose into your diffuser and wait an hour or so till you see bubbles. if the bubbles aren't fairly regular, put a little water around the seam where your hose goes through the cap to check for leakage. no bubbles around the hole, no leakage.
this is the setup I use, except I added a T and 2 check valves as I use 2 bottles that I change the mixture in every other week (1 week, 1 bottle, next week, other bottle etc)
be sure to check your ph every so often to make sure you aren't lowering it too much, but usually with DIY rigs it's not really yan issue.
get a 2 liter bottle.
get 2 cups of sugar.
get 1/2 teaspoon of yeast.
get a drill with a bit slightly smaller than the diameter of your air hose (I think I used 1/8" drill bit)
get a pair of needlenose pliers
take the cap from the bottle, and drill a hole in the middle. just make sure it's smaller than your air hose.
snip the end of the air hose at an angle, poke the point through the hole. grab it with your pliers and pull until you have about 1-1.5" through the cap. cut the hose to the length you need to get to your diffuser.
dump the 2 cups of sugar in your bottle, then fill up with hot water to the top of the label. get another soda bottle cap, screw it on and shake for a little bit to get the sugar dissolved (or mostly so)
activate your yeast by soaking it in warm water for 10 minutes. once 10 minutes is up stir it a little to mix it properly. then pour it into your sugar/water mixture.
cap the bottle and shake for a bit to mix it well.
take the cap off, screw on the cap with the hose stuck through it, making sure it's nice and snug.
run your hose into your diffuser and wait an hour or so till you see bubbles. if the bubbles aren't fairly regular, put a little water around the seam where your hose goes through the cap to check for leakage. no bubbles around the hole, no leakage.
this is the setup I use, except I added a T and 2 check valves as I use 2 bottles that I change the mixture in every other week (1 week, 1 bottle, next week, other bottle etc)
be sure to check your ph every so often to make sure you aren't lowering it too much, but usually with DIY rigs it's not really yan issue.
Lunchbox explained it well.
Here's another similar take on it:
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...lf/14453-diy-co2-guide-with-pictures-and.html
-John N.
Here's another similar take on it:
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...lf/14453-diy-co2-guide-with-pictures-and.html
-John N.
Hey thanks guys! I got it all set up and working now. I must say I didn't expect it to work as well as it is. Thanks!
yeah the first time I did it I was surprised how easy and cheap it was 
plus for smaller tanks it does a pretty decent job of adding just enough to get your CO2 content wher eyou need it 
plus for smaller tanks it does a pretty decent job of adding just enough to get your CO2 content wher eyou need it