C02 thoughts.

[Blown 346]

I have been browsing and I might make my own DIY C02 system.

My tank is 125 gallons, Im starting with low light plants, but with all the talk of Having C02 etc I think I can benefit from using it. But will My DIY C02 setup be enough for my tank?

I was going to use a 2 liter bottle, for the mixing etc. Then have a smaller bottle connected to the large one just incase of any fluids getting transferred. Then have a airline from that smaller bottle go into the tank with my Saltwater wood airstone to diffuse the bubbles into micro bubbles. Would thi be enough to benefit me for time beiong in the beginning stages?

Obviously the more plant life I have the more C02 I will need, Correct?

If so can anyone point me in the direction of a somewhat cheap C02 setup that I can work on getting.

Thanks.

 

[KarlTh]

Big tank for DIY CO2. You'd be wanting around three gallons of mix.

 

[Blown 346]

Big tank for DIY CO2. You'd be wanting around three gallons of mix.

How would I go about connecting 3 of these DIY C02 contraptions together?
If I can connect 3 of these, could I use a 3 way valve to connect all of the airlines together into one airstone?

 

[Blown 346]

Big tank for DIY CO2. You'd be wanting around three gallons of mix.

Is there a way to connect three of these together? If so could I use a 3 way valve to connect all 3 together, and connect 3 airlines into one airstone?

 

[Squawkbert]

Right - use T fittings or a manifold to connect.

I have a 46g. I use 2 Gallons of mix. I'd guess you will need at least 4g.

 

[Blown 346]

Can you better descibe a manifold? A pic would help even better of how all these bottle would go together.

 

[fabsroman]

I don't do DIY CO2, but one thing I noted is that these guys are suggesting 3 to 4 gallons of mix, so you are looking at 6 to 8 two liter bottles, not just 3 of them. I read your other thread about getting started in freshwater, coming from saltwater, and wanting to start a planted tank.

One thing you might want to focus on is a drop checker. I wish I had done that when I started out. If you get it right, that thing will tell you exactly what you need in terms of CO2. Get started, install the drop checker, put in some plants, and then start a DIY CO2 system. If it isn't enough CO2, the drop checker will let you know and then you can worry about increasing the CO2 system output.

 

[Blown 346]

Ok great, Where can I find one of these drop checkers?

 

[fabsroman]

I bought mine off of ebay a couple of weeks ago. Here is an example of one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Co2-Drop-Checke...ptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116

Just do a search for "drop checker" on ebay and it will give you several options. The tricky part is creating 4dKH water to use in the drop checker. Luckily, I already have a very sensitive measuring scale to measure the baking soda with. It measures to the hundreds of a gram/grain. If I use it in the grain mode, I can get extremely close, if not dead on, to 6 grams of baking soda. I also spent a little money on graduated cylinders and beakers to help me measure everything out like the dry ferts and the amounts of water to use in the 4dKH solution and the dry ferts for those that I choose to mix with water.

By the way, just in case you don't know this, 4dKH means water with 4 degrees of carbonate hardness. You will need a carbonate hardness test kit.

 

[phanmc]

DIY CO2 for that size tank will be a pain in the *** and you will go through a lot of sugar every other week. Invest in a pressurized system, the $150-200 up front is much more worth it than juggling a bunch of bottles every 2-3 weeks and you will get a consistent level that cannot be achieved with DIY.

If you don't have the cash for a pressurized system then stick with a low light setup and appropriate plants until you can afford one.