DIY CO2: Intake vs. Ladder vs. Airstone

D

Darkside

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Oct 17, 2004
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I've heard many different experiences with each of these. I'm trying to decide on one and am having trouble. On one side i hear attaching the air tubing to the intake is very effective, but is noisy and can jam the impeller. The ladder seems good, but CO2 can escape from the water faster. Airstones seem good too, but don't seem too effective in raising CO2 levels...I want to hear some facts and first hand experiences. I'm sure i'm not the only one debating between these 3 ways of injecting CO2 into their first plant tanks...soo...all comments and suggestions please!!!
 
dude, just buy a diffuser. you can get them everywhere, pretty cheap too, and you can just hide em behind plants. they work like a treat and very little loss of co2. can also make your own with a powerhead if you want. i advise you dont use an airstone or intake of filter as an airstone doesnt provide enough exposure to the water for long enough to dissolve and by running air through your filter you can damage it. diffuser is definately the way to go
Justin
P.S i have no idea what a ladder is :S did u mean latter :P?
 
Like a Hagen Nutrafin ladder from their CO2 system...i'm pretty sure it's the same as a diffuser...which diffuser were you talking about...making one?
 
Don't forget about the CO2 'reactor' concept. The one shown in the link is a bit pricey... and similar things can be DIYed fairly easily... but for CO2 dissolution, you can't beat it.

Cheers,
-fpsiv
 
I'm actually making my own setup...2L bottle, tine Poland Spring bottle for bubble counter/filter, tetra check valve, and for the diffuser I secured two layers of fiberglass window screen over a piece of PVC. CO2 will (hopefully) be trapped underneath the netting and slowly diffuse into the water...have yet to complete the system and find a good recipe though...
 
I use a 4" bubble wand (placed vertically in one corner of the tank) at the end of the airline - the bubbles produced are so small that by the time they reach the top of my tank (24") they're gone. For the first few days I had my system up and running I used an airstone, it worked but not nearly as well.
Just a thought if you have a tall tank and want to avoid a lot of equipment inside the tank.
 
The wood airstones produce really fine bubbles too but they didn't totally dissolve in my tank (24"high). I made a reactor like the one fpsiv linked to, but for me, it was too much a pita to clean and I was surprised at how much gunk grew/built up in it even with a pre-filter (Filter Max III). I finally went with a micro-jet pump on top of a Flourish bottle with the bottom cut out. Tap a line in the top for CO2, add a couple bioballs and a sponge at the bottom. It's easier to get at to clean, a lot smaller than the in line reactor, and works better IME.
 
I've heard great things about the Jell-O recipe, I just mixed a batch up last night. One article I read says it can take up to a week to get going, but I'll keep you posted - it's supposed to last up to five times as long as a standard sugar/water/yeast preparation, be more consistent in the level of CO2 produced, and generally give you more bang for your buck.
Right now I'm using 2 cups of regular white sugar, mixed with warm water 3/4 up a 2L bottle, a pinch of baking soda and 1/2 tsp of yeast. I haven't used the baking soda before, I'm curious to see how this batch behaves. So far 2 2L bottles with the above ratios of sugar/water/yeast have given me about 15ppm CO2, which isn't bad considering I'm not using any type of ladder/diffuser. [edit] The last batch lasted only a week though - less yeast with more sugar lasts longer, I believe. [/edit]
Many people will tell you the key is to find your own personal best recipe - keep experimenting until you find what ratios make the batch last long enough and produce enough CO2 for your personal needs.
 
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