DIY CO2 newbie support group

FishBliss said:
Looks good!

If you put the 2 litre on the 20 gal tank how will you 'count' how much c02 is going in so you don't hurt your fish.

Also, how are you dealing with the night and lights out phases?
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Thanks. I don't know how I'll count CO2. I could make another gas separator easily enough and stick it on the 2 liter bottle version.

I am not doing anything about lights out right now. I've read conflicting ideas about that; some say that stopping the CO2 at night causes the pH to fluctuate too much. But I think when I've got more going in there I'm going to have to start disconnecting it at night or something. although I'd love some suggestions about that.
 
larger bottles give larger surface areas for better gas exchange. just like a tank, gas exchange in your bottle happens at the surface. yes, more yeast can be used to create more gas, but it will be more effective with more surface area in your liquid.

cobfreak... 1/4" brass cut-off valves between those bottles will give you the ability to recharge one bottle at a time and rotate them. if you take a bottle off your system to re-charge it as it is now you'll be releasing all of your gas and exposing your mixture to air. one on either side of your splitter should do you right.

for some reason i can't exactly explain sufficiently rigid bottles also make it harder for the gas to escape (from my understanding). i think that's why 2 liter and 3 liter bottles are usually suggested as opposed to juice bottles and such.
 
i had to run an air stone at night to keep from gassing my fish when i was doing diy co2.

plants put out co2 at night too and don't take any in which can cause disaster if you're pushing that gas your fish line... which you certainly want to get as close to as possible... without breaching into disaster.
 
thanks dundadundun. I hadn't thought about the gas escaping when I change one bottle. However, i'm wondering now that you said that, do the check valves only stop backflow of water, or would they also stop the gas from flowing backwards?

Your information re: bottle size makes a lot of sense. I did really like working with the juice bottle lids as far as putting on the silicone, though. On the other hand I could buy some rubber stoppers I think, instead of using the caps.
 
I didn't read this whole thread but warm water (too hot anyway) actually deactivates yeast.. And add a cup of fruit juice to your mix!! It helps heaps. I run one bottle on a 20g all day and night and the fish are not affected. And plants grow great. :) hope I helped
 
Basically....running the air stone at night helps gas off the Co2. As mentioned, plants consume O2 during the night hours. By gassing off the CO2 in the water, you are increasing the amount of O2 available.

Timers work great. I run them on my lights and stones. Lights go off...air stones come on about an hour later. They turn off an hour before the lights come on.
 
For the airline into the bottle(s) simply drill a 13/64ths inch hole through the lid, cut the silicon air hose at an 45 degree angle, push the point through the hole in the lid, use pliers if necessary to pull the hose through the lid 1/2 inch. No GE silicone, no mess, fast and easy (thanks Rex Grigg).

For my DIY on my 50 gallon I can lower my pH from 7.6 down to 6.6 using a bubble ladder from aquatic magic (Hagen makes on as well). I will be switching to pressurized CO2 at my earliest convenience since the fluctuations in gas/nutrient levels appear to promote algae growth. It works but it takes a lot of work. I used the 2 cups sugar, 1 tsp yeast, 1 tsp baking powder (or soda). I found the 1/4 tsp recipe was didn't work for me but my recipe burns out fairly quick - 6-10 days.

Regarding yeast, it is a living organism and hot water above about 104 degrees will likely kill it. I always dissolve the sugar and baking powder first by shaking vigorously then after adding the yeast I simply gently circling the bottle on a counter top.

If you want a great CO2 diffuser search Google for "niko hagen elite co2 diy" and you will find a long thread describing using the Hagen Mini Elite filter as a great CO2 diffuser. It may be too effective for smaller tanks.

Check valves are a great way to change out bottles on multiple bottle systems.

Reading this thread made me realize that the white filmy gunk that grows in the bottom of my bubble ladder is probably yeast fed bacteria. I will be adding a bubble counter (aka gas exchange bottle) before feeding the CO2 into the tank to hopefully prevent this.
 
not a check valve... a cut-off valve... for airline tubing pressure adjustment. much like a gang valve but one input and one output.

i wrote this...
dundadundun said:
1/4" brass cut-off valves between those bottles will give you the ability to recharge one bottle at a time and rotate them. if you take a bottle off your system to re-charge it as it is now you'll be releasing all of your gas and exposing your mixture to air. one on either side of your splitter should do you right.
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better place for them is between the bottle and the check valves. this way you can disconnect only the bottles and not lose flow or have backpressure issues while setting up the next bottle.
 
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