DIY CO2 newbie support group

fastlight81 said:
lol, yea I cant wait for mine, yes diy co2 works and helps for those who want co2 and want to see the benifit, but next month pressurized fully automatic co2 for me! watch i have a gazillion problems with that too! haha

here is my crude drawing
Click to expand...

Trust me on this one put as check valve on each line going to your bubble counter bottle. If you don't if one bottle lose it's pressure it will back syphon the water from the small bottle into your yeast mixture.

because I ran out of check valves for this step in my DIYT CO2 setup I was using hempstats to clamp off the hose. I had found more leaks each day. It seems like when I fix 1 leak the next day a new one forms and it's back syphon the water from my bubble counter into my yeast bottles.
 
SiNiStEr said:
Trust me on this one put as check valve on each line going to your bubble counter bottle. If you don't if one bottle lose it's pressure it will back syphon the water from the small bottle into your yeast mixture.

because I ran out of check valves for this step in my DIYT CO2 setup I was using hempstats to clamp off the hose. I had found more leaks each day. It seems like when I fix 1 leak the next day a new one forms and it's back syphon the water from my bubble counter into my yeast bottles.
Click to expand...

It sounds like you are having some kind of issue with the flow of gas from something to something else. have you you gotten bubbles into your bubble counter yet? If not, are you sure the check valves are setup so that they allow from from the two liters to the bubble counter? Also, is there a kink or clog or something somewhere in the end of your line, towards the tank? If there is CO2 gas forming in the bottles, such that you can feel that the bottles are containing pressure, then it sounds like there's something preventing the gas from escaping out the end of the system. What's your tube connected to at the end? Is whatever that thing is clogged up?
 
I have a question, could I use a plastic gang valve to control the CO2 going into my tank if my bubble counter is showing more the 1-3 bps? of course the gang valve would be on the same line that a chgeck valve is already on that goes up to my tank.

The following I had already posted here But I will ask here as well. All of my 2 liter bottles does have pressure in them as well as the 32 oz bottle that is my bubble counter. the problem is the gas isn't reaching to my tank. Even though all bottles has pressure in them there's no bubble is being produce in my bubble counter. I don't have any way of setting my bottles above my tank so I need them to be under the tank, unless I put in a shelf above the tank and that could take me couple of months to do.

So I'm open to ideas on how to push the CO2 up to my tank with DIY bottles sitting under the tank. Trust me if I could afford a pressurize CO2 system I would get one, but until I am able to get one (next summer if I'm lucky) DIY CO2 needs to work from my 55.
 
First, I don't think it's a good idea to use a valve to regulate the amount of CO2, because if pressure is building up in the bottles that is not allowed to freely release out of the system the bottles might explode. That's my guess, anyway.

As far as placement of your bottles - I don't see any way that that would make a difference. The fact that your gas isn't escaping your system indicates that something is preventing the gas from traveling the length of the tubing. Is there a way you can make sure air can get through the tubing into the tank? The gas should be able to travel through the tubes regardless of where the bottles are in relation to the tank.
 
yeah I'll check the tubing going to my tank. I know the lines going from my 2 liters to the bubble counter not clog, so I'll check the other line and make sure I didn't reverse the check valve by accident.
 
woot I have CO2 flowing into my tank, thanxs cob. Some how when I routed the line to feed into the bottom of my HOB PF intake the PF had somehow got sit down on the line and kept the line close. Once I had freed it, let says I forgot to clamp off that part of the line and had sopme tank water back syphon onto my floor.

I knotice once i pulled that part of the line from the check valve I heard the CO2 coming thru the valve, so I clamped it. and blow thru the other line going to the tank and couldn't blow thru it. So I check the airline route up to the tank and stuck my hand in the tank under the PF and felt the line pinch under the PF.

Once I got it all fix and released the hemastats had a big surge of CO2 flow thru the bubble counter and into the tank. What a welcome site that was. one group of 2 bottles is producing 1bps and the other 2 bottles is like 1 bubble every 2 to 3 seconds.


thanxs COB for follwing me thru on this thread and offering advice on getting this DIY CO2 going.
 
SiNiStEr said:
thanxs COB for follwing me thru on this thread and offering advice on getting this DIY CO2 going.
Click to expand...

:) Glad I could help. Congratulations on getting that running. Now stick around and help the next person who comes in pulling his or her hair out. ;)

Mine's still going on the 1 bottle mix from whenever I started this thread. Will be putting a three bottle system on it whenever I finally get around to doing that. I have a used glass diffuser coming soon I think, and at that point I'll hook up this system and see how it works compared to the other one.
 
kewl can't wait to see the report on it.

This has been a hair puller for sure and all this time my Cascade 300 had been sitting on a small section of this line. It must had happen when I had reposition the power filter about 1/2" to the right and didn't realize I set the unit right on the line.
 
rockhoe14er said:
I just got my DIY CO2 working on the first try thanks to this forum.

My one question is the baking soda useful to prolong the life because it helps to buffer the acid solution created to prevent the yeast from dying?
Click to expand...

Best guess is that it helps maintain a higher pH. Yeast like a higher pH, and all the CO2 drosp the pH very low.

On a side note, the old fermenter mix is NOT good to pour in the pots on the deck.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom