I too am interested in creating a DIY CO2 injector for my 29g. and have a few questions. I really do not want to add too much CO2 to the tank as my ph is already kinda low, at around 6.8. My plants never seem to really thrive or survive for that matter, for a long time. I was wondering if anyone who had experience with this has a safe formula i can use to inject a small amount that really will not change water parameters, and my plants will at least stay green and survive. I did add some salt to treat ich recently and my plants are getting worse, so i thought i could build this to help them a little until the salt will get out. Another question is how do you guys refill or change the bottles to keep the CO2 going? Do you just start over with a new bottle, or add all the ingredients again, or just sugar or yeast...... Also does the CO2 have to be taken out at night, or do i leave it in there while the plants aren't photosynthesising?
Homemade CO2
- Thread starter nickbuter
- Start date
Dr. Woo -
I treated for ich with 1tsp of salt per gallon with the tank temperature at 86F for two weeks, and my plants showed no signs of damage. I feel terrible for you that yours aren't doing well, and wonder if it's something other than the salt. Are you fertilizing your plants? They may be suffering from a lack of one or more nutrients, which is really easy to correct.
You'll need to know your pH and KH before starting CO2 - if your pH is 6.8 you may have a low KH and want to buffer with sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) so the CO2 doesn't cause your pH to crash. At a pH of 6.8, even if your KH is low, say just 50ppm (3*) your CO2 would be at 14ppm, which should be fine for plants. If the KH is 60ppm (3.5*), your CO2 would be 17ppm. At a KH of 70ppm (4.0*) you'd have 19ppm CO2. Unless you've got a lot of light on the tank, you probably don't need higher concentrations than these, so you may not need to inject CO2 at all. If you want to download the CO2 calculator I found it at 'chucks planted aquarium' website - there's a nutrient calculator you might also find useful
I treated for ich with 1tsp of salt per gallon with the tank temperature at 86F for two weeks, and my plants showed no signs of damage. I feel terrible for you that yours aren't doing well, and wonder if it's something other than the salt. Are you fertilizing your plants? They may be suffering from a lack of one or more nutrients, which is really easy to correct.
You'll need to know your pH and KH before starting CO2 - if your pH is 6.8 you may have a low KH and want to buffer with sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) so the CO2 doesn't cause your pH to crash. At a pH of 6.8, even if your KH is low, say just 50ppm (3*) your CO2 would be at 14ppm, which should be fine for plants. If the KH is 60ppm (3.5*), your CO2 would be 17ppm. At a KH of 70ppm (4.0*) you'd have 19ppm CO2. Unless you've got a lot of light on the tank, you probably don't need higher concentrations than these, so you may not need to inject CO2 at all. If you want to download the CO2 calculator I found it at 'chucks planted aquarium' website - there's a nutrient calculator you might also find useful
geoffgarcia said:
I'm not sure what you meant by your total's, but you do need to first dissolve the powder and sugar in boiling water, then add the cold water after it's all dissolved, otherwise it won't dissolve. It's just like the recipe on the Jell-O box, except you add the sugar. I haven't really refined this method, so other sugar amounts may work.
As for how long it lasts, my good batches last about 2 to 3 months, although they do taper off slowly.
