Lost my whole tank yesterday : (
- Thread starter Glenstorm
- Start date
Here is a really good article I came across on DIY CO2. In the "Construction Projects" section it has this diagram of a "gas separator":
If you took that same basic design and added a few ounces of water to the smaller bottle and setup the incoming line (the rigid tube in the diagram) so that its outlet was under water, you'd have a bubble-counter, a low-tech way to monitor the output of your yeast bottle (plus a handy overflow reservoir).
If you took that same basic design and added a few ounces of water to the smaller bottle and setup the incoming line (the rigid tube in the diagram) so that its outlet was under water, you'd have a bubble-counter, a low-tech way to monitor the output of your yeast bottle (plus a handy overflow reservoir).
To make a long story short, stand was not heavy enough to support aquarium. Yes, 75 gallons is alot of water. Had to completely pull out carpet & pad, dry out, replace. I lost My oscar, jd, greenterror, (2) jewels, (3) tinfoil barbs. The bottom glass and front glass of the aquarium broke, so we had to replace those 2 pieces. Luckily, we work for a glass company so we were able to get glass cheap. The tank had to cure for 2 weeks. Anyway, all is well now....
To make a long story short, stand could not support aquarium. The damage was bad. Had to pull out all carpet & pad, dry out, replace. The bottom and the front glass of the tank broke, but we work for a glass company, so we were able to get glass to repair the tank..It cured for 2 weeks, then it went into the wall. I lost an oscar, jd, green terror, 2-jewels, 3-tin foil barbs. I really hated this, because these fish got along so well and I never had any problems with them....But I have moved on and started over. Live and learn but doesn't make it any easier...
most commercial CO2 units are resonably priced, so i do not see the worth of taking the risk with DIY CO2. it is unstable, and can result in disasters such as what has happened. of course, it is great if you know what your doing. your algae was probably killed through over-photosynthesis, it would have just over done it a bit.
Fastracker: No, you would still have to blow a small amount of air through the line during changes. I think you could keep the charge if you rigged up some quick disconnect coupled with airvalves to stop the gas flow when changing bottles.
Yo i would flip put if that happened i have a fish older than me i was given when i was born. He is 15 years old and his name is commet. A giant Pleco.
I'd imagine that would preserve your pressure if you inserted a check valve between the generator and the overflow resevoir.
Regarding the "why did it happen questions", I am not quite sure. This was my second batch and the previous batch had no such problems. I was gone for a week, but the pleco was still alive when I got back which suggests that the overflow happened later in the week. However this just gives me a timeline but not a cause. . .
I had a lot more bubbles than the previous batch, so somehow this batch was much more active. . .
Other differences were that this batch used Shaws brand gelatin rather than Jello gelatin. Seems insignificant though. . .
Dan
MATAK,
I was figuring on putting a checkvalve between the two like Glenstorm said in his post.
Hopefully this post will help prevent catastrophes like this from happening in the future
I was figuring on putting a checkvalve between the two like Glenstorm said in his post.
Hopefully this post will help prevent catastrophes like this from happening in the future
