Short question: Is this how DIY CO2 works?

[DAVIDFBT]

You put in the magic formula of yeast, water, baking soda and sugar in a soda bottle with the top sealed tight. Then you drill a hole through it, and stick a piece of airline tubing in the top that has a fine airstone at the end and you stick the airstone in the tank.

Is it really that easy, except for regularly feeding and disturbing the yeast?

What is the magic formula for the yeast and sugar and stuff? In a .5 liter plastic bottle. (16.9oz)

 

[Bk718]

the mix for a half a liter bottle is: (this also goes for the Hagen System since its half a liter)
Stabilizer: 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
Activator: 1/8 teaspoon Active Dry Yeast
Sugar: 1/2 cup sugar

The setup is fairly easy, the key is keeping it in the right temperature and making sure there arnt any leaks. Once thats all set you have to worry about diffusion, you want to have maximum diffusion rate to make co2 effective.

 

[DAVIDFBT]

Sweet.

I can have a CO2 system now. And to keep it at the right temperature I should have the bottle in a bucket of water with a heater set to 85F, right?

Do I add water to the mix at all?

 

[avatar]

In a 1 liter bottle you are going to want to use about 1 cup of sugar, and about 1/2 teaspoon of some other nutrient like molasses, tomato paste or orange juice. I am not sure about the baking soda as it will raise the pH and yeast does best in a slightly acidic environment.

You will also need to silicone the airline tube into the soda bottle so its air tight.

 

[Bk718]

which tank are you planning on using this on?? if its for a 10g then i would suggest a 2L bottle. It will last you longer.

Yes you can do the bottle in a water bath with heater thing, that will give you more of a consistent co2 output. At night you can turn the heater off since co2 doesnt really matter with lights off. Then an hour before you put lights back on turn the heater on.

Opps sorry about the water lol.. Just add the water to the bottle right to the curvature point..

 

[Bk718]

In a 1 liter bottle you are going to want to use about 1 cup of sugar, and about 1/2 teaspoon of some other nutrient like molasses, tomato paste or orange juice. I am not sure about the baking soda as it will raise the pH and yeast does best in a slightly acidic environment.

You will also need to silicone the airline tube into the soda bottle so its air tight.

baking soda will act as a stabilizer, making sure that the ph doesnt change 2 much killing the yeast.

Also silicone is not that useful, i found that over time it gets soft and just comes off. Best thing to do is to just make the hole smaller than the tubing.

 

[DAVIDFBT]

The CO2 will be used for the 30 Gallon tank.

If you suggest a 2 liter for a 10 gallon, then in the 30 gallon should I just use a 3 liter soda bottle? If so tell me the formula again but for a 3 liter.

EDIT: Do I have to paint the outside of the bottle black? Does yeast thrive better if it is dark or in light?

 

[Bk718]

The CO2 will be used for the 30 Gallon tank.

If you suggest a 2 liter for a 10 gallon, then in the 30 gallon should I just use a 3 liter soda bottle? If so tell me the formula again but for a 3 liter.

EDIT: Do I have to paint the outside of the bottle black? Does yeast thrive better if it is dark or in light?

on my 29g i use 5L lol its a 3L bottle + 1.5L bottle + the hagen .5L bottle

the mix for a 3L is x + 1/2x (x= mix for 2L bottle)

X here would be
5-6 cups of water
1/4 teaspoon of yeast
1.5-2 cups of sugar
1 teaspoon of baking soda

the color of the bottle dont matter..

 

[DAVIDFBT]

Allright, thanks!

 

[Bk718]

Np, If anything post again