# Co2 System



## Xenon (Nov 15, 2002)

experiences?


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## Husky_Jim (May 26, 2003)

Hey Mike,are you wanna make one?Nice to hear....

I use custom CO2 in all my tanks and i have to say that with proper use you will see plant growth that you would not even imagine!!!!
But with going DIY you have to be very carefull!.The "construction will have to be 'flawless' with no leaks and with additional measures to prevent something bad (like over-carbonate the water,PH drop or even yeast-sugar mixyre in you tank!!!).A nessecary addition will be a bubble counter on each bottle (you can easily make one with parts from serum container from a pharmacy) which will help you on counting the number of bubbles that are created per second.A good count is 1 bubble per second for tanks up to 30g and 2 bubbles per second for tanks up to 60g.
I wont tell you for bigger tanks cause the DIY method is "small" and for bigger tanks you will need more bottles with weekly refillings.
The best solution to disovle the CO2 in your tank's water is by placing the CO2's outlet tube inside your filter's intake and let the filter do the circulation for you!









(I can write an article about the constuction and the use if you want)


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## Xenon (Nov 15, 2002)

thjat would be great jim


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## Innes (Jan 13, 2003)

I want to see the article - hurry up already


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## Xenon (Nov 15, 2002)

I read a few today. Basically it consits of one 2 liter bottle for every 30 gallons, and a gas/liquid seperator. Then you have to build a diffuser. I might just try it in my power filter at first to see if i see results.


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## SLANTED (Dec 7, 2003)

> Then you have to build a diffuser


They sell diffusers for this. Some don't work as well as others though. Of course, they are just bare bones type of things, so maintaining bubble output is a big pain. That's why I stopped.

Actually, I think I still have some diffusers lying about. Lemme know.


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## ike229 (Jan 12, 2004)

I had a DIY setup on my tank, however I created my own design. I had an input and an output going into the 2 liter bottle. I forced air from an air pump in, and then the CO2 rich air was forced out. I had it connected to the airstone on one of my undergravel lift tubes. I noticed the water clouded a bit after a couple days, and then a slime coating formed inside the lift tube. It was pretty nasty, but not too much of a pain to clean up.

Did anyone ever experience this?
Or have any idea what I may have done wrong?


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## Hypergenix (Dec 17, 2003)

any blueprint?


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## Xenon (Nov 15, 2002)

ike229 said:


> I had a DIY setup on my tank, however I created my own design. I had an input and an output going into the 2 liter bottle. I forced air from an air pump in, and then the CO2 rich air was forced out. I had it connected to the airstone on one of my undergravel lift tubes. I noticed the water clouded a bit after a couple days, and then a slime coating formed inside the lift tube. It was pretty nasty, but not too much of a pain to clean up.
> 
> Did anyone ever experience this?
> Or have any idea what I may have done wrong?


 did you have a gas/liquid seperator? It seems your yeast overflowed. a cheap seperator consits of a 20oz coke bottle with 2 holes in it. First the input in the cap which accepts the CO2 from the generator, then an output near the top of the bottle. This ensures that any nasty yeast mixture falls in the bottle while the gas escapes out the exit hole. Here is a diagram:










Source and More Info


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## Xenon (Nov 15, 2002)

this link is really good and goes through some of the effects it can have on PH and hardness, something we will definatly have to monitor if this is done


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

Very interesting, people








Any more first-hand experiences?

btw: someone once told me that using carbonated mineral water (as in Evian, stuff like that), or soda, would also do the trick, like adding one bottle of it per water change...
Since mineral water is dirt cheap, it sounds kind of interesting.
Does anyone ever heard of this before, or even tried it?


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## Xenon (Nov 15, 2002)

Judazzz said:


> Very interesting, people
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 Seltzer water? I would think the bubbles would mainly just rise to the top and escape. If you poured it into a diffuser or soemthing it might work.


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## Husky_Jim (May 26, 2003)

Mike the "separator" is a 'must' cause if the mixure falls in your tank then you will end up with dead fish and milky water.

***Don't try this at Home:

Another cheapiest and "easiest" (for some people) way of producing CO2 is by adding Hydrochloric Acid to Marble dust.Old way but working perfectly!(only if you are good to chemicals).

I have order to try Saechem Flourish Excel which supposed to be something like liquid CO2,i 'll try it and post the results....


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

Xenon said:


> Judazzz said:
> 
> 
> > Very interesting, people
> ...


True: didn't even think of that...









On the other hand: as far as I know, CO2 from reactors is also just being released in the water: no high pressure or anything, so maybe mineral water still works, perhaps if premixed with more water?

But it's called mineral water for a reason: god knows what effect the other minerals, chemicals, salts etc. may have, or how to properly dose it...

btw: Jim, the only things I can create with chemicals is mild explosives and acids - I don't think it would be such a wise idea for me to start freestyling with chemicals in combination with my fish tanks...


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