# dirt cheap co2 mechanisim



## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

well, as with many of you i have some plants in my 30g tank and im wanting to put in co2 but dont have the money to buy a co2 canister, bubble counter, difuser, needle vaulve, ect. so the following is a simple diy fail proof co2 system. all of this literitally costed me $2 because all i had to buy was the pop and bubble line.

first you need to gather all the materials

~2 litre bottle
~13/64" drill bit(give or take a little)
~4 or more feet of air line
~sealant(best to use silicone caulking)


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## BASSFISHERMAN (Feb 22, 2004)

how does it work?


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## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

drill the cap of the bottle. i used a 13/64" bit, but if you dont have this bit, try to go up and up in drill bit size starting from the smallest to find the best fit.


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## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

edit: double post


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## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

put bubble line in the hole and have it so it is in the bottle by about 1"


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## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

use sealant on the inside and outside of the cap(if you decide to use rubber cement like me, you will need to tape it up some just for safety.


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## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

this is the step i havent done yet

gather following items

1/2 tsp yeast
warm water about 85 or so degrees(enough to reach top of lable)
2 cups granulated sugar.

pour sugar and yeast in bottle using a funnle. next add warm water and shake untill disolved.


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## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

and the last step:

take the little cone filterer thing on a powerhead or powerfilter and drill a hole in the bottom of it. next insert the bubble line into it. this will disperce the co2 well because the impeller is ripping the bubble into tiny pieces; making it disolve easier.


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## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

how it works:

yeast is a living organisim which is "activated" by water. once alive, like all orginisims it needs to eat. therefore it consumes the sugar and as a byproduct it produces co2 at a steady rate.

maitenence:

the mixture will last around 3 weeks and is suited for a 30g tank. different mixtures can be made with more yeast will last a shorter period and produce more co2. the bottle should be shaken every few days to keep it producing co2

hey jim, i beat you to this topic, so


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## BASSFISHERMAN (Feb 22, 2004)

very interesting...maybe I'll give it a try


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## Pterogho (Feb 8, 2004)

Yup! This is the true old-school way.









It's works, but I'll recommend only using it in relation to tanks with with a relative high carbonate hardness, as it is hard to controll what amount of CO2 this equipment produces, and disconnect it from your tank at night where CO2-supplement isn't needed.

Also note, that it is not irrelevant what kind of yeast you're using, as besides Co2 they also produce alcohol, which diferent kind of yeast have different tolerance for.

Yeasts used for wine-making tolerates up to around 20% alcohol, while ordinary baking-yeast only stands around 10%.


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## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

should i unplug it at night???????? and yes, i heard that brewers yeast has higher acahol tolerence. and when youre done with the mix after 3 weeks, you can drink it and get drunk.


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## Pterogho (Feb 8, 2004)

Plants do not take up CO2 when the lights are out/ the sun has set.

They actually respirate and give out CO2 themselves, if you continue to add CO2 during this period, you may experience a quite dramatic, and potential fatal, drop in Ph.

I'm sadly writing out of personal experience.









I simply forgot turn off the CO2 one evening, and the next morning every fish was to be mentioned in past tence only.

A magnet-valve is a very good invesment.


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## Husky_Jim (May 26, 2003)

Great work illnino!!!!!







But as i have told before *ALWAYS* be aware of your tank's chemistry when using CO2 without a PH-Valve.
Note that you didn't put a bouble counter on your system which is nessesary and you didn't put baker soda in the mixure which helps you to stabilize the chemical reaction.

A DIY Yeast-Sugar Co2 article will be added by the end of this week,with complete pics and drawings.


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## smithgrind_who (Mar 26, 2004)

husky_jim said:


> Note that you didn't put a bouble counter on your system which is nessesary and you didn't put baker soda in the mixure which helps you to stabilize the chemical reaction.
> 
> A DIY Yeast-Sugar Co2 article will be added by the end of this week,with complete pics and drawings.


Sweet husky_jim! I can't wait to read it.


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## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

he is always a little late, he put that down 2 weeks ago


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## mshaughnessy (Sep 22, 2003)

do you have to get a new bunch of yeast every three weeks, or can you just use a little of the old stuff? 
Also why do you need a bubble counter?


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## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

use the old stuff. i dont use a bubble counter, i just put it in my powerfilter intake and it disolves it well.


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## Guru (Apr 20, 2004)

Would it be possible to put the tube into the venturi of the powerhead.


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## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

yes, that way is easer. i have mine going in the intake of my powerfilter.


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## Guru (Apr 20, 2004)

Does the tube have to be more then 4 feet for it to work well. I have 2 and a half feet of left over tubiing that I can spare. Is it enough tubing?


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## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

if that can reach from your floor to your powerfilter, then yes it is. but bubble line is only $1 for 8 feet...


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## Guru (Apr 20, 2004)

Yea I know i just had all the supplys around and wanted to try it out.


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## ViBE (Jul 22, 2003)

That stuff is dangerous!

Its dangerous because its uncontrollable. Different yeast mixture have different chemicals in them. And even worst, you can't control the amount of bubbles or centration of the CO2.

Don't mess around unless you're sure people, they can kill your piranhas, just like they did to mine.


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## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

i take mine out at night when plants dont take in the co2, and i have a safe bubbles per second rate


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