# DIY CO2 system



## carisma02uk (Aug 1, 2004)

hi just thought i would give you a quick and easy DIY CO2 system setup guide,

i will do this in easy step by step sections so that even xenon could do it,,
(sorry mate).

EQUIPMENT LIST:
2-3 Liter 'PLASTIC' bottle,
1 tube of silicone,
air line,
sugar,
yeast,
water,
bicarbonated soda,
powdered protein shake mix,
air diffuser. (to micro size the bubbles.)

OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT SECTION:
POWERHEAD OR SMALL PUMP (a indoor water feature pump works fine)
and a piece of plastic hose to fit on to the pump.
THE STEP BY STEP GUIDE:

1.
take the lid of your bottle and burn or drill a hole through the top section the diamiter of your air line.

2.
push the air line into the hole and silicone into place this should be left to dry,
and it dose need to be air tight so i would double up on the silicone just to be sure.

3.
IF YOU ARE USING A POWERHEAD OR NO PUMP AT ALL SKIP TO STEP 4.
take the hose that fits your pump and cut off a 3'' piece,
then make a hole through one side only the same size as your air line.
i used a very hot phlips screwdriver for both the lid and air line,
this will create a venturi which will pull the CO2 through into the tank.

4.
the mix:
ok now in a DRY bowl add:
1 cup of sugar
3/4 tsp of yeast,
2 tsp of protein shake
1 tsp of bicarbonated soda

5.
once your silicone has dryed then add the per-mixed dry contents to the bottel,

6.
now you are ready to get going,
connect the pipe to the pump or air line to Powerhead, or into the tank if not using any pump system.

7.
add warm water to your mix approx 3/4 of the bottle full,
the water is best at around 104*F,
fix on the top and off you go.

8.
turn on your powerhead/ pump and let it flow away.

i hope you find this easy and straight forward.
you can turn the powerhead/ pump off at night as plants produce thier own CO2 source then.

hope you like JON>>


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## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

Exact recipe I'm using,

Nice walkthrough


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## carisma02uk (Aug 1, 2004)

cheers mate i was using this recipe and then saw your post thought id do a walkthrough to get pined as they only have a pressurised.
i am working on one at the moment that gives an perfect mix between o2 for the fish and co2 for the plants.........
it seems to be going ok for now im getting a mate to take some gas level readings when i have finished to see if it is a success.
i thought that if the two dint cancel each other out in the atmosphere why not use pressurised 02 (an restriced air pump) to pressurise the CO2 container and deliver conentrated CO2 and O2 mix.....
lets ee how it goes al keep you updated....
JON>>


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## Kohan Bros. (Aug 24, 2004)

very nice i might give it a try on my 75. looks like a good DIY project


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## carisma02uk (Aug 1, 2004)

ITS SO EASY THE HARDEST BIT IS SEALING OF THE BOTTLE TOP TO BE AIR TIGHT IT MAY TAKE A FEW DAYS TO DO BUT IF YOU GET IT RIGHT FORM THE START YOUR OFF I WILL POST I NEW DIY FOR MY O2 AND CO2 PRESURISED SYSTEM SOON...


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## hiphopn (Feb 10, 2005)

a guy at my lfs said he tryed this and the pressure in the bottle became so intense it blew. now after reading all this i dont know if i beleive him


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## hiphopn (Feb 10, 2005)

carisma02uk said:


> hi just thought i would give you a quick and easy DIY CO2 system setup guide,
> 
> i will do this in easy step by step sections so that even xenon could do it,,
> (sorry mate).
> ...


what is bicarbonated soda?


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## carisma02uk (Aug 1, 2004)

bicarbonated soda= baking soda,
it buufers the PH to stop flucuations.
the only it would blow up is if the mix was too strong and the gas had no ample ecsape routs.
if it can escpae ok youl be fine....


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## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

hiphopn said:


> a guy at my lfs said he tryed this and the pressure in the bottle became so intense it blew. now after reading all this i dont know if i beleive him
> [snapback]926105[/snapback]​


That would only happen if the gas couldn't flow out the tube for whatever reason. Worst case scenario, if it did "blow" the top would just pop off, it wouldn't blow a hole through your fish stand or anything. And even then, I just cant imagine how it would happen


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## Kohan Bros. (Aug 24, 2004)

do u have any pics of this it looks like something i might give a try this weekend


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## carisma02uk (Aug 1, 2004)

i will try and get some,
i think TWITCH has soem in his planted tank journal.


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## Kohan Bros. (Aug 24, 2004)

ok ill take i look over there


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## Gumby (Aug 13, 2004)

2 things... If you're in an area where you already have hard/high pH water, the baking soda may not be necessary. Here in Georgia we have to add it or the mix is done within a day or two.

Two.... Twicho, when you said "Worst case scenario, if it did "blow" the top would just pop off, it wouldn't blow a hole through your fish stand or anything. And even then, I just cant imagine how it would happen"

Are you talking about drilled cap or regular cap?

If you're talking regular cap, I beg to differ... ever done a dry ice bomb?
Don't underestimate the power of a 2 liter bottle under extreme pressure


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## dopper3 (Sep 5, 2004)

I read that you guys take it out at night, how do you do this? do you just unscrew the cap from the pop bottle?


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## KangolBrand (Jul 15, 2004)

Does this co2 thing have any effect on a rhom???? Im thining about a planted tank in my 125 gallon tank.... how effective is this thing? Do you have plans for a bigger one for big tanks like mine? Thanks for teh wounderful steps/help.


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## carisma02uk (Aug 1, 2004)

ranas are low oxygen fish so they will be fine just keep an eye on your levels.


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## spree_rider (Mar 20, 2004)

carisma02uk said:


> ranas are low oxygen fish so they will be fine just keep an eye on your levels.
> [snapback]973439[/snapback]​


co2 and o2 are not exclusive of eachother, you can have high co2 levels and high 02 levels. the only problem is that co2 becomes poisonous at high levels , somewhere above 40ppm. or higher for piranha.


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## iam7617115 (Apr 13, 2005)

Where do I get an air diffuser?


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