# DIY Co2



## Guest (Dec 30, 2005)

So, Im making a DIY co2 tank out of a pop bottle, using the yeast-sugar method.

I poked a hole in lid, siliconed the tubing in, yada yada yada, now its sitting on the table drying for the night.

I was wondering, on the page I got the instructions from, it also mentioned that you can use the spare time of the night to allow your yeast and sugar to begin to start the process of creating co2. My question is, should I do this? Should I find another lid, poke a hole in it, and let the mixture go at it all night? Im not to keen on letting the co2 leak into my house, isnt it toxic?

Also, do those "Co2 FIZZ TABS" work?


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## rbp75 (May 2, 2004)

DannyBoy17 said:


> So, Im making a DIY co2 tank out of a pop bottle, using the yeast-sugar method.
> 
> I poked a hole in lid, siliconed the tubing in, yada yada yada, now its sitting on the table drying for the night.
> 
> ...


you can start the mixture and let it sit overnight leaking out, it is not anywhere near enough to do any harm. And no co2 it not toxic, you breath it out.

You DONOT want to cap it off without a hole in the cap or you will have created a co2 timebomb. What size tank are you useing it for? What I would do for my 75 is have 3 one gallon jugs and I would rotate them and redo one each week to keep the co2 output strong enough for my tank requirements. Im not sure which site you read from but To speed up the process of the reaction
use warm water 100-110F and you can have co2 in as little as a couple hours. Once the silicone is dry you can just hook the airline into your reactor as soon as you are finished mixing.


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## Guest (Dec 30, 2005)

rbp75 said:


> So, Im making a DIY co2 tank out of a pop bottle, using the yeast-sugar method.
> 
> I poked a hole in lid, siliconed the tubing in, yada yada yada, now its sitting on the table drying for the night.
> 
> ...


you can start the mixture and let it sit overnight leaking out, it is not anywhere near enough to do any harm. And no co2 it not toxic, you breath it out.

You DONOT want to cap it off without a hole in the cap or you will have created a co2 timebomb. What size tank are you useing it for? What I would do for my 75 is have 3 one gallon jugs and I would rotate them and redo one each week to keep the co2 output strong enough for my tank requirements. Im not sure which site you read from but To speed up the process of the reaction
use warm water 100-110F and you can have co2 in as little as a couple hours. Once the silicone is dry you can just hook the airline into your reactor as soon as you are finished mixing.
[/quote]

Oh ya









Ya, I already poked the hole, I dont need no timebombs taking out the left side of our building (over exaggerating obviously).

This is a 2L bottle for a 10g. And I dont have a reactor...







Im thinkin about putting the end of the tube in my filter so it mixes a bit in there. I think I will leave a good length of tube coiled on top of my carbon so that there is more mixing before it reaches the main tank. Sound good?

BTW, how many bubble do you think I need/min?


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## rbp75 (May 2, 2004)

> Oh ya
> 
> Ya, I already poked the hole, I dont need no timebombs taking out the left side of our building (over exaggerating obviously).
> 
> ...


That should work great for a 10 gal, You could put the tube in your filter (not sure what kind you have) but you may not need too much diffusion with a 10 gal. You could get a small airstone or what I did was buy one of those diy co2 at lfs and just use the bubble ladder, that works too if you dont mind spending $20 on a bubble ladder. whatever works best for you on achieving your desired co2 level. As far as bubbles per/sec, in my experience with diy co2 I could never get a consistant bubble count so I just based it on my mixture of yeast I would use to get the level of co2.

With a ten gallon you should start off with a 1/4 teaspoon of yeast and once it is producing co2 keep track of your ph several times a day and right before the lights go on also. If the co2 is too low use alittle more yeast and vice versa. another good tip is to have another bottle made a day or two before the co2 starts to loose its strength to have a fresh batch ready so there is no fluctuations in your ph when you need to change.

btw make sure if you havent already you have a kh reading of atleast 4 before using co2 to avoid major ph swings. Good luck bro.


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## Guest (Dec 30, 2005)

Cheers!

One more question: I have some Live Rock from my old SW tank available, little peices, which help buffer up alkalinity and hardness...would these be good to use to balance the tank and avoid massive drops? Or will they just cause more of a headache (massive pH spikes are a possibility Im thinkin).


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## rbp75 (May 2, 2004)

DannyBoy17 said:


> Cheers!
> 
> One more question: I have some Live Rock from my old SW tank available, little peices, which help buffer up alkalinity and hardness...would these be good to use to balance the tank and avoid massive drops? Or will they just cause more of a headache (massive pH spikes are a possibility Im thinkin).


Im not sure about that one, I have no experience with live rock or its buffering. You should definetly get a gh test kit (get the liquid kind with the glass viles if possible). If your using unfiltered tap water you should have some kh reading but to be safe get a tester. You will also need a kh and ph tester anyway if you want to measure the co2 in the water. This is very important to have if using co2.

One thing I should mention, In my other post I said to use warm water and you can hook it right to the tank, I should have added without a check valve when the water cools it may siphon the water out of the tank into the bottle causing a flood so either keep the bottle higher than the tank or use a check valve if you do that.


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

rbp75 got this covered, danny.. dont use the live rock. Plants appreciate the lower pH.

as far as reactor goes, put the tube at the end of a powerhead, and let the impeller chop it up, or some filter. (preferably PHead or cannister)
Also make sure you get a check valve so tank water doesn't backflow into your reactor


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## Guest (Dec 30, 2005)

So do Co2 tablets work?

Also, which kind of fert do I need to look for? Seachem? Kent? Any ingredients in particular? Tablets or liquids? I think I got Co2 and Lighting down, now I just need to finish the triangle.

I only ask because today I stood infront a wall of additives, and didnt feel like spending money on something that isnt known to work.


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## rbp75 (May 2, 2004)

DannyBoy17 said:


> So do Co2 tablets work?
> 
> Also, which kind of fert do I need to look for? Seachem? Kent? Any ingredients in particular? Tablets or liquids? I think I got Co2 and Lighting down, now I just need to finish the triangle.
> 
> I only ask because today I stood infront a wall of additives, and didnt feel like spending money on something that isnt known to work.


I never used co2 tabs but Im sure they work, I dont think you will need any though since you are using yeast. The ferts I use are flourish products, they are pricey but should last a very long time in a ten gallon. I would invest in some flourish, flourish iron, potassium and flourish excell for now until you get your plants established and growing. You may eventually need trace, phosphate, and nitrogen.

There are cheaper produuct than this and they do work but I can only recomend flourish since that is what I use. Dippy can give you more info on those.

The flourish and iron will be needed for the general nutrient requirements, the potassium helps plants consume the nutrients quicker makeing for faster growth. The excel is a sorce of carbon 
that plants need and do get it from the co2 but this gives it an extra boost without lowering the ph, it also is great for controling algae. The rest you may or maynot need depending on how heavely planted you tank is but after a while trace would be good to use. Me personally I use all except for nitrogen because my bioload from my fish keep my nitrates consistant.


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## Guest (Dec 31, 2005)

Thanks! I will probably have quite a bioload, Im never one to understock







Mostly just tetras tho, so it shouldnt be too bad!

Cheers! Ill grab some pics for you guys if you are interested. I still havent decided on what substrate I want to supplement my white sand with


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

DannyBoy17 said:


> Thanks! I will probably have quite a bioload, Im never one to understock
> 
> 
> 
> ...


You should use/get nitrate test kit, phosphate test kit, and don't allow either to bottom out. 5-25ppm, .5-2ppm perspectively.
I agree with rbp75 on flourish products if you want to find out if planted tanks are your bag, or if you have $$ to spend. www.gregwatson.com has hands down the best* long terrm *price on plant ferts on the planet. for a small tank up to 40g PMDD will work if you don't overstock fish. If you want to overstock, I suggest individual nutrients. 
Plantex CSM+B (flourish comp is better, but to save $), cheleated iron(flourish iron is better, but pff), mono potassium phosphate (1lb bag will last 10 years or so..), potassium nitrate, and potassium sulfate. flourish excell if you plan on higher light (overdose a bit)
mix with distilled water, DL a nutrient calculator like chuck gads, and blammo. (flourish is easier lol)
IMO, I would dump the sand out back, and buy a bag of Soilmaster Select 'charcoal' much better for your plants then sand ever could be. Sand will work, but not optimum. it is inert. Just my .02$


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## Guest (Dec 31, 2005)

Looks like I have a lot of work and a lot of cash ahead of me


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## rbp75 (May 2, 2004)

DannyBoy17 said:


> Looks like I have a lot of work and a lot of cash ahead of me










not really, like I said with a 10 gallon you can probably get close to a year on a bottle of flourish.


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