DIY CO2

MGoerke

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 12, 2010
29
0
0
Bay Area
Well kjfan1 's videos convinved me that if you can do it i can do it! so i had 90% of the stuff i needed just went & got yeast & check valves & silisoned it all together lastnight & mixed it up today! I did buy 2 diff kinda of yeast i got fleischmann's yeast both a set of "Active Dry Yeast" and "RapidRise Yeast" Reading the pack the Active dry is good from 100-110degf the rapid is 120-130deg f, i just happened to grab the rapid rise, but heated it to 100 like kifan said then read the back so i put 140deg h2o in, (4 cups of 100deg = 2 cups of 140 deg)

I made it kinda weird i made 4 cups h2o with 2 cups white sugar heated to 105 then put air stone in while i stired up & dissolved sugar, then mixed in yeast & let it air bubble for 2-3 minutes, put in bottle, read it needed hotter water so i made 2 cups of 140 deg h2o and 1 teaspoon of Bisquick (don't ask why i just did) & air bubbled it & mixed it then pout air stone in container & poured in new mix, within 20-30 min i have 100 or more BPM it is hooked up to a bubble counter then to diffuser (ceramic kind) watching close for fish gasping, i just have a HOB filter decent circulation but diffuser is in back not directly in circulation. I hope this slows down i assume its cause i got the rapid kind, i think next i wanna try Gatorade powder mix? any one try it? I dun figure i can loose too much just 1 pack of yeast and a few minutes mixing! any tips?
p.s. yes i am watching fish gasp for air, if i keep up this high bpm i will put a "T" with a bleeder valve to release some co2 2 night!
 

MGoerke

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 12, 2010
29
0
0
Bay Area
Ok, so i didn't mean to get that many BPM it was in the 120-150 range, it was insane, my PH crashed down to 6.4 after about 3 hours so i pulled the hose & am just letting it vent for the night. i will try and have to mess with it tomorrow & just hope the mix stabilizes a little lower. I got my PH back up to 6.8/7.0 area (i am usually in 7.0/7.2 area) i also threw an air pump bubblier in there for safety for the night.

So the empty bottle was a 2nd bottle i made it is a 3litre bottle i believe the one that is white with yeast mix is a 2 liter i believe, the bubble counter/ gas separator was a .90c bottle i got at the store, but i meant to have it filled with filter floss to filter the CO2 to make sure no mix gets in the tank, then i had a bubble count & gas exchanger hooked up to it but the seal didnt hold on that & the space it needed just wasn't there. so i took out the filter floss & just made that a bubble counter & separator.

What you think? i want a "t" or splitter with valves so i can swap out bottles but i didn't pick any up 2 the LFS cause i thought i had some 2 home but couldn't find them. I now want to get a 2nd port on the bottle so can release some pressure, kind alike a control knob but let the pressure vent not hold it back?! Has anyone ever filtered the co2 or is that jsut a bit overboard? i mean the cost is just an empty water bottle so no cost there jsut time to put together again!

p.s. that is a ceramic diffuser, i think i ma stay with it, and that was on the low side of bubbles, i had the tube off for the past 2-3 hours when i quickly hooked it up for the pic.

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MGoerke

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 12, 2010
29
0
0
Bay Area
Awe crud! i just realized my mistake! I used 1 whole packet of yeast! Well i saw the print on the front 1 packet is 1/4 oz 9 somehow got that mixed up with tsp, well 1/4 oz is 2 1/4 tsp! hehe well ima have to re make it tomorrow! What about a loser sugar content? anyone got input? like 1 cup not 2?
 

kjfan1

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Dec 31, 2009
1,432
0
66
Central Iowa
www.djiowa.com
No input on the lower sugar content. I love your tank though. Great looking plants. I wonder why you didn't put the tube through the lid? I will post more later gtg/.
 

epond83

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Nov 10, 2009
801
53
61
Duvall, WA
Less sugar means less food so you will probably not get as long a run.

From what i've heard you do not want to aerate the mix while you are making it. Yest consume nutrients (like sugar) and reproduce while they have oxygen. When yest run out of oxygen they switch and break apart nutrients to get what they need and release CO2 this is why it takes a while for bubbles to start to appear.

The rapid rise is not good cause as you saw it makes a ton of bubbles but probably whould not have lasted very long.
 

kjfan1

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Dec 31, 2009
1,432
0
66
Central Iowa
www.djiowa.com
You should try again with some red star yeast if you can find it. Try it with a 2 liter. and 2 cups sugar.

You put forth a great experiment but it failed lol.
 

MGoerke

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 12, 2010
29
0
0
Bay Area
Ok i tried again tonight, used regular yeast but 1/2 tsp, 1 1/2 cup sugar (will try 2 next time) i aerated water while mixing, again something i will NOT do next time and see my results. it has been about 2 hours and it seams to start to create CO2, i see that some of you leave your lid off for 2- or so hours, is there any reason? i am gonna cap mine in the morning when i get up & let it run into the gas exchange/counter & vent from there till i get home from work then i will hook it up and watch it.

Epond83 thanks for that bit about yeast & what it is doing, i was just thinking of working something up so it can aerate @ night but i will let that go with the info ou gave me!

kjfan1 thanks about the plants, they look much better tonight, tank has settled down a bit. i have soil for my substrate, i really wanted a "low tech" tank but got hooked on excel & flourish, then saw the yeast co2 diffuser for $40 i think & came home & looked & DIY then saw your video & said i gotta try! Those plants have been in there for 4-5 months, its a 36gallon bow front. about 1.7wpg T5 HO, 31wx2. i dun remember what exact bulbs in there anymore but something like the 10,000 and 6,700 from coralife. (may not be exact bulbs i just listed just what i recall)

Oh & that is just about 2 liters, i like it cause it is harder plastic that a 2 liter & easier to pour stuff into. as far as tubes on side not top, i dunno, i was thinking i didn't care for them on top & i would be concerned about breaking a seal on the top not thinking that when i clean it it may be a bigger pain. ohwell, only time will tell! I didn't see anything wrong with it & it is always something i can mess with in the future! Plastic bottles are everywhere, i am sure i will re do it again! I re did this 2-3x b4 i sealed it up!
 
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