DIY C02

[orientmatt]

Being the boring sod that I am with nothing better to do on a friday night, I decided to make a DIY C02 system, regardless of whether I really need one or not. For once I've managed to find everything I need to make something in the house ( without having to go and buy something, making this ultra cheap), even if I did have to go down the recycling bin for a old coke bottle and down the kitchen bin to find the cap!

I didnt have any silicone sealant though so I had to empty the cupboard under the stairs to find the gluegun. Dont know if this will work but I see no reason why it shouldn't. I'm just waiting for this to dry at the moment before I can set it all up.

Anyway, as a thought, I was going to use one of the caps that you get on the 'sports' drink bottles, you know the kind with the plastic bit that you pull upwards before you can drink. By pulling off the bit that moves upwards and pushing the tube onto the cap, I figured I wouldnt have to make a hole or use any sealant, but the tubing was too small to fit over the cap. Has anyone else done this, as it would mean making one of these even easier.

 

[orientmatt]

Its all dry now, but how the hell do I connect it to the filter outlet bit. I've got a fluval 3+

edit: I'm so stupid I've worked it out now

 

[shuhu]

do you have any pics of it

 

[orientmatt]

Got a few pics. Dunno how much help they'll be though, cos I presume I've done it the same way as anybody else. (Hope these pics work)

This is what I mean by the 'sports' cap. By taking the top bit off, you could just push the tube straight on.

Thats the bottle I've set up.

Thats how I've connected it to the filter, if you can see it...

And just for luck one of the tank looking a bit ragged(No thanks to a destructive pleco)

 

[shuhu]

thanks, its a little blurry but it always helps to see it in order to get more ideas from different people

 

[Terrorbyte]

Being the boring sod that I am with nothing better to do on a friday night, I decided to make a DIY C02 system, regardless of whether I really need one or not. For once I've managed to find everything I need to make something in the house ( without having to go and buy something, making this ultra cheap), even if I did have to go down the recycling bin for a old coke bottle and down the kitchen bin to find the cap!

I didnt have any silicone sealant though so I had to empty the cupboard under the stairs to find the gluegun. Dont know if this will work but I see no reason why it shouldn't. I'm just waiting for this to dry at the moment before I can set it all up.

Anyway, as a thought, I was going to use one of the caps that you get on the 'sports' drink bottles, you know the kind with the plastic bit that you pull upwards before you can drink. By pulling off the bit that moves upwards and pushing the tube onto the cap, I figured I wouldnt have to make a hole or use any sealant, but the tubing was too small to fit over the cap. Has anyone else done this, as it would mean making one of these even easier.

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I used hot glue myself for my first DIY CO2 setup, worked fine as long as I was very careful with the bottle. The hot glue will not bond securely to the bottle cap...nothing bonds very well to polyethylene (material that bottle caps are made of).

I modified my DIY system according to this guide -- very detailed and probably has more information than you will need (be patient as it takes a long time to load the page), but I highly recommend purchasing the "fourmost bulkhead fittings" as shown here -- grab a drill and a 5/32" bit and you can easily drill the appropriate holes into the bottle cap and screw in the fittings for a really good mechanical seal. I also recommend using the "gas separator", which entails using a smaller 16 or 20oz soda bottle attached to the 2L bottle for safer operation of the DIY soda bottle CO2 system.

Just a couple of suggestions in addition to what the aforementioned guide covers...make sure you use a decent diffuser mechanism -- the intake valve of a power filter (if you already have one, just use that) works just fine as the impeller effectively disolves the CO2 into the water. In my experience I've found that a mixture of 2 cups of sugar and 1 teaspoon (in the 2L bottle, 3/4 full of water) of yeast produces a consistent amount of CO2 for 2-3 weeks. Use luke warm (around 80-85 degrees F) water to get your yeast activated quickly, and shake the bottle really well to ensure that adequate O2 gets into the mixture.

 

[mr.dark-saint]

Who would've thunk it. Making a CO2 injector and make beer at the same time.

 

[prankster705]

What about compressed CO2, aren't those units kind of costy.
I just tought that you could buy like a valve or something that would get on the CO2 can and a hose from that to the powerhead, shouldn't cost you more than 5 $ without the can. what do you think of it, it would certainly be a lot cheaper.

 

[ncjharris]

Looks good.

A CO2 injector is my next project I think.

You didn't say what you've got in the bottle?

 

[orientmatt]

Well I've just got the usual sugar, yeast mixture, but to be honest I cant say that my measurements were exactly accurate. I mean, it depends on what your veiw cup is doesn't it. I put one cup of sugar in and thought it was loads, so i left it at that. And half a teaspoon of yeast like what i read didnt seem much at all soi put more in. It seems to be doing fine so I guess most of it is down to personal opinion really.

 

[BigC]

You'll end up going pressurised once you start going down this path.

 

[orientmatt]

I doubt it cos I'm skint.
I dont really understand all the pressurised stuff anyway. Have to do some more reading methinks...

 

[Ryeguy]

could you maybe heat up the endof the hose a little and it might stretch better...nice idea though

 

[orientmatt]

I did think of that but I didn't want to risk totally destroying the tube (I know what I'm like ) But even with that I doubt it would have fitted over. So to make this work I reckon you would have to have either a larger bit of pipe or a smaller sports cap. It would save a hell of a lot of time with not having to bugger about with silicone/glue though.

 

[soggysandwich]

here is another way you can do it. http/forums.fishindex.com/showthread.php...1&highlight=co2