Diy Co2

[mr130gallon]

i believe i have read a DIY CO2 topic in this forum before, but i cant find the thread anymore with the search engine. does anyone know how to do DIY CO2 with a fire extinguisher?

 

[furry catfish]

I asked the same question on a differant forum(except without the fire extinguisher here is the link

 

[mr130gallon]

thanks furry catfish

 

[OldMan47]

You do DIY CO2 with yeast and sugar mixes. A fire extinguisher can be used for pressurized CO2 instead of the DIY approach. When I did my homework on using a fire extinguisher, I figured out that a standard 10 lb bottle was about the same final price and was much easier to find parts for and to refill. The only time I would consider a fire extinguisher adapter is if I already owned the extinguisher. Adapters can be found on places like E-bay for use with extinguishers.

 

[mr130gallon]

crap, i put it in my tank then i went to go to hockey practice and i came back and my tank is all dirty, some of the yeast and stuff got in the tank, though its clearing up a bit now plus i usually do a water change on sundays so it should be clean tomorrow, but i didnt get a checkvalve, but i put something on it so the liquid doesnt come out for some reason, but the CO2 does. i hope it continues to work

 

[OldMan47]

To avoid getting any of the sugar, water and yeast mix into your tank, put a small bottle between the CO2 mix and the tank. Any small amounts that go down the tube toward the tank will just get trapped in the bottle and nothing but CO2 will go through the next section of hose to the tank. A check valve is to prevent water from the tank being drawn back into your yeast mix. It will not help keep the mix out of the tank.

 

[mr130gallon]

To avoid getting any of the sugar, water and yeast mix into your tank, put a small bottle between the CO2 mix and the tank. Any small amounts that go down the tube toward the tank will just get trapped in the bottle and nothing but CO2 will go through the next section of hose to the tank. A check vale is to prevent water from the tank being drawn back into your yeast mix. It will not help keep the mix out of the tank.

ok, ill do that, i hate when the tank gets all messy

 

[BigFairy]

yeah just add a small secondary plastic bottle (ie 500mL coke) between the main reservoir and tank. It will act as a sump.

 

[mr130gallon]

its working now, i just need to get a ladder or something to make the co2 stay submerged longer so it can dissolve better, any ideas?

 

[OldMan47]

You could definitely use a ladder, they seem to work fairly well with DIY setups. I use a porous wood air stone as a diffuser. I think they call it limewood.

 

[mr130gallon]

ok... i encountered a problem, it worked quite well for the first... 20 or so hours, but now i dont see any bubbles, i might need to silicone the tubes in place to prevent them from letting the small amount of co2 escape. but still, why isnt i working so well anymore? do you have to add something else other than warm water, yeast, and sugar?

 

[OldMan47]

As the solution cools, the reaction will slow down. The yeast is a living organism and does better when it is warm, not hot. Depending on the water that you are using, you may need a small pinch of bicarb to keep the pH of the sugar mix from dropping. It is the reason that some recipes include baking soda in the mix. I found that I could get a better seal on a bottle by making the holes smaller than they should be and cutting the air hose at an angle so that I could stick the pointed end through the undersized hole. I grab that bit that is sticking through with some long nose pliers and pull the tubing through. The seal is tight with no adhesives because the tubing is constantly trying to expand to its original diameter and is pressed very tight against the hole.

 

[mr130gallon]

whats bicarb? is that the same as baking soda? and how much should i add.

i tried the small hole thing but ones of them i made a bit bigger, so the tube wasnt tight but still isnt loose.

 

[OldMan47]

Sorry Mr130 it is bicarbonate of soda, sodium bicarbonate or baking soda. They are just 3 ways of referring to the the same chemical. I never used it in my recipe because I use high pH, high KH, hard water to make mine and I don't need it. I just checked a few recipes at a planted tank site and they are saying 1/4 teaspoon of bicarb for a mix using 2 cups of sugar. If you are totally metric, that is about 1.25 ml of bicarb. Not much is it?

 

[mr130gallon]

definetly not metric lol. so 2 cups of sugar, 1/4 of bicarb and how much water and yeast?