Aquascaping World Forum - Equipment

DIY CO2 Ideas

MrCodexx — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 17:12:38 GMT

I have been researching the whole DIY CO2 thing before I go ahead a do it I began researching the fermentation process and exactly what it involves. First of all my setup will involve 2 1 liter desani bottles and a dorm fridge sized soda bottle. the yeast solution will be in the desani bottles with two hoses going to a T connector and a hose going to the soda bottle and a hose from the soda bottle to the aquarium. I plan on using a airstone in the aquarium to diffuse the co2 in the water.

Now for my actual question. I read that the production of alcohol can be curbed by oxidizing the solution (or introducing oxygen to the mixture some where). I began thinking the ways in which this can be accomplished for the DIY co2 application. Here is my hypothesis, could the introduction of an airstone to each bottle connected to an air pump be enough to oxygenate the mixture and stop the production of the alcohol. now if this were to be done I do understand that there would be some extra pressure in each of the bottle and assuming that the bottles wont explode then there would just be a increase in co2 flow rate to the aquarium. so for some main points

1. would this actually stop the production of alcohol.

2.would the pressure be too much for the bottles.

3. would the mixture of co2 and oxygen in to aquarium through the hose at the same time hurt or help.

4. how long would the yeast actually survive assuming that you replenished the food (sugar). or if you didnt.

any added suggestions or thought would really help. (dont bash me if this is on the forum already)

[DIY] Inline Diffuser for Yeast CO2

SuperWen — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 20:54:50 GMT

it's very simple, only put the diffuser into canister output hose

working great at my 1gal tank (inline with RESUN CY-20 Mini Canister and 0.5bps yeast CO2)

sorry for the bad quality video, uploading the high quality video from my place will take a very long time because oh the bad bandwith :(

DIY Inline Diffuser for Yeast CO2

10 gal lite recomendation

jft — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 14:15:16 GMT

what recommendations for lighting a 10 gal plant tank please?:%3

working gauge staying at 1 bar/15 psi & not moving

sepehr — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 06:35:33 GMT

Hi, this morning I finally installed my Red Sea CO2 Pro System & it was rather easy. It includes a dual gauge regulator, needle valve, Reactor 500 (diffuser), & a bubble counter. I turned the reactor on & it started smoothly. Since I dont have a solenoid valve, for now I have to shut it off manually. First I turned the needle valve off & the bubbles stopped flowing then I closed the working pressure valve but to my surprise it was still showing 1 bar/15psi. In fact I tried opening it more and it still remained at 1 bar. While I turned the gauge all the way anticlockwise, I gradually opened the needle valve again & bubbles started flowing again into the bubble counter so this proves that the CO2 was still being extracted from the cylinder eventhough I turned the pressure regulator off. So what gives? Does this mean the only way I can stop the flow of CO2 is by closing the needle valve itself & not the regulator? And whats wrong with the regulator? Am I doing something wrong? I'll appreciate it a lot if you guys could shine some light into this.

TIA

Rate my CO2! (video inside)

Dabrits — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:11:00 GMT

So I'm extremely new to the planted portion of aquariums. I've kept fish before, but now with more plants and bigger goals comes more hurdles and different dynamics.

I've pieced together a DIY CO2 setup and I would like some feedback, but first some info.

It is a 29G/110L tank. The substrate is Caribsea flora-max (black) substrate. I currently only keep 1x Golden Algae Eater (will most likely add ~12 neon tertras later). I have a standard overhand filter, heater and an airstone with pump. My lighting is low. I have 1x 20w flora-glo bulb.

The plants I have are really only some Corkscrew Val and some Mondo grass (which will be removed shortly).

My CO2 hangs on the side of the tank, goes through a one-way valve and is piped underneath the caribsea and is outlet through an air stone in the midst of all the CV. Here is a video of the setup.

What I want to know, is this enough CO2 for my tank? Does it seem like the CO2 dispersion is effective?

Thanks!

How do I position my spray bar?

sepehr — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 03:23:32 GMT

Hi,

I have a 100 gallon (396L) tank...89 gallons ACTUAL that's been running with 400 GPH (1600 LPH) canister filter for about a month now. Today I added a couple of driftwoods & planted some Rotalas & anubias. I noticed that the spray bar flow is making the rotalas bend to a 45 degree angle. So I set the intake outlet to 50% of its capacity & the rotalas recuperated & were slightly dancing to the ''breeze''. Now the canister is filtering approx. at 200 GPH which is slightly over 2 times more than the volume of the tank (89 gallons) compared to its full force at 400 GPH which would make it 4.5 times. Ive heard many people have their GPH ratio EVEN 5 times more than their tank's volume!!! How do they manage to do that without having all their stem plants bending all the way to the side or the foreground?:ehhh: As I mentioned before I set the intake flow at 50% & the rotalas are gently moving. By the way, I have my spray bar set on the right side (short side) of the tank & the current is flowing all the way across the lenght. I have no fish as of yet & to make things more complicated Im getting a Red Sea CO2 Pro System this coming Saturday & I have no idea where to place the diffuser:ehhh:

TIA

PS: Spray bar is installed 5 inches below the water surface.

External Filter help

Nilsj — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 09:05:20 GMT

Hey everybody,

I have a 30 liter tank that has a Aquatic nature filter,
the one that hangs on the side of the tank.

Now i noiticed that the condition of my water is not stable,
there i have to much nitrite (alge problems) i need to add material this will not work in this filer.

What is a good external filter ? i have been looking at the
Eheim 2030 i know it's a bit overkill but beter to big that to small.
never know when i'm going for a biger tank.

Thx for the comment

Mvg
Nils

DIY Cheap Lamp stand for small aqua

gyafitr — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 12:59:37 GMT

its cost me just about four bucks,,:rock:

Just want to share:-"