Making A DIY C02 Unit and C02 Mixture Article

[scrubaholics]

dumb question - so u hook up a simple airstone to the end of it and put it in your tank? does it make bubbles? not really sure how it works after u mix up the bottle.

[depthC]

Yeah it produces C02 gas which come out as bubbles. You could hook it up to a airstone and put it in the tank but it wont diffuse much of the C02. So do a little research on better diffusion methods and youll be set.

- depthC

[TurbineSurgeon]

Somonas said:

I dont use a bubble counter. In my opinion a bubble counter is an unnecessary failure point.

I use a 1/2 liter bottle with a tube that goes to within a half inch or so of the bottom on the input side, and just a barb on the output side to catch any crud that might enter the tubing and potentially the aquarium. I just noticed on this last fillup that it foamed more than usual, and some yeasty watery sweet stuff got deposited in the bottle. It would have gone into the tank without it.

[tankbuster69]

I used a different cap on my CO2 bottle. I used the squirt cap from a Clear Mountain water bottle and put it on a 2 liter Pepsi and it fit like a charm. I then drilled a hole in the center and popped off the piece that slides up and down. I then used a heat gun on one end of the silicone tubing and slid over the piece with the hole in it. I then slid the piece that slides up and down from the other end back into place but extended like it was open. Because of the tubing that now blocks where water used to come out of the nozzle, air can only come out of the tubing and thus I didn't have to use any of my silicone sealant and was able to use it immediately! Hopefully I might be able to post a better description next time

[littlecobra1977]

could you inactuallity connect an air pump to the bottle at a low PSI. to force the CO2 out under pressure. and if set low enough towards the bottom of the bottle act as a constant agitator to keep the yeast and sugar stirred up. i was asking cuz i have an air pump and am going to try this DIY CO2 set up but was asking because i have read that others are worried about it not produsing the bubbles . and i understand that with the pump you would not know if it was doing its job or not but all it takes is too shut down the air flow to the bottle to check. any comments??

[bigfoot150]

With an air pump hooked up you will get more "air" than CO2. The air that you pump in is not going to displace the CO2 because CO2 is "air" or, more technically, gas. So all you will be doing is pumping air thru the bottle.

Also agitating the yeast with an air stone would be couter-productive imo. The yeast would have a harder time taking in sugars due to the constant movement thus producing less CO2.

[littlecobra1977]

ok thanks .

[Flex26]

If you are running a power filter just stick the tubing into the intake and the impellar will dissolve the C02 very well.

Hey, DepthC. Do you have a picture of the tubing going into the filter and intake?

[depthC]

Nope sorry Flex i dont have one. Its really not that significant, but when i get my cam back later tonight ill be able to take a quick shot for ya.

.depthc

[bigfoot150]

Ok I knew I had this pic somewhere. Here is my filter intake.