Making A DIY C02 Unit and C02 Mixture Article
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120 gallon
I'm running a 120 gallon tank and have just set up 2 bottles with this method and will setup another 2 in a few days. Should the 4 be enough? I’m wondering if any one has any ideas for a way to diffuse without going through a filter as I am using a canister filter. At the moment the tubing is just about 5" into the tank and the bubbles are coming out and floating to the top. They are on the side of my tank with no surface agitation. Should this work or there a better way?
Thanks *SUPERSMIL
I'm running a 120 gallon tank and have just set up 2 bottles with this method and will setup another 2 in a few days. Should the 4 be enough? I’m wondering if any one has any ideas for a way to diffuse without going through a filter as I am using a canister filter. At the moment the tubing is just about 5" into the tank and the bubbles are coming out and floating to the top. They are on the side of my tank with no surface agitation. Should this work or there a better way?
Thanks *SUPERSMIL
Yea I have the same question as the last few people who posted. I just hooked up my diy co2 and am waiting for it to start bubbling to show me its working. Since the CO2 does not displace the oxygen, I guess I dont have to worry about my fish getting poisoned by an abundance of CO2? Is that true? Then all I have to worry about is sudden drops in pH.
EDIT: Hooray, 2 hours later and it's starting to bubble. I didnt use any sealant so I was thinking it wouldn't work.
EDIT: Hooray, 2 hours later and it's starting to bubble. I didnt use any sealant so I was thinking it wouldn't work.
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I had a DIY CO2 injector for about 2 years (got the idea here, but don't remember my old log in name), moved, didn't use an injector for about a year, and now I'm setting up another one.
The only problem I have seen with these (and it was only a visual problem, no fish loss, tank chem not off by too much... shockingly) is as follows:
I used a special air stone that was designed to produce fine bubbles for CO2 injector systems. I put that under the intake to my filter and 99% of the bubbles were sucked in. I noticed a DRASTIC growth in all my plants... amazing.
The problem was that my air stone got clogged after I took about a week off the CO2.
I put the mixture back in the 2Liter bottle, screwed on the cap with the hose sealed with kitchen and bath calk, and went to work. I came home to a creamy white tank. The pressure built up so high in the bottle/line that it blew off the clogged air stone and shot yeast/sugar/water into the tank. It seriously looked like milk. I moved a 2nd filter to the tank and let it run overnight... the next day it was clear and no fish were harmed. In fact, they are still swimming around to this day.
Short version:
PROBLEM: Clogged air stone
SOLUTION: hook an air pump to the stone prior to hooking up the CO2. The air pump will immediately start pushing air through the tube and you should see a healthy flow of bubbles.
REMEMBER: Sugar water is sticky. It clogs small holes.
The only other tip I have for DIY Co2 people out there is to buy either an air hose hardware pack (it comes with all sorts of connectors for rubber tubing) or an extra piece of hose that comes with a stack of connectors. What I've done both times I've put one of these together is drill a hole in the cap of the bottle and put a hard plastic male/male rubber tubing connector through the hole. I've found that it makes a much stronger seal because you're sealing hard plastic to hard plastic instead of soft rubber tubing to hard plastic. If you do it right (like I did the first time... but not this time) you can even have it set up so you can replace the tube without having to build and seal a new cap.
The only problem I have seen with these (and it was only a visual problem, no fish loss, tank chem not off by too much... shockingly) is as follows:
I used a special air stone that was designed to produce fine bubbles for CO2 injector systems. I put that under the intake to my filter and 99% of the bubbles were sucked in. I noticed a DRASTIC growth in all my plants... amazing.
The problem was that my air stone got clogged after I took about a week off the CO2.
I put the mixture back in the 2Liter bottle, screwed on the cap with the hose sealed with kitchen and bath calk, and went to work. I came home to a creamy white tank. The pressure built up so high in the bottle/line that it blew off the clogged air stone and shot yeast/sugar/water into the tank. It seriously looked like milk. I moved a 2nd filter to the tank and let it run overnight... the next day it was clear and no fish were harmed. In fact, they are still swimming around to this day.
Short version:
PROBLEM: Clogged air stone
SOLUTION: hook an air pump to the stone prior to hooking up the CO2. The air pump will immediately start pushing air through the tube and you should see a healthy flow of bubbles.
REMEMBER: Sugar water is sticky. It clogs small holes.
The only other tip I have for DIY Co2 people out there is to buy either an air hose hardware pack (it comes with all sorts of connectors for rubber tubing) or an extra piece of hose that comes with a stack of connectors. What I've done both times I've put one of these together is drill a hole in the cap of the bottle and put a hard plastic male/male rubber tubing connector through the hole. I've found that it makes a much stronger seal because you're sealing hard plastic to hard plastic instead of soft rubber tubing to hard plastic. If you do it right (like I did the first time... but not this time) you can even have it set up so you can replace the tube without having to build and seal a new cap.
The last thing I wanted to make sure was perfectly clear is why you use a 2 liter soda bottle. It's because those bottles are designed to stand up to the pressure and chemical makeup of CO2. If you want to go smaller, make sure you use a soda bottle and not a water or juice bottle. They might work, but you would be running the risk of an explosion under adverse circumstances.
