Making A DIY C02 Unit and C02 Mixture Article

[Grumpy_Marine]

ok i have tried three mixtures and got same results..... only time bubbles come from bottle are when i shake it up then bubbles roll out fast. then die and stop bubbles all together. I found a leak in top so i made new one and resealed it. i have tried 1 tsp of yeast with 2 cups sugar and no bubbles. I store yeast in fridge when not using per instructions on bottle of yeast. I am using activated dry yeast. What is considered too hot for the water levels? I go till water feels warm to me and add to bottle... should i turn water hotter or colder?

 

[Mahamotorworks]

I would check for other leaks. How old is the yeast you are using? What other mixtures have you tried? What you have listed sounds about right to me. Maybe a little more Yeast. Warm water is warm water. It will end up room temp so it really shouldnt matter. The only thing that will kill it close to boiling water.

MAHA

 

[Grumpy_Marine]

ok so close to boil is hot... thanks maha solved my questions with that statement. Just wasnt sure how hot was to hot. My yeas is good till 2008 it says... but i just opened last month, it says to use remainder of can within 4 months of opening.

I have tried 2 cup sugar 1/2 tsp yeast
2 cup sugar 1 tsp yeast
2 cup sugar 1 1/2 tsp yeast

but now i have 2 cup sugar 1 tsp yeast, after sitting over night no bubbles. I capped the bottle and shook like there was no tomorrow and hooked up top with tube, ran tube into bottle with water, now i got bubble at steady rate of 1 bubble per second. Going to go with a bubble counter just so i can see it working since everytime i need to check i have to pull tube from filter gets to be a pain after a while. Will have set back up tomorrow. Took out the check valve as it wasn't doing much for the system from what i can tell.

Can i hook up airstone to the tube without having a pump or something to force the co2 out of it? i saw stone said great for co2 diffusion... but how will co2 created in DIY diffuse through airstone wouldn't it need pressure or something? Will follow your DIY guide on MFT for powered DIY CO2 when we move to new place for now i play cheap route.

 

[Lotus]

To test if the water you're using is too hot, put your pinkie finger in the water. If it's too hot to keep your pinkie finger in, it's too hot (old cook's way of working with yeast). Above 110F is too hot for the yeast.

I usually use 2 cups of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon yeast.

You can put an airstone on the end of the tubing, but the CO2 doesn't dissolve that well. A wooden airstone works a little better. You can also put the tubing into your filter intake, where it's chopped up by the impeller, which gives a reasonable level.

Testing your pH and KH will give you a much better idea of how efficient the system is overall (both CO2 production and how much is dissolved).

 

[Mahamotorworks]

No prob on the help with the water. I have use some really hot water before to disolve the Sugar and it worked fine for 2 weeks.


The only thing I can think is is the tube is somewhat clogged that runs to the filter. If you are getting bubble in the counter then It should be working. Dose the bottle feel like itis under a lot of preasure? If it dose then you have a pinched or clogged hose.

MAHA

 

[Grumpy_Marine]

nope all is well now, just waiting on the silicone to dry so i can hook up tomorrow with bubble counter, was working fine after resealing the mixture cap. I have it going into the filter for diffusion which worked well till the mixture died. Will be taking the intake pipe apart checking for clogging and rehooking the system tomorrow.

 

[Big Vine]

So once the open end of the tubing is hooked to my HOB filter intake tube, and the other end is sealed into the drilled 2L bottle cap...

1) Do I just find another (undrilled) cap to put over the bottle while I shake it (once the ingredients and water are in there)?

2) Then I remove that cap, and then replace it with the drilled cap that's hooked to the airline tubing?

3) What about shaking the bottle every few days---do I detach the drilled cap and put an intact cap back on whilst doing so?

Basically what I'm getting at is...
4) Does the mixture become so 'explosive' that it will overflow---as would be the case with soda pop immediately after shaking it? (the reason I ask is because I've heard people use the term 'bomb' in conjunction with this, and I've never tried it)

Thanks,
Big Vine

 

[drumminfish]

If you put the undrilled cap on, shake it up, then let it sit, yeah it will explode....but if you shake it up and then take the cap off relatively quickly, then you shouldnt have any problems.

I know with batches of wine that I've made (same method) if I put a cap on and shake it up too much, the cap shoots off if I don't take it off quickly (like 5 seconds) so I imagine it would be pretty much the same with CO2 mixtures. Just don't leave the cap on long, if you didn't mind you could even put your palm over the top of the bottle and invert it a few times, that way you could let out the building pressure easily by lifting your hand.

 

[Big Vine]

Thanks Drummin.
I guess my main concern was that (1) the shaken-up mixture might make a mess all over the place as I uncap it, and (2) I also have a rather nightmarish image in my mind of the pressure also causing the mixture to travel up the airline tubing, foul the tank, and result in the death of everything inside of the tank.

How far up the bottle will the mixture 'rise' to as it starts to ferment?
(I'm assuming it won't reach the tubing IF the tubing only sticks about 2-3 cm inside of the bottle, as suggested at the start of this thread).

Sound about right?

Thanks,
Big Vine

 

[drumminfish]

Well when I used to make mixtures, I would initially fill it up (two liter bottle) to the line where the top of the bottle starts to curve, and it never went much about that. And if you're really afraid of the mixture going up the tube into the tank, you could add a second bottle as a bubble counter, and it should catch any mixture without letting it get into the tank. I posted a picture of the setup I was using earlier in this thread, click here.

 

[Big Vine]

I actually came across that earlier---I went through the entire thread!
I think I'm being a tad paranoid, so I'll probably just stick with the mixture bottle...I'll be running two of them at once, so I won't have much room to work with for using a bubble-counter bottle in between.

Which brings me to my second main issue of where to put the bottles...
I'm thinking inside of the cabinet under the tank, but that would mean running a good 4ish feet of tubing from each bottle to the HOB filter intake tubes.

Is that too much tubing? I don't see how CO2 would be lost (even with longer tubing)---just as long as the seals are good where the tube comes out of the mixture bottle, right?

Hmm...let's see how many more questions I can come up with before I fall asleep here...gettin' late...*SLEEPING*

Mostly I'm just being overly paranoid, but when I read that the yeast mixture could kill the entire tank, I decided it's best to cover all my bases before disaster occurs! LOL

Big Vine

 

[drumminfish]

Well mine was on a shelf above the tank, so it had a hose about 4 feet long running to the tank, and I never had any apparent shortage of CO2 in a 20g...I'm not sure about the seals, as you can see I used rubber bungs and they were a tight fit, i never had any leakage that I saw...and the good thing about those bungs, if pressure ever built up too much, it would just pop the bung out instead of pumping the mixture into the tank.

But yeah, back to your question, unless the tubing leaks, I don't think you'll lose much if any CO2. The only loss I can think of would be lack of pressure pushing the CO2 up, but I don't really think you'll have a lack of pressure until the yeast are almost all dead, and at that point it's time to change the bottle anyways. (If CO2 is lighter than air, you wouldn't have that problem anyways, but I'm not a chemistry major)

<edit>Sorry I re-read that after I posted and realized that every time I meant to type "bung", I spelled it with an "o" instead of a "u" lol</edit>

 

[Big Vine]

I re-read that after I posted and realized that every time I meant to type "bung", I spelled it with an "o" instead of a "u" lol

Haha! I won't tell the authorities that you've been using "bungs" (spelt with an "o"). LMAO *laughingc

Seriously though...is that really what they call those black rubber stopper thingies---"bungs"?

Whatever they are, where did you find ones that specifically fit the 2L bottle opening?

Big Vine

 

[drumminfish]

Yeah, I believe that's what they're called...if not, bungs are similar. As to where I got them....don't tell the authorities haha but I "borrowed" them from a drawer in my high school's chemistry lab. It's ok though, I had the permission from the department head to take a couple, since there were 3 drawers full of them. The two I took had never even been used, they were still sealed in a plastic bag but I cleaned them anyways. There were a bunch of different sizes, but I grabbed two that fit...one had two holes, the other one....the holes were the perfect size for that plastic tubing I got at Petco.

 

[Big Vine]

Sweet!
You know, it should've occurred to me that my wife might be able to get me some from work...she is a microbiologist, after all. Guess I forgot. LOL

With my luck, "bungs" will be the one thing they don't have there!

Thanks for all your advice, Drummin. *celebrate
I'm sure I'll have more questions later, but for now it's*SLEEPING*

Big Vine

 

[drumminfish]

No problem, yeah I just got lucky in that I had most of my credits done by my senior year, so I was a teacher aide for my old chemistry teacher for the last two semesters of high school....basically I got to hang out in the chemistry lab surfing the internet while she ran around doing stuff (it was her planning period, so she didn't have her classroom - it was being used by another teacher for another class, one of the problems of overcrowding at our school). The best part was, she was always buying me food and stuff....it was sweet. When I told her what I was doing and mentioned I wanted some of those things, she let me have them. My only regret was that I only took two, because it's 3 years too late now to go back and get some more.

Sleep? What's that? lol

 

[Big Vine]

Free stuff's always good!
By the way, are you supposed to disconnect the CO2 at night? If so, for how long? Until tank lights go back on?


Oh...and here's how the conversation with my wife went this morning:

Q: "Do you have any of those black rubbery 'bung' things at work?"

A: "Isn't that sh_it or something...you know...like when you're 'all bunged-up!?"

Q: "No, that's 'dung'! Well, I guess it could be 'bung' too...
Anyway, those things that go into the top of a bottle and sometimes have a hole in them for tubing."

A: "Oh! You mean 'stoppers!' Sure, I can steal you some."

Big Vine

 

[drumminfish]

I never disconnected my CO2 at night, some people say you should because the CO2 isn't getting used because the plants aren't photosynthesizing without light...some people say the CO2 buildup isn't bad...I guess you can try it, and if your fish start gasping at the top of the tank by morning, then you should turn it off. I left mine on overnight for 2 years, though, and never had any fish die from CO2 poisoning....I guess it just depends on your tank.

Haha at least you didn't ask her if they had any "bongs" at work...

 

[Mahamotorworks]

I run my CO2 24/7 I dont have any problems wiht it but I also have a bubble curtain the Runs 24/7. If you are worried about it run an air pump when the lights are off. It will help move the water and gass off the CO2. I would have the pump turn off 1 hour befoe the lights go on.

MAHA

 

[Big Vine]

Alternatively, could I simply turn the flow adjustment back up all the way on the two HOB filters? (which I will be running at the lowest flow setting during the day)

Big Vine