OVAS

What type of yeast do people use of DIY CO2 systems? I used quick-rising yeast cause that is what I had here, but it seems to have stopped working. It was producing CO2 for a couple days, but now it seems to have stopped.

Baker's yeast is fine.

Can you convert those Natural CO2 systems,, that they sell at L.F.S to use just regular bakers yeast and water... if so has anyone had any luck doing this, and if so how long do they produce C02 for,,, if you use the natural system with ingredient packets they claim they will last a month... but the packets are costly...

Anyone who has had experience with this,, it would be appreaciated to hear back from you...

Thks,,,

Jeremy...

News flash... the packets are packets of yeast and sugar.

A yeast/sugar mix should last you a minimum of 3 weeks.  If it's only lasting 3 days... then either your receipe is WAY off or you have a bad batch of yeast, or you aren't preparing the yeast properly.

...or you have a leak.

Some CO2 links..

http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/CO2/co2-narten.html
http://www.caloriesperhour.com/fish/notes_co2.html
http://fish.orbust.net/hookup.html
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~cdiehr/fish2.html

There are many more. Do a search on CO2 + aquarium.

Basically it comes down to a bottle/container, sugar, and yeast. It ferments and the output of the chemical reaction is CO2 that you inject into you tank through some sort of diffuser or into a cannister filter.

has anyone had any luck running the c02 line into a fluval 304? mine seemed to make one heck of a lot of noise.

I connect to Fluval 304 intake before, it is very noise.
And i am afraid wheter the air in the filter will burn the motor.

What i do right now, is connect the co2 to the output of the filter, less efficient , but less noise and safter .

If you like , you can build the diffuse using gravel vacum and the power head.

Hope it help.

Quote from: "redbelly"has anyone had any luck running the c02 line into a fluval 304? mine seemed to make one heck of a lot of noise.

The problem with feeding CO2 directly into a canister is the possibility of airlocking the canister.

Make a simple inline reactor like this one

http://ovas.ca/mod.php?mod=userpage&page_id=35

I used a longer piece of PVC, thus cutting out the need for bioballs (the gas bubbles can't possibly travel down 2 feet of 2 inch pipe).  That keeps the flow from decreasing too much, and cuts down on it reactor "gunking up".

I think I put mine together for about $12 bucks, the most expensive was the PVC cement.

Hi JEREMY
you can buy baker's yest in jars. One tablespoon equals a packet. I'ts cheaper that way.

I picked up a jar of baker yeast from wall mart the other day and now my diy C02 is working perfectly. I realise my initial mistake now... the packets of yeast that i had were quick rising yeast, but the english portion had been used/cut off already and i guess my french isnt that good and i didnt think it would mame a difference but it sure did!

aSmallFish, i took my line out of the intake to my fluval, it was just too noisey and i was worried about damage to the filter. I dont really have space in the tank for a power head though as the tank is only a 20g with a fair amount of drift wood and rock and tons of plants!!!

BigDaddy, thats an awsome diffuser! I think i wil have to change the hoses going to my fluval for that to work though as im pretty sure they wont do to well if i cut the and use a hose clam on em.

Can someone explain how the inline reactor as written in the article works? How does this help by not feeding your CO2 directly into your intake of the canister filter? How does it stop air lock? BigDaddy said that the bubbles couldn't possibly travel down the 2foot PVC piping. Is this true?

Also, can someone explain how the bubble counter in the article works. I assume that is what it is in the picture in the article.

Thanks!

Quote from: "TBarb"Can someone explain how the inline reactor as written in the article works? How does this help by not feeding your CO2 directly into your intake of the canister filter? How does it stop air lock? BigDaddy said that the bubbles couldn't possibly travel down the 2foot PVC piping. Is this true?

Because you are using much thicker diameter tubing (2 inches instead of 3/8 or 1/2) the CO2 gets churned around in the current (flow pushes it down, but the bubbles break free and rise to the top again).  Adding bioballs further increases the contact time the bubbles are in the flow of water by stopping the bubbles from potentially getting pushed out the bottom barb of the reactor.

Is it true about not needing bioballs in a 2 foot section?  Do you want to come over and see?   :lol:  I NEVER hear a single hickup from my Eheim.

QuoteAlso, can someone explain how the bubble counter in the article works. I assume that is what it is in the picture in the article.

Thanks!

Ummm... maybe I haven't had enough coffee... but I didn't see any mention of a bubble counter in the inline reactor article.

Thanks BD for the explanation. I imagined it to work like that but wasn't entirely sure. The article has the CO2 input midway up the PVC tube, would it be better at the top? Are the parts available at HD or Rona? Do the barbs screw into the reducer or do you need to drill a hole first?

As for the counter, there is no mention of it in the article but the picture shows a little device on the tank before it is fed into the reactor.

Thanks a bunch

That's just an airline connector to allow you to hook up your CO2 line from your generator into the reactor.

Quote from: "BigDaddy"That's just an airline connector to allow you to hook up your CO2 line from your generator into the reactor.

Sorry, I don't understand. From the pic it looks like there is a hose from the CO2 generator (looks like a presurized CO2 system) unit to this funny contraption. From the contraption to the reactor.?? In this case a picture isn't a 1000 words, more like a few dozen questions

:)

Haha... Okay I'm blind... lol

Yes, that is a bubble counter suction cupped to the side of the tank.  It is a commercially available bubble counter from either AquaMedic or BL.

Thanks BigD! You are always one who knows.

Yeah, there's the bubble counter there:

http://www.bigalsonline.ca/catalog/product.xml?product_id=19227;category_id=2873

Now... you could build that for a LOT less then 37 bucks!

Quote from: "BigDaddy"Yeah, there's the bubble counter there:

http://www.bigalsonline.ca/catalog/product.xml?product_id=19227;category_id=2873

Now... you could build that for a LOT less then 37 bucks!

Do I really need to ask  :lol:  How do I build one?

I've seen guys use everything from baby jars, to wide diameter flex tubing...

Basically, anything you can make that is:

1)  Airtight
2)  Can have rigid tubing drilled and sealed into it
and
3)  Has a removable cap so you can top off the liquid as time goes on

I'm actually looking the plastic bottle my codeine pills are in thinking as long as that "safety top" is airtight.. it might just do the job.

I'm not sure how this works either. The hagen style is much larger but the CO2 bubble enters the cylinder and is forced to travel a circular path around and around (path of least resistance) How is this manageable in such a small contraption.

hmmmmm... thinking.

Ok what if you had say two one way valves on either end a small piece of tubing filled with water. The water wouldn't leak out because of the valves but the co2 bubble could enter and exit......

The hagen ladder is primarily a DIFFUSER, that's why its so big.

It just happens to also be a bubble counter, since you can see each bubble start at the bottom of the ladder.

Use a 2lt coke bottle, fill it halfway with aquarium water, drill two holes in the cap (fit to the size of air tubing).

One air tube goes 1 inch into the coke bottle, the other, to the bottom.

Air enters LONG tube, travels through water, etc, etc.
Air leaves SHORT tube...

interesting. i only ever used one hole/tube as an exit for the CO2. I wonder if the 2nd tube is necessary since the yeast produces CO2 from the sugar.

Quote from: "dpatte"interesting. i only ever used one hole/tube as an exit for the CO2. I wonder if the 2nd tube is necessary since the yeast produces CO2 from the sugar.

I use this as a DIFFUSOR!!!  NOT my reactor.

My reactor (2lt pop bottle) ->  diffusor  (2lt) -> tank.

Unfortunately dannypd, that's not a very effecient diffuser.

If you see bubbles rising to the surface of the tank, and those bubbles are not VERY tiny, then not a whole heck of a lot of CO2 is getting dissolved in the water.

In reality, what you have there is a very effective bubble counter/gas seperator.

Edit - Forgot to say NOT very tiny... in otherwords little of the CO2 has dissolved from the original bubble.

whoops again, lol...

I use it because I have this piped into my main air pumps.

Quote from: "dannypd"

Quote from: "dpatte"interesting. i only ever used one hole/tube as an exit for the CO2. I wonder if the 2nd tube is necessary since the yeast produces CO2 from the sugar.

I use this as a DIFFUSOR!!!  NOT my reactor.

My reactor (2lt pop bottle) ->  diffusor  (2lt) -> tank.

This would work as a bubble counter though?