Just thought I would let the other plant Clutzes out there know. I am a begginer aquarium gardener and have been using a DIY CO2 injection system for about a week now. My plants seem like they have doubled in size and and at this rate I will defintely have to do serious pruning next week. Last week they looked tired and pale now they look really vibrant. My fish are more active now as well, I am assuming because of the increased O2 output by the plants. A simple yeast, sugar and water mix, a pop bottle and some airline tubing is all you need. PM me if you want the plans that Enrico (Toss) was kind enough to show me how to make :P
So, what plants are you getting rid of?
Any floating plants?
I will have cuttings from the Ludwigia Repens and Hygrophila Corymbosa, I have some Riccia but not any extra.
Just wait apistome... soon you'll be complaining about mixing up yeast batches and INSISTING that pressurized is the only civilized way to get CO2 into a planted tank. :lol:
lol, i forgot that i started out thinking i would never need to get into C02, good point BD ;)
It's true...I do DIY CO2 and love it...but have definetly thought about not having to worry about mixing up new batches of sugarwater...
Quote from: "BigDaddy"Just wait apistome... soon you'll be complaining about mixing up yeast batches and INSISTING that pressurized is the only civilized way to get CO2 into a planted tank. :lol:
He's right.
I have a few friends who have now coaxed me into doing a heavily planted tank and just from listening to them complain I'm already exhausted with the mixing of yeast batches. :lol:
It also depends I guess on the size of the tank over all. But with larger tanks, from everything I've read, pressurized is the only way to go.
I do it (DIY) on a 30gal and it's just borderline annoying. I cannot imagine doing it on something larger.
There is a "little" difference in price of DIY and pressurized setup:
http://aquariacanada.com/osCommerce/product_info.php?cPath=1_66&products_id=240
It doesn't have to cost that much tho. You can get a used extinguisher tank for about $80-90 and then get the rest of the parts for fairly cheap I think.
That's if you go new and buy it as a package.
A friend of mine called around to different local welding shops in his area and managed to get himself a 20 lbs. cannister for $30 (American). He got two of these for $60+tax. Now. That is the exception, but it's still an illustration of how cheap it can be done.
The other components he bought off of Ebay.
He managed to set up two of these for less than $300 American.
It's definitely an investment though... But then you have to ask how much your time is worth. And if you have a bigger tank, are going higher light, etc. the DIY setups often cannot allow you the precision that pressurized can.
It's not a question of precision... its simply a question of time. You can have a high light 220 gallon tank on a DIY setup. It just means you're going to have 6 to 8 bottles on the go at varying levels of fermentation.
DIY or pressurized, you still need to spend money on a reactor or diffuser. The only difference beteen DIY and Pressurized is the startup cost (eventually... sugar and yeast will cost you what it costs to fill up your canister with gas)
Is it not easier to be more precise though with a pressurized system opposed to the DIY bottles? Unless you have very precise measurements for your DIY recipes?
As I said.. you just have to stage your bottles such that you have each bottle at a different stage of fermentation... so Bottle 1 was mixed 1 day... Bottle 2 on day 3... Bottle 3 on day 5... etc...
That way, you have a constant ouput because the bottles that are just starting up production compensate for the bottles that are winding down in production.
There's no "precision" needed from the production of the gas per say... its all about how effeciently you introduce it into the water column.
Okay, I see what you're saying now.
But what you just described would be incredibly annoying, heh. Mixing new bottles every day or other day. Especially keeping track of all of them. You'd need a calendar just to manage your CO2. Thanks but no thanks.
As I said, with a small tank you only need 1 bottle, so it isn't too bad.
I just have the one 1.5 l plastic water bottle for my 55 gal and the yeast mixture last about 9 days. it takes about 5 minutes to get the mixture ready. This may be a little crude compared to some set ups, but so far I have had great results. This is the same system Toss uses in his 75 gal (he uses 2 bottles i believe) and the plants in his tank are amazing.
I used a single 2L bottle on my 25 gallon... my mix lasted approx 3 weeks.
BD: What's your mixture? I use a 2L on my 30gal and it lasts about 15 days or so...
Oh man... I haven't done a mix in a couple of years...
I believe I was doing 2 cups of sugar to 1/2 tsp of yeast in about 6 cups of water.
Oh sorry, I misread "used" as "use".
my recipe calls for 1 full tsp of yeast, maybe thats why I can get away with 1 bottle for my tank but need to change more solution more frequently?
Yup... your generating a lot more CO2... but as well, you burn through the fermentation process faster.
I think more yeast = more CO2 but it burns out quicker.
I use 2cups of sugar to 1/4 tsp of yeast currently...
I would like to see if I can get it to last as long as possible.
What about increasing the size of the container that you're using? Would that not help it hold more volume and make it last longer over all?
Not sure if that would work or not. I'm just picturing using a large water jug versus a pop bottle.
Quote from: "Mettle"What about increasing the size of the container that you're using? Would that not help it hold more volume and make it last longer over all?
Not sure if that would work or not. I'm just picturing using a large water jug versus a pop bottle.
The size of the container has no bearing on the chemical reaction going on inside it... you could do it in a 20 gallon vat and get the same amount of CO2 as you would in a 1 litre bottle.
The only thing that affects the production is the ratio of sugar to yeast
So let me so if I get this right.
But increasing the amount of raw materials you're not necessarily increasing the longevity of the formula if you keep the ratio the same, right? I would guess not as, for example, a ratio of 1:4 is the same whether we're talking in mL or in L for example... It would be the changing of the ratio that allows one to prolong the process?
By that token though - would a larger container not allow you to fiddle with the ratio moreso in the end allowing a larger volume of sugar over all and increased amounts of yeast, yet not a ton, making the batch last longer? Or does the process still occur at the same rate regardless of the amount of raw materials. IE - the same ratio with smaller quanities in a 2L pop bottle would last the same amount of time as let's say 10x more raw materials but the same ratio still, but in a 5 gallon jug.
The issue with the ratio, Mettle, is that the yeast are converting sugar into alcohol; CO2 is just a waste product of what they are REALLY doing. Eventually tho, the concentration of alcohol in the mix will become toxic to the yeast and kill them.
So, it doesn't matter how MUCH of the material is there, just the ratio.
I've brewed wine/beer many times and it's a similar thing.
Yeah. I've dealt with those overpriced co2 systems you see in pet stores and first thing I noticed was how much the smell reminded me of making wine/beer, heh.
I use the following recipe and I get CO2 for about 3 weeks.
1.5L water
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp yeast
Baking Soda eh? That's interesting...never tried that. I will try your recipe next time.
Quote from: "darkdep"Baking Soda eh? That's interesting...never tried that. I will try your recipe next time.
Corrrect me if I'm wrong, but as I understand it is used in order to slow down a reaction a little bit, so it will last longer...
Regards
Baking soda has neither been proven nor disproven in improving the yeast batch... but I believe it has something to do with a neutralizing effect against the alcohol being produced.
That could be what it is...it is the alcohol that ends up stopping the reaction, not the exhaustion of sugar.
AS I though the reaction should stop as soon as all sugar will be transfferd into alcohol by yeast culture.
So, DIY CO2 can be used for other purpose in case you have distiller equipment :)