DIY CO2 for Plant nOOBs

[apistome]

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

[valiko]

So, what plants are you getting rid of?

Any floating plants?

[apistome]

I will have cuttings from the Ludwigia Repens and Hygrophila Corymbosa, I have some Riccia but not any extra.

[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:

[apistome]

lol, i forgot that i started out thinking i would never need to get into C02, good point BD

[darkdep]

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...

[Mettle]

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.

[darkdep]

I do it (DIY) on a 30gal and it's just borderline annoying.  I cannot imagine doing it on something larger.

[gvv]

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

[darkdep]

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.

[Mettle]

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.

[BigDaddy]

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)

[Mettle]

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?

[BigDaddy]

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.

[Mettle]

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.

[darkdep]

As I said, with a small tank you only need 1 bottle, so it isn't too bad.

[apistome]

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.

[BigDaddy]

I used a single 2L bottle on my 25 gallon... my mix lasted approx 3 weeks.

[darkdep]

BD:  What's your mixture?  I use a 2L on my 30gal and it lasts about 15 days or so...

[BigDaddy]

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.