# DIY CO2 made easy



## James0816

Many hobbyists like to have natural plants in their aquariums. Depending on factors such as lighting and the types of plants you keep, you may need to add CO2 to your system. However, buying a pressurized setup can be a bit costly. In comes DIY (Do-It-Yourself). Even then, some people think that even this method is cumbersome. Well, here we are going to go from start to finish just to show how simple it really is.

*Step I: Making the medium (a.k.a Jell-O)*
............. Ingredients: 1 pk. Regular 6oz Jell-O. Flavor Optional.
.............................. 2 ½ cups boiling water
..............................  2 cups pure cane sugar









............. 1) In a large saucepan, fill with water and bring to a rolling boil.
............. 2) Empty (1) 6oz package of Jell-O in a large mixing bowl.
............. 3) When water is boiling, carefully measure out 2 ½ cups.
.............................. a. *CAUTION:* Contents will be very hot. Be Careful.
............. 4) Pour water in bowl with Jell-O and mix thoroughly until well dissolved.
............. 5) Pour in sugar and thoroughly mix again until well dissolved.
............. 6) Once everything has been dissolved, pour contents in a flat Tupperware container.








............. 7) Cover and place in refrigerator.

*Step II: Making the Reactor*
............. While the Jell-O is setting up, let’s make the reactor vessels.

............. Materials: 1 64oz Juice bottle (Ocean Spray seems to be best)
........................... 1 1pt bottled water bottle
........................... 4’ CO2 tubing
........................... GE Silicone I caulk (optional)
............. Tools:.....  Cordless drill w/ bits
........................... Scissors
........................... Case Knife
........................... Needle Nose Pliers
........................... Toothpick








............. 1) Start by thoroughly cleaning both bottles with hot water.
............. 2) Remove lids. Drill a 3/16 hole directly in the center of the juice bottle lid. Drill two holes in the smaller water bottle lid.








............. * NOTE * For best results, start with a small drill bit to create a pilot hole. Then using other bits, work your way up to 3/16. The 3/16 size is a fraction smaller than the diameter of the tubing and will provide for a tight fit.

............. 3) Using the case knife, carefully trim any shavings left by the drill bit.
............. 4) Measure about 2’ of tubing.
............. 5) Using scissors cut one end of the tube at an angle.









............. 6) Push the angled end through the top of the cap.
............. 7) Using the pliers, grab the end and carefully pull the tubing the rest of the way through the cap.








............. 8) Cut off the angled end to make a flat cut.
............. 9) Slowly pull tubing out of cap until about ¼” remains in the cap.
............. 10) Repeat steps 5-8 with the opposite end of the tubing into one hole of the water bottle cap.
............. 11) Test fit tubing in water bottle and adjust length if needed. There should be a bend in the tubing.








............. 12) Using the remaining length of tubing, repeat steps 5-9 using the second hole on the water bottle cap.








............. 13) Caulk around all three pieces of tubing on the inside of the caps using GE Silicone I caulk only. This is an optional step as the seal around the tubing will be sufficient with the 3/16” hole depending on how you diffuse the gas. I didn’t do this at first until I switched to a glass diffuser, which resulted in needing higher pressure. In one setup, I discovered a leak in the separator bottle so I added the silicone.
............. 14) Use the toothpick to spread the caulk completely around the tubing to ensure the entire area is covered.








............. 15) Set caps aside and let silicone cure at least 24hrs.

*Step III: Time to make gas*
............. Now that our Jell-O has set and our reactor vessels have been made, it is time to start making gas… CO2.
............. Ingredients: 1 tsp Bakers or Brewers Yeast divided
.............................. ¾ tsp for initial setup
.............................. ¼ tsp to add later
.............................. ¼ tsp. Sugar
.............................. ¼ cup hot water
.............................. ¼ tsp. Baking soda
.............................. Air stone (diffuser) 
.............................. ** NOTE ** use a limewood airstone or glass diffuser for best results








............. 1) Activate the yeast. In ¼ hot water, dissolve ¼ tsp sugar. Stir thoroughly.
............. 2) While water is still spinning from step 1 (tornado effect as I like to call it), carefully pour in ¾ tsp of yeast. This will help in prevent clumping.








............. “snow globe” effect shows the yeast activating:








............. 3) While this is activating (appox. 15 minutes), cut Jell-O in small cubes. The small cubes allow for more surface action for the yeast.
............. 4) Add the cubes to the large bottle.








............. 5) After yeast has activated (again allow approx. 15 minutes), add 2 cups hot water to Jell-O bottle.
............. 6) Pour yeast mixture into bottle.








............. 7) Add ¼ tsp Baking Soda.
............. 8) Using hot water, fill bottle until you have approx. 2” free space from the lid.
............. 9) Add remaining ¼ tsp yeast.
............. 10) Fill seperator bottle with water about 3/4 full. Water should be over the end of the curved tubing. This will enable you to see and count the bubbles.
............. 11) Cap both bottles tightly. Remember to allow for a “curve” in the separator bottle.








............. 12) Within hours, you will start to see generation of CO2.









That’s all it takes. Now go grow beautiful and healthy plants.

******************
* EDIT *

I have since changed a couple things on this original design basically due to the pressure that builds up.

1) Replace the water/soda bottle that is used as the gas seperator bottle with a 20oz Gatorade bottle. These bottles provide a much tighter seal.

2) Caulk both top and bottom of the caps around the CO2 tubing.


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## kenbeme

how long does this reaction last for?


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## aspects

i must have missed something.
whats the jello for?
besides the jello, it looks like every other DIY Co2 set up ive ever seen. so why the jello?


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## James0816

The Jell-O holds in the sugar. As it slowly disolves, it releases the sugar to the yeast. Makes it last longer.


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## etgregoire

This sounds cool, I'm going to save this and read it over when I get some more time! Thanks.


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## James0816

* EDIT *

Added an additional step at the end of Section III (Thanks trouble93). It was not previously mentioned to fill the gas seperator bottle with water. That is now Step 10 in Section III.


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## paronaram

James,

In your original recipe:
2) Empty (1) 8oz package of Jell-O in a large mixing bowl. - this is not a typo right? All I see in our Supermarket is 0.3 Oz packages ...

Thanks,
Aram


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## aspects

James0816 said:


> The Jell-O holds in the sugar. As it slowly disolves, it releases the sugar to the yeast. Makes it last longer.


how much longer are we talking about?
does the slower dissolving sugar decrease the amount of Co2 produced?


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## choylifutsoccer

Do you get a white slimy substance growing on the diffuser with this DIY CO2 method?


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## James0816

no..that is what the seperator bottle is used for.


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## James0816

paronaram said:


> In your original recipe:
> 2) Empty (1) 8oz package of Jell-O in a large mixing bowl. - this is not a typo right?
> Aram


No this is not a typo. There are usually two box sizes a small and a large.



aspects said:


> how much longer are we talking about?
> does the slower dissolving sugar decrease the amount of Co2 produced?


I've had bottles last well over two months. No decrease in the production.


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## klug7214

Is this setup made for any certain size of aquarium? Is it possible to put to much CO2 into your system


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## WhiteGloveAquatics

If you use the RIGHT drill bit you do not have to silicone the hoses into the caps.

Ill get pics of mine later, I am running a 4 bottle system with 1 accumulator and two powerheads for reaction.

I use brewers yeast, it lasts longer then bakers yeast or Jell-o, same principal, add a smidge of brown sugar to the mix and you got a 2 liter that lasts for atleast 20 days.

Winemakers or Brewers yeasts are the ones to use, active dry baking yeast consumes too quickly, brewers yeast lasts longer mainly due to the brewing process lasting longer then baking breads.


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## James0816

WhiteDevil said:


> If you use the RIGHT drill bit you do not have to silicone the hoses into the caps.


This is true to some extent. It depends on your diffusion method. I originally started with smaller drill bits and using limewood diffusers. I have since switched to ceramic glass diffusers. The pressure was too much for the bottle which resulted in leaking from the cap which is why I used Silicone for the tubing. I can now effectively use these diffusers for the DIY setup.



WhiteDevil said:


> I use brewers yeast, it lasts longer then bakers yeast or Jell-o, same principal, add a smidge of brown sugar to the mix and you got a 2 liter that lasts for atleast 20 days.


The type of yeast does make a difference such as chamagne yeast will yeild the best results. As for my set ups, I go over a month prior to having to recharge them. Other factors come in to play as well such as room temp.



WhiteDevil said:


> Winemakers or Brewers yeasts are the ones to use, active dry baking yeast consumes too quickly, brewers yeast lasts longer mainly due to the brewing process lasting longer then baking breads.


Definately if you can, get brewers yeast. They are more tolerant of the higher alcohol levels thus lasting longer.

Also, one bottle of DIY CO2 is generally used for up to 20g tanks.


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## WhiteGloveAquatics

yep, add some juice concentrate instead of jello, when the Co2 is done, bottoms up! LOL

Aquarist's vino.

Yes but having sustained levels of Co2 and consistency are harder to achieve on large tanks, 4 bottles keeps me going fine for about 20-25 days, same size bottle for accumulator with about 3" of water in it to makes the muck sink and easier to clean out.

The brown sugar does help, it gives it a nice kick for about 10-14 days straight. 1tblspn per bottle. I think its a richer sugar and more of it being its not just white sugar, better chemical make-up I think.


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## NursePlaty

*I am currently trying this jello method. But instead of being consistant with a certain amount of bubbles per second, it spews out 4-6 bubbles at once after every 20 seconds or something. Dont know what went wrong. The tubes dont seem to have any bends or oclusions that I can see of. Also, the cubed jello at the bottom seemed to have fused together. Does the yeast eventually eat through the top layers and eventually reach the bottom?*


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## WhiteGloveAquatics

NursePlaty said:


> *I am currently trying this jello method. But instead of being consistant with a certain amount of bubbles per second, it spews out 4-6 bubbles at once after every 20 seconds or something. Dont know what went wrong. The tubes dont seem to have any bends or oclusions that I can see of. Also, the cubed jello at the bottom seemed to have fused together. Does the yeast eventually eat through the top layers and eventually reach the bottom?*


the jello slow releases the yeasts food.
how long has it been "cooked" up for the Co2 mix that is?

I used jello twice, ones a failure 2nd benifit of user error. I could never get it to be consistent. I use my method because thats what works and havnt had a problem if anything it produces too much Co2 then I have to turn it down with the venturi valve. the first 3 days I dont get bubbles I get a stream of Co2 from the bottles then it goes into a reserve tank where pressure is always built up from the brew.

I will take pics asap i gotta get ready to take my kids to their grandmas for the week 8hrs round trip today. I doubt I will get to it.


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## klug7214

I am having an issue with my setup I did everything to the above directions and my seperator bottle is creating bubbles (one about every six to ten seconds) It has been going for about 24 hrs now but there isn't any sign of the water level in the air line going down over an 1.5" to even suggest that pressure is building... The seperator bottle is not leaking I siliconed the cap to the bottle and the hoses to the cap. Any suggestions?


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## James0816

klug7214 said:


> I am having an issue with my setup I did everything to the above directions and my seperator bottle is creating bubbles (one about every six to ten seconds) It has been going for about 24 hrs now but there isn't any sign of the water level in the air line going down over an 1.5" to even suggest that pressure is building... The seperator bottle is not leaking I siliconed the cap to the bottle and the hoses to the cap. Any suggestions?


Sounds as if you have a leak somewhere. What kind of bottles are you using? I ask because some types of threaded lids will be prone to leaking. Make sure all is tight.


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## James0816

NursePlaty said:


> *I am currently trying this jello method. But instead of being consistant with a certain amount of bubbles per second, it spews out 4-6 bubbles at once after every 20 seconds or something. Dont know what went wrong. The tubes dont seem to have any bends or oclusions that I can see of. Also, the cubed jello at the bottom seemed to have fused together. Does the yeast eventually eat through the top layers and eventually reach the bottom?*


What are you using as your diffuser? Are you using a regular airstone?


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## James0816

On an interesting side note, I have modified my recipe a bit for a test. I added a new bottle on the 15th. This time, I added 1/4 cup of uncooked rice. I put a small layer off rice on the bottom, added jell-o cubes, more rice, more jell-o. As of today, I am still get 1 bubble every 6 seconds. I think I might like the results of this.


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## NursePlaty

James0816 said:


> What are you using as your diffuser? Are you using a regular airstone?


*At first I used an airstone but it instead of little bubbles it still made big bubbles as if the airstone wasnt even there. Mightve been the low quality airstone but it was the only airstone I saw being sold that was the most expensive. It doesnt state if its made out cement or rock or whatever. As of right now, Im feeding the tube into the lower intake of my filter so the impeller chops it up. It used to be 1 bubble every however seconds at first but now it does 4-6 bubbles at once in 20 seconds. I guess its the same thing... but I was just curious was it does that rather than 1 bubble at a time.

Let us know how the rice thing goes, I heard it's supposed to last longer and some people use rice only instead of sugar and only use sugar to jump start the yeast. *


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## James0816

With the open ended tube, you're not building pressure so it will release just as mentioned. If you are using a drop checker, then you could get a feel for how much is getting dissolved. I have a similar situation with an old limewood airstone. It has developed a hole due to all the the cleanings. The bubbles come out of the hole just as you describe. There's no pressure to keep it back and force through the smaller pores.

It will be interesting to see how the rice performs going into week 3. I have this bottle on a 20high.


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## Dmaaaaax

Great thread...here are some tips I learned on the way.

1.) With a DiY the yeast you use can be based on your tank size. Since you cannot turn off the CO2 at night, you might want one that makes yeast slower/lasts longer for smaller tanks like 10g vs other yeasts that are faster producers for larger tanks.

2.) When first starting, keep the airstone at the surface of the water so that you don't flood it. This will have less water pressure on it so that it can begin producing bubbles faster, then put the stone under and move it down little by little. At some point you may find a depth that is too deep for the airstone and bubbling stops due to the water pressure.

3.) You can also squeeze the bottle a bit to force out the water in the line/airstone once your CO2 begins to work, but wait until you feel some pressure from the bottle or you will be drawing a vacuum and sucking more water back up.

4.) I used to use a 3 way valve in line (no bubble counter) so that if my pH dropped too much or I wanted it "off" at night, I could crack the one valve open and it would leak the CO2 into the air.

5.) Yeast can go bad once a pouch has been open. If you dont get bubbles within 2 hrs, make a new batch with a new pouch. It is probably not a leak.

6.) Keep the bottle at tank height or higher. This helps it overcome the pressure of gravity...and also keeps the water from going in the line once your yeast starts to die out.

7.) Clean the actual diffuser (ceramic, wood, stone) once a week to keep your bubble rate stable.


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## klug7214

I had everything right I discovered a slash in my airline that was very hard to spot... It is working great now.


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## James0816

klug7214 said:


> I had everything right I discovered a slash in my airline that was very hard to spot... It is working great now.


Good to hear. Now go grow beautiful plants! 

On the cleaning part....Use H2O2. Since I only use the glass diffusers now, I pull them out of the tank and pour a capfull directly onto the disc. Let it sit while you complete the maintenance on the tank or ~ 15mins. Rinse well and place back in.

I'm getting ready to test (3) new and different glass diffusers with a DIY setup. As soon as I get them in, I'll post about them.

By far my best results have came from a 10g tank with a mini canister running on it. I have the diffuser directly under the intake. Micro bubbles are sucked up into the filter and I would fathom a guess that I get nearly 100% total dissolve.


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## Dmaaaaax

I've heard on various forums that for CO2, plants take up micro-bubbles better than totally dissolved CO2??

I have tried several ways. I had a reactor 500 which made a cyclone and totally dissolved it, I had a pump with a needle wheel valve that made microbubbles that was then in-line with my Rena XP4, and now I have a ceramic glass pollen diffuser. I prefer the last and have a powerhead above it so that micro bubbles are forced all around the tank. With this method I have seen the largest dip in pH with bubble counts being the same. I also notice some small spots of algae dying back.


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## James0816

agreed on the pollen diffusers. much prefer them to anything else at this time.


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## WhiteGloveAquatics

I use the powerhead itself for the diffuser, the bubbles are very very tiny and stay in the water longer then my glass diffuser bubbles did( I think this has to do with propulsion) but with the powerhead I am sending micro bubbles clear across the 4' tank. about 6" into the water column.


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## James0816

My experimental recipe is still going strong. As of yesterday (04/06), I am still getting 1 bubble every 7 seconds in the seperator bottle. I'll be starting up a second bottle using this exact method to confirm these results either today or tomorrow. Just want to make sure it's not a fluke. ;o)


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## Dmaaaaax

WhiteDevil said:


> I use the powerhead itself for the diffuser, the bubbles are very very tiny and stay in the water longer then my glass diffuser bubbles did( I think this has to do with propulsion) but with the powerhead I am sending micro bubbles clear across the 4' tank. about 6" into the water column.



See my post above, I use a koralia powerhead (open propeller) over my glass diffuser. Micro bubbles everywhere. It is on the back wall and aimed to the front of the tank and slightly down. So bubble hit the front and go both directions.

To clean the glass diffuser I suggest watered down bleach over peroxide. It will get rid of stubborn build up in seconds...depends on how often you clean it?


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## WhiteGloveAquatics

Koralia's arent good for my tank, I lost a few fish to them, stupid fish.

I need to rig up a tube to go from the powerhead outlet to the substrate level full 4' length with two Co2 sources one at each end, closed circuit, man the tank will look like its boiling lol


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## James0816

Dmax...how do you clean yours with the bleach? I use bleach from time to time myself but I usually have everything unhooked and use it straight up on the disc for about 15 minutes. Rinse well and then put Prime straight up on the disk for a spell.

I've been doing the H2O2 method while leaving everything connected. That's the only reason I don't use bleach at the moment. I don't have to break down the bottle while cleaning.

Would definately be interested in easier ways.


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## paronaram

James0816,

I follow your instructions but unfortunately "reaction" of generating CO2 stopped on the second week. It looks like CO2 was generated from the top part mix, the mix that I apply on the top of the Jell-O steps 5), 6), 7), 8) and 10)

I left that Jell-O setup untouched, and switched back to old fashion (sugar water and yeast). This will be a third week now, and I don't see any changes.
Very cloudy mix (sugary - yeast water) sits above perfectly clear Jell-O.

Do you know what is stopping mixing process ?
Also for that one week when I had CO2, water in tank was a little dirty specially it was visible on the plants like moss. I do use bubble counter bottle, and my diffuser is power head.

Thanks.


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## James0816

What is the room temp? This may have some effect on it as well as the age and storage of the yeast.

The good thing about the Jell-o method is that when production slows, you "recharge" the bottle by pouring off most of the water from the top and adding fresh yeast.


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## Dmaaaaax

James0816 said:


> Dmax...how do you clean yours with the bleach? I use bleach from time to time myself but I usually have everything unhooked and use it straight up on the disc for about 15 minutes. Rinse well and then put Prime straight up on the disk for a spell.
> 
> I've been doing the H2O2 method while leaving everything connected. That's the only reason I don't use bleach at the moment. I don't have to break down the bottle while cleaning.
> 
> Would definately be interested in easier ways.


If you have a 1 way valve in-line you can remove the glass diffuser at any time and just clean it real fast. Keep the line in the water, so the water pressure keeps the the bubble rate down. I use a 50/50 bleach and water or the diffuser ceramic might turn yellowish instead of white. Sit for about 5-10min followed by a 5-10 min of water on top with a drop of Prime. 

I tried straight H2O2 on a fairly dirty diffuser that was also removed, and it just did not get it clean enough, so I switched to bleach which really eats everything up fast.


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## James0816

Yeah..i've found that if the disc is really gunked up with algae, the H2O2 doesn't do much. That's when I break out the bleach. I've been using the H2O2 weekly for the past few weeks. It seems to be maintaining the disc pretty well. They are all still white and churning out the micro bubbles.

Are you removing it during cleaning? I don't have a valve on my setups at this time.


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## paronaram

James0816 said:


> What is the room temp? This may have some effect on it as well as the age and storage of the yeast.
> 
> The good thing about the Jell-o method is that when production slows, you "recharge" the bottle by pouring off most of the water from the top and adding fresh yeast.


Yea, it was a little cold around here at that time. And area where bottle was located temperature was about 60F.
Yeast was used "Red Star" from local super-market.


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## James0816

That's a tad on the cold side for yeast. One thing you can look at doing is placing the bottle in small bucket of warm water. You can use a small fish tank heater to keep it in the 70s.


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## jeffro0050

Let me make sure I made the jello right..... Both the water AND the sugar added were more than the recipe required, yes? Making the bottle setup tommorow.. wanted to give it extra time to chill and harden up with the extra stuff added.


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## James0816

jeffro0050 said:


> Let me make sure I made the jello right..... Both the water AND the sugar added were more than the recipe required, yes? Making the bottle setup tommorow.. wanted to give it extra time to chill and harden up with the extra stuff added.


Not sure what you mean by "more than required". When making the Jell-O, your basically making Jell-O wigglers using that recipe which calls for 2 1/2 cups boiling water.


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## jeffro0050

sigh, I think they might have changed the recipe. I had to make 9 OZ since 6's and 3's were the only sizes available... neither called for sugar and it called for 2-1/2 cups per 12 oz. Guess we'll have to see what horrible blob thats waiting for me in my fridge.

Also, is there a reason not to use plain aquarium bubble filter tubing?


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## James0816

jeffro0050 said:


> sigh, I think they might have changed the recipe. I had to make 9 OZ since 6's and 3's were the only sizes available... neither called for sugar and it called for 2-1/2 cups per 12 oz. Guess we'll have to see what horrible blob thats waiting for me in my fridge.
> 
> Also, is there a reason not to use plain aquarium bubble filter tubing?


I think I know now what you were referring to as extra ingredients. Yes, the sugar is seperate from the Jell-O. You make the Jell-O as if making Jell-O wigglers. Then you will add the sugar to it and dissolve it prior to putting it in the fridge to set.

The plain air tubing is not made for CO2. The CO2 will eventually dissolve/corrode (whatever you want to call it) the regular tubing.


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## jeffro0050

I was afraid you'd say that- I've called about every single supplier in town looking for specially rated tubing for CO2 systems and it seems my only option is to order it online. *frown


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## James0816

jeffro0050 said:


> I was afraid you'd say that- I've called about every single supplier in town looking for specially rated tubing for CO2 systems and it seems my only option is to order it online. *frown


Do you have a Petsmart or Petco near by? The blue tubing is what you want to look for. Unless you can find a place that specifically states for CO2 use like an air/gas store.


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## jeffro0050

James0816 said:


> Do you have a Petsmart or Petco near by? The blue tubing is what you want to look for. Unless you can find a place that specifically states for CO2 use like an air/gas store.



okay I'm dumb, petco has it... my jello turned out too be a revolting blob though. 2 cups of sugar right? I got half a pan of jello on top, and half a pan of sugary jello goo on the bottom... 2 cups of sugar was almost the same quantity as the jello mix itself, has the recipe changed or am I just a god awful jello cook?


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## James0816

jeffro0050 said:


> okay I'm dumb, petco has it... my jello turned out too be a revolting blob though. 2 cups of sugar right? I got half a pan of jello on top, and half a pan of sugary jello goo on the bottom... 2 cups of sugar was almost the same quantity as the jello mix itself, has the recipe changed or am I just a god awful jello cook?


No changes in the recipe.

Bring water to rolling boil. Measure out 2 1/2 cups. Dissolve 1 6oz box of jell-o (stir for about 3 mins should do it). Add 2 cups sugar, stirring until dissolved (again should be about 3 minutes). pour into container and place into fridge for at least 4 hours.


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## jeffro0050

JIGGLERS FROM JELLO 

4 sm. pkgs. (4 serving size) or 2 lg. pkgs. (8 serving size) Jello brand gelatin, any flavor
2 1/2 c. boiling water or apple juice

Completely dissolve gelatin in boiling water or juice. Pour into 13"x9" pan. Chill until firm or about 3 hours. To remove, dip pan in warm water about 15 seconds. Cut into decorative shapes with Jigglers Cutters, ordinary cookie cutters or cut into 1" squares. Lift Jigglers from pan.


I guess my big mystery is on the sugar, is that something for this aquarium CO2 grade jello? I can't seem to find a recipe that calls for sugar. Again, not questioning you and this is an insanely stupid dilemma, but I'm just trying to make sure my next attempt doesn't end up like this one!*r2


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## James0816

jeffro0050 said:


> JIGGLERS FROM JELLO
> 
> 4 sm. pkgs. (4 serving size) or 2 lg. pkgs. (8 serving size) Jello brand gelatin, any flavor
> 2 1/2 c. boiling water or apple juice
> 
> Completely dissolve gelatin in boiling water or juice. Pour into 13"x9" pan. Chill until firm or about 3 hours. To remove, dip pan in warm water about 15 seconds. Cut into decorative shapes with Jigglers Cutters, ordinary cookie cutters or cut into 1" squares. Lift Jigglers from pan.
> 
> 
> I guess my big mystery is on the sugar, is that something for this aquarium CO2 grade jello? I can't seem to find a recipe that calls for sugar. Again, not questioning you and this is an insanely stupid dilemma, but I'm just trying to make sure my next attempt doesn't end up like this one!*r2


Just (1) 6oz box or (2) of the smaller 3oz boxes. So basically 6oz jell-o with 2 1/2 water.

The sugar is used exclusively for DIY CO2.


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## jeffro0050

James0816 said:


> Just (1) 6oz box or (2) of the smaller 3oz boxes. So basically 6oz jell-o with 2 1/2 water.
> 
> The sugar is used exclusively for DIY CO2.


That's precisely what I needed to know! Thanks for the expedient responses, as usual. Three cheers for James!*w3


edit: If you're still viewing the thread, the extra water is straight up so the huge amount of sugar will dissolve, yes? I think a 6 oz pack needs 1- 1/4 cup for just the jello per the box's instruction- should I just go with 1 6 oz? or use 9 oz again and add slightly more water?


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## James0816

jeffro0050 said:


> That's precisely what I needed to know! Thanks for the expedient responses, as usual. Three cheers for James!*w3
> 
> 
> edit: If you're still viewing the thread, the extra water is straight up so the huge amount of sugar will dissolve, yes? I think a 6 oz pack needs 1- 1/4 cup for just the jello per the box's instruction- should I just go with 1 6 oz? or use 9 oz again and add slightly more water?


No need to try to break it down into ratio's. Just 1 6oz box of jell-o, 2 cups sugar with 2 1/2 cups water. That's it. After it has sat up, then add to bottle (if not already in the bottle). Activate your yeast for ~ 15 minutes. then fill bottle to within 2" from top with warm tap water.

*EDIT* I keep saying 6oz. I think my guide says 8oz. Now you're gonna make me get home and double check the box size. ;o)


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## jeffro0050

James0816 said:


> No need to try to break it down into ratio's. Just 1 6oz box of jell-o, 2 cups sugar with 2 1/2 cups water. That's it. After it has sat up, then add to bottle (if not already in the bottle). Activate your yeast for ~ 15 minutes. then fill bottle to within 2" from top with warm tap water.
> 
> *EDIT* I keep saying 6oz. I think my guide says 8oz. Now you're gonna make me get home and double check the box size. ;o)


Haha, yeah, that's what I was wondering :fish9:

The jello step is the only one alien to me, I bake my own bread on occassion so the rest really shouldn't be a problem for me


----------



## NursePlaty

jeffro0050 said:


> Let me make sure I made the jello right..... Both the water AND the sugar added were more than the recipe required, yes? Making the bottle setup tommorow.. wanted to give it extra time to chill and harden up with the extra stuff added.


*I took a bowl, put 2 cups of sugar in it, then poured in the jello mix, then poured in the 2 cups of boiling water, then mix. Lots of sugar yes... diabetes in a bowl. *


----------



## jeffro0050

NursePlaty said:


> *I took a bowl, put 2 cups of sugar in it, then poured in the jello mix, then poured in the 2 cups of boiling water, then mix. Lots of sugar yes... diabetes in a bowl. *


What size box was your jello? not sure 8 oz exists down here!


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## klug7214

make sure you arent using sugar free jello... that might be why it isnt calling out for sugar


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## James0816

ok...the big boxes are 6oz. Not sure where that 8 came from. ;o)

I'll get that corrected.

yes...regular jell-o not sugar free.


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## NursePlaty

jeffro0050 said:


> What size box was your jello? not sure 8 oz exists down here!


*I think mine was a 6oz. I bet I could still do it with a 3oz and use less water and still work. But it really doesnt matter really, no need for all that math. I think you are thinking too hard. Just as long as your 2 seperate cups of sugar is fully dissolved in the jello that you made, you are fine. Then just dump in the activated yeast. The water doesnt have to be precise, neither does the yeast. If you accidently put more yeast, all it does is increase CO2 rate and decreases your bottle's lifespan and if you accidently put less, then its lower CO2 rate and longer lifespan. After a while I stopped measuring and just did everything by estimates. I measure out the 2 cups sugar though *


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## choylifutsoccer

Hello peoples. So I used the same set-up without the jello. Instead, in the reactor, I used 1.5 cups sugar, 1 teaspoon of yeast, and a pinch of baking soda. This recipe gave out CO2 for a little over 2 weeks.


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## choylifutsoccer

Oh, can't forget the water. lol


----------



## NursePlaty

*I figured out a problem and decided to shared with everyone in case one of you guys have the same problem I did. If I could upload a video I would but I can only upload pics. *

*Before my bubbles came out all at once.. 10-15 bubbles then a long pause, then another 10-15 bubbles all at once. I was told the way to fix this is to add an airstone, but my results were the same. To fix this.. I added more water to the gatorade bottle and removed the "curved" tubing in the bottle. Its the bottle that was filled with just plain water. BEFORE I had it filled to where I had 2 inches of space between the water level and the cap. NOW I added more water and filled it up to where I only have 2-3cm of space. *

*Here is a picture of my setup. I tried to get a good pic, as you can see there I left a small amount of air space in the gatorade bottle. And reduced my tube line. I get no pauses and a constant rate of 2-4 bubbles every second. The bubbles are still countable. Im not saying it will work for everyone, but if yours isnt working the way it should you could try my idea =]*


----------



## jeffro0050

NursePlaty said:


> *I figured out a problem and decided to shared with everyone in case one of you guys have the same problem I did. If I could upload a video I would but I can only upload pics. *
> 
> *Before my bubbles came out all at once.. 10-15 bubbles then a long pause, then another 10-15 bubbles all at once. I was told the way to fix this is to add an airstone, but my results were the same. To fix this.. I added more water to the gatorade bottle and removed the "curved" tubing in the bottle. Its the bottle that was filled with just plain water. BEFORE I had it filled to where I had 2 inches of space between the water level and the cap. NOW I added more water and filled it up to where I only have 2-3cm of space. *
> 
> *Here is a picture of my setup. I tried to get a good pic, as you can see there I left a small amount of air space in the gatorade bottle. And reduced my tube line. I get no pauses and a constant rate of 2-4 bubbles every second. The bubbles are still countable. Im not saying it will work for everyone, but if yours isnt working the way it should you could try my idea =]*


Thats a heck of a lot of CO2, lol. I wonder how many bottles using this recipe it would take to adversely affect the fish.


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## choylifutsoccer

> I figured out a problem and decided to shared with everyone in case one of you guys have the same problem I did. If I could upload a video I would but I can only upload pics.
> 
> Before my bubbles came out all at once.. 10-15 bubbles then a long pause, then another 10-15 bubbles all at once. I was told the way to fix this is to add an airstone, but my results were the same. To fix this.. I added more water to the gatorade bottle and removed the "curved" tubing in the bottle. Its the bottle that was filled with just plain water. BEFORE I had it filled to where I had 2 inches of space between the water level and the cap. NOW I added more water and filled it up to where I only have 2-3cm of space.
> 
> Here is a picture of my setup. I tried to get a good pic, as you can see there I left a small amount of air space in the gatorade bottle. And reduced my tube line. I get no pauses and a constant rate of 2-4 bubbles every second. The bubbles are still countable. Im not saying it will work for everyone, but if yours isnt working the way it should you could try my idea =]


You're like an engineer in the making. lol


----------



## James0816

You get the same results with the air stone as there is no resistance to hold back the pressure. If you were to use either a limewood or even better...a glass diffuser, you will get even better results.

I like the setup btw...nice and colorful. ;o)

Add a couple valves between bottles so you can change them out without losing pressure and you'll be rockin and rollin.

How big is the tank you have this contraption on?


----------



## NursePlaty

James0816 said:


> You get the same results with the air stone as there is no resistance to hold back the pressure. If you were to use either a limewood or even better...a glass diffuser, you will get even better results.
> 
> I like the setup btw...nice and colorful. ;o)
> 
> Add a couple valves between bottles so you can change them out without losing pressure and you'll be rockin and rollin.
> 
> How big is the tank you have this contraption on?


*I tried the airstone but I still got large bubbles. So my problem there was probably the low quality airstone, I tried looking for that limewood but could not find it anywhere. I also tried to fit the airstone into the HOB intake but the airstone was a tad bit too big. 

Yea I needed color so it wont look too ugly . I actually was thinking about the valves too but I already had 2 T-connectors and 4 bottles so I was worried about gas leaks. Adding valves would increase risk . The pressure builds back up pretty fast anyway.  Takes bout 2-3 mins to build back up. 

The tank is a 20 gallon long densly planted. I tried to put as much CO2 as possible to where I would see my fish gasping for air at the surface of my tank then it would tell me to lower it by a bottle. But that never happened. I guess DIY CO2 will always be obsolete to pressurized unless I rig up a 10 jello bottles "/*


----------



## James0816

NursePlaty said:


> I tried looking for that limewood but could not find it anywhere.


Petco around here is the only place I've seen have them. Otherwise it would be online shopping. Since noone carries the glass diffusers, I rely on the internet. ;o)


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## jeffro0050

Just finished my first DIY CO2 rig using a crap airstone, and walla... CO2 started being created in about 10 minutes! I'm watching my airstone release bubbles every 3 seconds, so clearly I need to redo it, but even using as half assed a path as possible to do it, I'm getting CO2! Huzzah! Pics when I find my camera's dang USB cable.

Out of curiosity, how soon can I expect to see results in my plants? I just half dosed some 0-0-3.


----------



## jeffro0050

Just got back from an emergency 5 day trip to TX and wowza. My plants have exploded in growth. I can't quite ID a certain species in my tank as its new leaves since implementation now grow to be about twice as large and are now reddish!

Amazed at the results.


----------



## homerdave

ever think of letting the bubbles inject at the pick-up tube of your filter. I have seen this done on another website, and I guess the filter dissipates the CO2 through the filter outlet! Sounded like it was a good idea, but I don't know. I don't use Co2, I only have a couple small plants.


Just a thought, I was wondering what you think. You have great ideas!!!


----------



## jeffro0050

homerdave said:


> ever think of letting the bubbles inject at the pick-up tube of your filter. I have seen this done on another website, and I guess the filter dissipates the CO2 through the filter outlet! Sounded like it was a good idea, but I don't know. I don't use Co2, I only have a couple small plants.
> 
> 
> Just a thought, I was wondering what you think. You have great ideas!!!


One problem with this is that surface agitation is how much of your CO2 escapes the water. Once I get my 55 gal setup completed It will be much much easier for me to experiment with this. When I overdosed my Co2 and my fish were showing lethargy, I took off the new reactor and agitated the water a bunch. Seemed like they returned to normal in a few minutes.


----------



## NursePlaty

jeffro0050 said:


> One problem with this is that surface agitation is how much of your CO2 escapes the water. Once I get my 55 gal setup completed It will be much much easier for me to experiment with this. When I overdosed my Co2 and my fish were showing lethargy, I took off the new reactor and agitated the water a bunch. Seemed like they returned to normal in a few minutes.


*What size tank and what size bottle are you using? I didnt think DIY CO2 will ever produce enough CO2 to cause lethargy. I have 3 bottles going in a 20 gallon and even my baby fish are not showing any symptoms of O2 deficiency. Or maybe they are just more hardy. I need to invest in a drop checker to see if my CO2 levels are fluctuating or not. Sometimes I dont even know if my DIY CO2 is working or not. 

For your 55 gallon you will need like 10+ DIY bottles lol . If my tank was that big I would think about pressurized. Or I can load up my shopping cart full of sugar for each month. (Might need to invest money towards growing sugar canes) *


----------



## James0816

Yep...for a 55...you definately would want to look at going pressurized. DIY will be a tough sell for that size.


----------



## Alabastercities

WhiteDevil said:


> I use brewers yeast, it lasts longer then bakers yeast or Jell-o, same principal, add a smidge of brown sugar to the mix and you got a 2 liter that lasts for atleast 20 days.
> 
> Winemakers or Brewers yeasts are the ones to use, active dry baking yeast consumes too quickly, brewers yeast lasts longer mainly due to the brewing process lasting longer then baking breads.



I have a quick question about Brewer's Yeast, and I didn't want to create a new thread. I am setting up my first DIY CO2 system, and I have never heard of using brewer's yeast before. I went and bought a can of it at GNC, but when I got home I noticed a label saying "Dried, Inactive Yeast". Did I buy the wrong type of yeast? If so, where can I get active brewer's yeast?

This DIY giude is great! I have everything ready to go, except for the yeast


----------



## littlefish

I'd like to show you another DIY co2 system that I'm using it from 1 year and I consider the best, 1 bubble per second for 3 weeks without the risk to explode because I'm using gelatine: Manage your freshwater aquarium, tropical fishes and plants: Do It Yourself Carbon Dioxide Injection


----------



## James0816

Yep, that's all I use now is Jell-O. Definately get better and longer results with it.

As for the brewers yeast, it is supposed to have a higher alcohol tolerance which makes it last longer. Champaign yeast has the highest tolerance but will come at a higer price. You also want to use active yeast.


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## GeminiPrincess

I just started building my first CO2 and have no idea what exactly im suppose to do here. I have a cheap blue airstone from petsmart - that is all they were selling - and the silicone sealant is drying as we speak. Once i set it up in the tank, what should i look for and how many bubbles am i going to want? I will have a lots of new plants come friday, so i want to try and have it up and runnin well by then if possible. Any help and advice would be great! 

I read on some of the post about using your filter to diffuse the bubbles, but i dont understand how that works. 

Not sure if you would need to know this but here:
26G BF
3-4 weeks into cycle
Emperor 400 Filter
64W Light
Natural Gravel
One powerful airstone for decor
3 active LF Danios


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## James0816

First off...get rid of the blue air stone. It will not benefit you at all for diffussion. You really want to try and find a glass diffuser or limewood at very least. PetCo (if you have one near by) is the only place I've seen carry limewood. Otherwise, you'll have to look online. Ebay is a good place to check too.

When you hear people talking about using the filter to diffuse the CO2 bubbles, what that are doing is taking the output hose of the CO2 and running in directly into the intake of the filter. The impeller of the filter will then break up the bubbles into smaller ones. It's not as efficient and can be a little on the noisy side but it does work.

Hope this helps and feel free to ask any questions you may have. We're all here to help.


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## GeminiPrincess

James0816 said:


> First off...get rid of the blue air stone. It will not benefit you at all for diffussion. You really want to try and find a glass diffuser or limewood at very least. PetCo (if you have one near by) is the only place I've seen carry limewood. Otherwise, you'll have to look online. Ebay is a good place to check too.
> 
> When you hear people talking about using the filter to diffuse the CO2 bubbles, what that are doing is taking the output hose of the CO2 and running in directly into the intake of the filter. The impeller of the filter will then break up the bubbles into smaller ones. It's not as efficient and can be a little on the noisy side but it does work.
> 
> Hope this helps and feel free to ask any questions you may have. We're all here to help.


How much are the limewood diffusers at petco noramlly? I've spent all my money on other things for my tank so im hoping you tell me they arn't that expensive  I've read somewhere that your have to redo the mixture every so many days...is that right? and how long do i need to redo things? Also i read that you used rice should i do that to? How many bubbles should the diffuser be producing? Thanks!


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## NursePlaty

GeminiPrincess said:


> How much are the limewood diffusers at petco noramlly? I've spent all my money on other things for my tank so im hoping you tell me they arn't that expensive  I've read somewhere that your have to redo the mixture every so many days...is that right? and how long do i need to redo things? Also i read that you used rice should i do that to? How many bubbles should the diffuser be producing? Thanks!


*I havent found limewood diffusers in many places. In my area, Petco and Petsmart do not sell them. Limewood is best to use and I think I bought mine for less than a dollar at a certain fish store. 

You redo the mixture when it stops producing bubbles. 

Rice is optional and depends on the hobbyist. It's just getting fancy.*


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## James0816

GeminiPrincess said:


> How much are the limewood diffusers at petco noramlly? I've spent all my money on other things for my tank so im hoping you tell me they arn't that expensive  I've read somewhere that your have to redo the mixture every so many days...is that right? and how long do i need to redo things? Also i read that you used rice should i do that to? How many bubbles should the diffuser be producing? Thanks!


They aren't very expensive at all actually. Just a few bucks. The glass ones will be just a little bit more as you can usually find them under $10 (not including shipping though).

The overall mix should last you several weeks. However, your results may vary depending on such factors like room temp and such. But generally speaking, a few weeks is a good bet.

I do use a small amount of uncooked rice and this seems to really help the mix along. The yeast breaks it down and turns it into sugar which then is consumed to make CO2.


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## jrman83

Just keep in mind that even DIY CO2 will lower your ph. Mine produces at the most 6 bubbles a minute (I know, my solution sucks) and my ph goes down to 7.4-7.6 from 8.2. It surprised me. This is on a 29gal and I also have one huge piece of new driftwood in there that could be causing it to lower more.


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## GeminiPrincess

James0816 said:


> They aren't very expensive at all actually. Just a few bucks. The glass ones will be just a little bit more as you can usually find them under $10 (not including shipping though).
> 
> The overall mix should last you several weeks. However, your results may vary depending on such factors like room temp and such. But generally speaking, a few weeks is a good bet.
> 
> I do use a small amount of uncooked rice and this seems to really help the mix along. The yeast breaks it down and turns it into sugar which then is consumed to make CO2.


i called around and couldn't find any limewood, so i ordered them, is there anything i can use while waiting for them to be delivered?


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## James0816

Actually there is. Do you have any bamboo chopsticks around? I'm sure there has to be a restraunt there somewhere right? Cut the end about 2" and shove that into the end of the tube. That would be your best bet until a better diffusor arrives.

I've also heard (but never tried), clean cigarette filters. The kind you would get from a tobacco store to make your own cigarettes. Haven't tried it, so can't tell you how well it would do and since I don't smoke, I have no reason to go there. ;o)

Place the end under the intake of your filter. This will help also.


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## GeminiPrincess

Well crap, i just realized as i was making a 2nd diy co2 that i goofed and used a small pack of jello on the first one - what is that going to do? I also just noticed that the first one is making bubbles constantly - 1 ever second...is this because of the jello? Should i redo everything? What should i do to slow down the bubbles?


----------



## James0816

GeminiPrincess said:


> Well crap, i just realized as i was making a 2nd diy co2 that i goofed and used a small pack of jello on the first one - what is that going to do? I also just noticed that the first one is making bubbles constantly - 1 ever second...is this because of the jello? Should i redo everything? What should i do to slow down the bubbles?


It will just release more sugar quicker. Almost like the straight sugar/water method.

The bubble count will be fine. By chance do you have a drop checker?


----------



## GeminiPrincess

James0816 said:


> It will just release more sugar quicker. Almost like the straight sugar/water method.
> 
> The bubble count will be fine. By chance do you have a drop checker?


Good, i was worried i was going to have to redo it. 1 bubble a second isn't too much? I thought it could kill the fish if the CO2 was to high. Where in the tank should I have the diffuser? Right now it is up in the corner next to the heater. What is a drop checker?


----------



## James0816

Place the CO2 output under the intake of your filter.

The drop checker is a small instrument that will tell you how much CO2 saturation is in the water. They are inexpensive and if you have any concerns about the CO2, I highly recommend in getting one. Will give you a better sense of security.


----------



## GeminiPrincess

James0816 said:


> Place the CO2 output under the intake of your filter.
> 
> The drop checker is a small instrument that will tell you how much CO2 saturation is in the water. They are inexpensive and if you have any concerns about the CO2, I highly recommend in getting one. Will give you a better sense of security.


One of the master test kits i was looking at comes with a co2 checker, is that the same thing?


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## GeminiPrincess

I finished my second co2 and the bubbles on this one come out even faster, they just pop out right after each other. The wood diffuser has 2 steady streams of small bubbles coming out. That's too much for a 10 gallon isn't it? I tried to slow them down but the only way i found that works is by partially burring the wood diffuser under the gravel right under the filter thing. I must of done somethin wrong to have both of them spittin out bubbles like there is no tomorrow.


----------



## NursePlaty

GeminiPrincess said:


> I finished my second co2 and the bubbles on this one come out even faster, they just pop out right after each other. The wood diffuser has 2 steady streams of small bubbles coming out. That's too much for a 10 gallon isn't it? I tried to slow them down but the only way i found that works is by partially burring the wood diffuser under the gravel right under the filter thing. I must of done somethin wrong to have both of them spittin out bubbles like there is no tomorrow.


*Theres no way of slowing down a DIY diffuser. If you slow it down you might risk the bottle bursting. You cant regulate it which is one of the fallbacks of DIY CO2. But I dont think it would harm anything. I used to have 3 bottles running in my 20g. 1 bottle for your 10g should be fine.*


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## jrman83

You could always invest in a drop checker, but something tells me you wouldn't have enough CO2 present to register.


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## NursePlaty

*^x2. A drop checker really helps alot. I look at it everyday. Its only 6 bucks including shipping on ebay. But I dont think DIY CO2 will produce enough CO2 to be registered on the drop checker either.*


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## James0816

GeminiPrincess said:


> wood diffuser has 2 steady streams of small bubbles coming out.


This is exactly what you are looking for. Don't burry it or try to slow the rate. It is working just fine. Try to position the limewood right under the intake so that some of the bubbles will be sucked up by the filter's intake. It will help further diffuse the CO2 in the water.


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## James0816

NursePlaty said:


> But I dont think DIY CO2 will produce enough CO2 to be registered on the drop checker either.


It does. But this depends on your mix. My DCs hold steady at a nice green color. I can muck with the mix sometimes and get it borderline yellow too. 

Keep in mind these are on 10g tanks though. On the 20s, they stay green with no hint of yellow.


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## GeminiPrincess

Thank you all! I was so worried i was going to wake up to dead fish in my son's tank and would have to run out and replace them before he noticed. The first one on the 26g slowed down some and the 2nd is still running fast.


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## Niki7

I just finished making this set-up and Im waiting on the jello...I was wondering if this would be ok for a 5 gal with a betta in it. I was thinking a betta probably has less chance of having O2 probs because he breathes at the surface, but am I wrong in my assumption? With one bottle do you think there is little chance of too much CO2? I don't have one of those measuring instruments


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## Niki7

Any reason why you couldn't use a hunk of chopstick all the time as a diffuser? It sounds like a really cheap solution for me since no other diffusers are available around here.


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## James0816

You can. That's the good thing about DIY. ;o)


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## GeminiPrincess

Niki7 said:


> Any reason why you couldn't use a hunk of chopstick all the time as a diffuser? It sounds like a really cheap solution for me since no other diffusers are available around here.


I took the suggestion of goin on ebay and i found 2 wood diffusers for a total of $5 and some change (includes shippin) if you want ill send you the sellers name on ebay


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## Niki7

Thanks for the offer Gemini! I'd love to have the name.

One other question for all of you...my husband brews beer. Since he has a new batch going every month, do you think I could rig up his carboys to an airline? Right now he uses a CO2 valve to release the gas into the air, why not send it into my tank? I mean he uses all the same stuff essentially...sugar, water, yeast... and adds hops. Would this be dangerous or unworkable? He is laughing right now saying it would be a great way to bring our hobbies together lol!


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## GeminiPrincess

Niki7 said:


> Thanks for the offer Gemini! I'd love to have the name.
> 
> One other question for all of you...my husband brews beer. Since he has a new batch going every month, do you think I could rig up his carboys to an airline? Right now he uses a CO2 valve to release the gas into the air, why not send it into my tank? I mean he uses all the same stuff essentially...sugar, water, yeast... and adds hops. Would this be dangerous or unworkable? He is laughing right now saying it would be a great way to bring our hobbies together lol!


Here is the link to the same one i bought, says he has 10 left  The sellers name is amekaaquatic he/she is a top seller and a few hours after i bought them he shipped them out and i got them in 2 days. Very good seller! If the link below doesn't work then let me know.

2 Wooden air diffuser wood airstone air stone sm USA - eBay (item 390166103542 end time Nov-30-10 14:34:33 PST)


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## GeminiPrincess

Something odd i observed...The first one i made (with to little jello) stoped producing bubbles in my 26 gallon. I moved the diffuser closer to the surface and it still wouldn't work. I switched it with the second one i made for my son's 10 gallon and put the one that wasn't workin in his tank and boom it started working again at full speed. Any idea why that is? Also, since im not freakin out about to much CO2 in the 26 gallon i was wondering if i added another jello bottle to that one if you thought that would be to much CO2. It is day 2 of having the tank fully planted, and some of the plants look a bit sickly - lack of color - and was wondering if i bumped up the CO2 if that would help. Let me know what you think.  Thanks again for all your help!!


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## Niki7

thanks Gemini!! you rock! *h/b


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## GeminiPrincess

Niki7 said:


> thanks Gemini!! you rock! *h/b


thanks!!


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## jrman83

Check your ph to see how the new CO2 has affected it and keep the value in mind compared to what it was before CO2. Just remember when you are adding/stopping/starting things you could be causing ph swings which are not good for your fish. Depending on how much you have going in, you may want to consider a bubbler when you turn your light off.


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## James0816

Niki7 said:


> One other question for all of you...my husband brews beer. Since he has a new batch going every month, do you think I could rig up his carboys to an airline?


I've heard of others doing this. CO2 is CO2. If it is near by, I don't see why you couldn't do it. I'm not sure how much home brew produces so I would highly suggest getting a drop checker to closely monitor it. You may also need to have an air pump handly.


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## peteyboyny

All of the above info is awesome. Thanks for the pics as well, def helps to understand it better. I have wanted to start using C02 but felt kinda intimidated by the cost of some of the systems and didn't think a DIY system was that easy. Will let you know how it turns out. Thanks.


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## James0816

You're most welcome! That's the thing with most DIY projects especially CO2. People feel intimidated by it when it's actually rather simple. Hope all turns out well for you.


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## Niki7

My DIY CO2 set up is going like crazy! I don't think I will need to buy a diffuser as the chopstick method is unbelievably effective. I will post pics later after I check my ph!!!

James, do other people take the co2 diffuser out of the water overnight given the plants don't transpire without the light? I thought I could just take it out and put it in a glass of water when I shut off the lights then pop it back in in the morning. Since mine is a 5 gal it is tiny and I wouldn't want to overload it. Working on getting a drop checker. Thanks!


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## Niki7

This is a shot of the bamboo chopstick diffuser that I made. It is working very well!


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## James0816

Most will run an air stone at night if there is concern of too much CO2. It creates surface aggitation which will gas off the CO2.


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## Niki7

Ugh I've been everywhere and no one has the CO2 drop checker. Anyone have a good online source for that?

Also, I checked my pH and observed my fry who are in the CO2 tank and one was gasping so I pulled the diffuser out and left it to sit in a glass of water. Since this morning, the pH went from 7.4 to 6.6! They look ok now (it's been out for a few hours) but now I am wondering how to regulate the pH. Sorry to have so many questions! Should I just run a regular airstone all the time? I don't currently use one for such a small tank given the filter aerates the water just fine on its own. Maybe it is just too small for the CO2 (5 gal).

My plants all had oxygen bubbles on the underside of their leaves so that's a good thing! They are using the gas which is pretty cool given they were looking a bit tattered and sad yesterday.


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## James0816

Have you checked Ebay? Also, Big Al's has them:

CO2 Drop Checker


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## jrman83

I have a dual timer on my CO2 tanks, even the DIY tank. When my light goes out, my bubbler comes on. On the one system that has a ph controller, if the ph peaks too low it will turn on my bubbler automatically. I also use the Red Sea Bio system on my DIY tank. It's bascially a DIY type mixture, but the line runs up to a pump that pushes the CO2 out in the water and diffuses it. When that pump shuts down, the amonut of CO2 that comes out dwindles. It all comes as a complete system.


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## Niki7

Well, I'm a little sad because I lost one of my bigger guppy fry today. The one that was gasping last night made it til this am, then I checked around noon and it was stuck to the filter intake. I was really bummed. I think the ph swing was just way too much for it. So I haven't put the CO2 back in yet because I honestly think my tank is too small. Every time i checked the ph today it was different, and it bounced way higher than previous at the last check, from 7.4 to 6.6 to 8!!! Now there is ammonia too, and I'm thinking it is a couple plant leaves starting to decompose. So I carefully removed the questionable leaves, did a water change, and rinsed the filter and dosed it with Nite Out. I hope things quiet down tomorrow.


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## James0816

Sry about the fry. (

By chance did you run an airstone and have you been able to find a drop checker?


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## Niki7

I am running an airstone now and the other two fry look fine and happy. There are no drop checkers around here. Went to three different places and no one has any let alone ever heard of one. I'm going to go online and get one and see what else I need while I am ordering. The LFS hasn't called me back on the lights so I might just go ahead and get them online...I like to "keep it local" to keep places open but if they don't call back, well, there's a reason people go elsewhere!


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## James0816

I'm the same way. Would rather do my buisness locally as well, but most times in this hobby it's just not practical unfortunately. (

Check the link I posted for Big Al's. They are a good company to deal with and fast. They'll also help you with your lighting too. And everything else for that matter. ;o)

Once you get the DC, you'll be able to get an idea of the CO2 level in the tank. You can run your CO2 again and use the air stone at night.


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## GeminiPrincess

Well, the i redid the first DIY CO2 mix last night and it still hasn't started producing bubbles. I double checked everything as i I was making it, so I have no idea whats goin on. I screwed on the lid as tight as i could, but still no luck...Any suggestions?


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## James0816

Is it possible you can post a pic of the entire setup. If it's not producing, I have to suspect a leak.


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## GeminiPrincess

James0816 said:


> Is it possible you can post a pic of the entire setup. If it's not producing, I have to suspect a leak.


I'll try to get one up, not sure it will do any good because its kinda squished in the corner of the counter, but i will try here today. Thanks for the quick response! I'm going to search for any type of leak.


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## jrman83

Spray it down with soapy water and look for bubbles. That will show if you have aire escaping.


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## GeminiPrincess

jrman83 said:


> Spray it down with soapy water and look for bubbles. That will show if you have aire escaping.


Fabulous idea, i never would of thought of that!


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## GeminiPrincess

did the soapy water trick, no bubbles. Resealed the lids and boom its producing again, but its not coming out of the diffuser. It started once i resealed the Gatorade lid which must of come loose when i took it off to redo the mix. Its been producing bubbles for about 20 min, shouldn't it be comin out of the diffuser already?


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## GeminiPrincess

No idea what to do, I made a new bubble bottle, sealed everything and put in a new hose to from the bubble couter to the tank and still nothing in the tank even though its producing bubbles. I also saw that the diffuser has black on it, kinda looks like marker that smeared (no other black in the tank). Here is a pic.


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## James0816

Looks good with the water levels. It will take longer than 20 minutes to start coming out from the limewood. The black you are seeing is normal. You can use a toothbrush and gently remove it.

What is the tube to the right of the bottles? Is it seperate or is it part of the setup?


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## GeminiPrincess

James0816 said:


> Looks good with the water levels. It will take longer than 20 minutes to start coming out from the limewood. The black you are seeing is normal. You can use a toothbrush and gently remove it.
> 
> What is the tube to the right of the bottles? Is it seperate or is it part of the setup?


I just went to look to see what that tube was for and its for the air pump. The one oto in that tank is goin at the limewood like crazy. It has now been an hour since i replaced the tube from the bubble counter to the diffuser and still no action, how long should it be so i can keep an eye on it?


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## GeminiPrincess

Still nothing from the diffuser....wondering what is going on with it


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## James0816

hmmmm....ok....let's backtrack a little. Are there bubbles coming out in the gas seperator bottle?

Another thing we can try.....and I would seriously doubt this as it's limewood....hook up the limewood to the air pump and see if air is pushing through it. This should work for limewood but not glass diffusers. You need a compressor for those.


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## GeminiPrincess

James0816 said:


> hmmmm....ok....let's backtrack a little. Are there bubbles coming out in the gas seperator bottle?
> 
> Another thing we can try.....and I would seriously doubt this as it's limewood....hook up the limewood to the air pump and see if air is pushing through it. This should work for limewood but not glass diffusers. You need a compressor for those.


Bubbles are being reproduced about 1-2 per second. I checked the diffuser and its fine when hooked up to the air pump. I put it back on the CO2 and once again resealed everything. Still nothing out of the diffuser, but i will wait and see.


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## James0816

Let it sit for a spell and go from here. With all the opening and closing it is losing all the pressure. It looks and sounds as if everything is perfect. Let it build and see what we get.


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## GeminiPrincess

James0816 said:


> Let it sit for a spell and go from here. With all the opening and closing it is losing all the pressure. It looks and sounds as if everything is perfect. Let it build and see what we get.


Been over 24hours and still nothin from the diffuser, any other ideas?


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## James0816

Man, I hate for you to keep having to open the bottle. Definatey should have been seeing bubbles from the diffuser by now. With you getting air out from the limewood using your air pump...this is telling me one of two things: 1) you're not building enough pressure in the bottle or 2) you have a leak somewhere.

How often do you see bubbles in the seperator bottle? I'll have to go back and look over your recipe too. May need to mix up a new batch. Another way of testing the pressure (when you set it up again), is put a small amount of water in the tubing between the seperator bottle and diffuser. As pressure builds, the water will move down the line. This will show you that it is building as well about when you can expect to see it start in the tank.


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## GeminiPrincess

James0816 said:


> Man, I hate for you to keep having to open the bottle. Definatey should have been seeing bubbles from the diffuser by now. With you getting air out from the limewood using your air pump...this is telling me one of two things: 1) you're not building enough pressure in the bottle or 2) you have a leak somewhere.
> 
> How often do you see bubbles in the seperator bottle? I'll have to go back and look over your recipe too. May need to mix up a new batch. Another way of testing the pressure (when you set it up again), is put a small amount of water in the tubing between the seperator bottle and diffuser. As pressure builds, the water will move down the line. This will show you that it is building as well about when you can expect to see it start in the tank.


ive seen water move through the tube between the mix bottle and the separator bottle. i think i figured out the problem. Whenever i put the diffuser into the tank, half the tube fills with water. The tube is brand new so im thinking maybe there is something up with the diffuser. I am going to try to switch diffusers from the big tank to the problem tank and see if that works, if it does then maybe we will have an answer  I even added a tiny pinch of yeast to the mix last night, and still nothing. I don't understand where a leak could be, ive sealed and resealed 3 times with no luck. Do you think it could be around the lid? the smaller bottle is a gatorade as well, and its on there pretty tight. I just don't get it though, its producing 1-2 bubbles or more a second with no action from the diffuser. I've tried 2 separater bottles with no luck.


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## jrman83

Put the soapy water in a spray bottle and spray down everything. 409 works really well if you have some of that.


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## GeminiPrincess

jrman83 said:


> Put the soapy water in a spray bottle and spray down everything. 409 works really well if you have some of that.


ive covered everything in soapy water, not 409 though. I just don't get it ive replaced the tubes and sealant and water bottle with a gatorade bottle and still nothin. This is so frusterating...grr. I will try 409, but shouldn't i keep that away from the aquarium?


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## jrman83

Get a different diffuser.


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## GeminiPrincess

jrman83 said:


> Get a different diffuser.


Would the end of a natural wood paintbrush work? I broke one off and sanded it a bit to make sure nothing was on there then washed it in scalding hot water. It fits in there perfectly, I just don't want it to build up to much pressure and boom. Then again, I haven't had that problem yet so I guess I will just check on it periodically. Really I could go out to the Fish Gallery and buy some diffusers but I tend to spend way to much money each time i walk in that store, or I could order more offline, but then ill have to wait. I searched for chopsticks but we only have the plastic ones.


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## paronaram

GeminiPrincess,

I think before you go to the "Aquarium Store" (not sure why not ordering parts online on the first place - my 2¢) again, make sure the following is done:
- Drill the holes in the caps, do not cut them!
- Use 1/2 size smaller bit, so that seal between CO2 line and plastic be very tight. Then seal with silicon 
- Make sure yeast is active! (fresh, not been seating in open pack)
- Activate the mix (mix 1/4 tsp sugar with all your years and mix in warm water, when it start's bubbling, add that mix to the main bottle.

At the beginning do not use any bubble counter and diffuser.
Put the tube from the main bottle directly to the water (maybe some other container not aquarium). Make sure it bobbles well, then add diffuser.
If you see it bobbles, then you OK, if not. Two things are possibly happening:
a. diffuser is bad 
b. seal on the bottle is no good. Can not hold the pressure!

Seal on the bottle and diffuser can be tested with seltzer, don't use pricey materials to test the valve, seal, etc. 

And the most important! the Temperature of the MIX!
I had a situation when the wall by the aquarium at night was getting very cold (56F-60F), and bubbling will stop completely at that time. To fix that problem I placed my DIY CO2 generator in to the bucket with water and heater  (after that I dropped the DIY idea, and I switched to pressurized)

I hope this will help.


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## GeminiPrincess

paronaram said:


> GeminiPrincess,
> 
> I think before you go to the "Aquarium Store" (not sure why not ordering parts online on the first place - my 2¢) again, make sure the following is done:
> - Drill the holes in the caps, do not cut them!
> - Use 1/2 size smaller bit, so that seal between CO2 line and plastic be very tight. Then seal with silicon
> - Make sure yeast is active! (fresh, not been seating in open pack)
> - Activate the mix (mix 1/4 tsp sugar with all your years and mix in warm water, when it start's bubbling, add that mix to the main bottle.
> 
> At the beginning do not use any bubble counter and diffuser.
> Put the tube from the main bottle directly to the water (maybe some other container not aquarium). Make sure it bobbles well, then add diffuser.
> If you see it bobbles, then you OK, if not. Two things are possibly happening:
> a. diffuser is bad
> b. seal on the bottle is no good. Can not hold the pressure!
> 
> Seal on the bottle and diffuser can be tested with seltzer, don't use pricey materials to test the valve, seal, etc.
> 
> And the most important! the Temperature of the MIX!
> I had a situation when the wall by the aquarium at night was getting very cold (56F-60F), and bubbling will stop completely at that time. To fix that problem I placed my DIY CO2 generator in to the bucket with water and heater  (after that I dropped the DIY idea, and I switched to pressurized)
> 
> I hope this will help.


I would go to the store because i can pay $3 there and not have to wait or pay $3 online and have to wait a week. I was just saying I tend to buy and spend lotsa money when I go there because they have everything i could possibly need or want. I have done everything you suggested. It is most likely the diffuser. Thanks.


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## James0816

If you were able to run air through the limewood, the CO2 should flow just fine as it produces more pressure than that of the air pump. How is the tube in the lid of the seperator bottle? Is it about 1/4" into the cap and no silicone obstructing it?


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## jrman83

Just buy a maxi-jet 400 ($16), drop your CO2 in the air inlet port and be done with your problem.


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## GeminiPrincess

James0816 said:


> If you were able to run air through the limewood, the CO2 should flow just fine as it produces more pressure than that of the air pump. How is the tube in the lid of the seperator bottle? Is it about 1/4" into the cap and no silicone obstructing it?


yep 1/4" no blockage. I guess i'll just leave it and wait for a week or so, it just makes no sense to me.


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## paronaram

GeminiPrincess said:


> I would go to the store because i can pay $3 there and not have to wait or pay $3 online and have to wait a week. I was just saying I tend to buy and spend lotsa money when I go there because they have everything i could possibly need or want. I have done everything you suggested. It is most likely the diffuser. Thanks.


Very nice store I wound say! Normally price is higher in the store.
(At least in NYC)


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## GeminiPrincess

paronaram said:


> Very nice store I wound say! Normally price is higher in the store.
> (At least in NYC)


yeah, i was surprised because everything there is more expensive compared to petco and petsmart. I spent $3+ on one stinkin male guppy versus $1.50.


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## egearbox

Just wanted to say thanks for the tutorial! I had forgotten completely that fermentation is an excellent source of CO2. 

If anybody out there is interested, here is a tutorial on how to make a little device to count the bubbles being put out by your CO2 generator. (No, I'm not the author, but it looks like a fun project!)

Bubble Logger - SparkFun Electronics


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## GeminiPrincess

Ok I don't know what else to do besides remove the Co2 from my tank  I redid my co2 on my tank because it stopped producing. I added 2 more bottles (3 bottles with a bubble counter) I resealed all the tubes and let it cure for 24+ hours. I made the jello mix to a T and even added a bit extra yeast when i noticed it wasn't producing after 24 hours. After adding the extra yeast, i went and sealed the lids onto the bottles in hopes that would help. No such luck, no bubbles. At that point I disconnected the bubble maker and hooked it up strait from the bottle to the tank. Still nothing. A few things i noticed though. Half the tube from the bottles to the bubble counter had water in it that never budged. The tube from the bubble counter to the tank would fill with water - never budged. I spent the last of my money on 2 check valves and a glass diffuser lastnight, but don't know if it will help at all once it gets here. I don't know what to do. I am completely stumped and frusterated beyond belief. I have put hours into trying to figure out where i went wrong.


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## egearbox

One thing that I missed the first time around was you REALLY have to use hot water to "activate" the yeast before you put it in the bottle with the jello and sugar. It's not a convenience, it's mandatory. Otherwise the yeast never "wakes up", I think. I missed this initially and fixed it by dumping hot water (really hot) into the bottle where the yeast and jello were sitting. I figured that was easier than trying to get everything out of the bottle again.


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## GeminiPrincess

egearbox said:


> One thing that I missed the first time around was you REALLY have to use hot water to "activate" the yeast before you put it in the bottle with the jello and sugar. It's not a convenience, it's mandatory. Otherwise the yeast never "wakes up", I think. I missed this initially and fixed it by dumping hot water (really hot) into the bottle where the yeast and jello were sitting. I figured that was easier than trying to get everything out of the bottle again.


I used abnormally hot water to where it burned my hands, if i removed some of the water from the jello mix, and added super hot and yeast again, would that work, or will i have to redo everything? The bottles have a foamey bubbly top to them and i can see grains of whatever moving slowly in the bottle.


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## James0816

GeminiPrincess said:


> I used abnormally hot water to where it burned my hands, if i removed some of the water from the jello mix, and added super hot and yeast again, would that work, or will i have to redo everything? The bottles have a foamey bubbly top to them and i can see grains of whatever moving slowly in the bottle.


You don't need super hot water to activate the yeast. I don't even take a temp reading anymore when I activate it. I just run the hot water until it feels hot. Using a measuring cup, add 1 tsp sugar and then 1 cup hot water. Stir to dissolve and then add 1/4 tsp yeast. Let that sit for ~ 15 minutes prior to adding to the bottle..

I have to say, this is rather odd indeed. I know some people will have issues when they first attempt it, but it usually gets going after the second attempt. So sry that this is being such a pain.


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## GeminiPrincess

James0816 said:


> You don't need super hot water to activate the yeast. I don't even take a temp reading anymore when I activate it. I just run the hot water until it feels hot. Using a measuring cup, add 1 tsp sugar and then 1 cup hot water. Stir to dissolve and then add 1/4 tsp yeast. Let that sit for ~ 15 minutes prior to adding to the bottle..
> 
> I have to say, this is rather odd indeed. I know some people will have issues when they first attempt it, but it usually gets going after the second attempt. So sry that this is being such a pain.


Not your fault at all, I just wish i knew what was going on. I am really hoping to get enough money together from Christmas to buy pressurized, but it kinda comes down to gettin shrimpies to make money or pressurized, so maybe I will get shrimp first then hopefully sell enough to get pressurized


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## egearbox

> The bottles have a foamey bubbly top to them and i can see grains of whatever moving slowly in the bottle.


Hearing that, I would say that it seems like the yeast is working - either the line is blocked (so the pressure can't get through) or the bottle is not sealed completely (so that the gas is escaping someplace else.) To me it seems like those are the only other possibilities. If the stuff inside is foaming, that has to mean (I think!) that it is producing CO2, and the CO2 has to be going somewhere....


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## GeminiPrincess

egearbox said:


> Hearing that, I would say that it seems like the yeast is working - either the line is blocked (so the pressure can't get through) or the bottle is not sealed completely (so that the gas is escaping someplace else.) To me it seems like those are the only other possibilities. If the stuff inside is foaming, that has to mean (I think!) that it is producing CO2, and the CO2 has to be going somewhere....


wish i knew where it was running off to  grrr


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## egearbox

Have you tried just squeezing the yeast bottle (to increase the pressure) and seeing if you get bubbles in the tank? Sometimes the simple solutions are best. That's how I found a leak in mine.


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## GeminiPrincess

egearbox said:


> Have you tried just squeezing the yeast bottle (to increase the pressure) and seeing if you get bubbles in the tank? Sometimes the simple solutions are best. That's how I found a leak in mine.


yes, bubbles come out


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## GeminiPrincess

Ooooook think i found the problem. The one thing i didn't try was Jrman's suggestion a while back about spraying it down with 409. Found a leak in the first bottle where the tube was silliconed. No idea how it got there since it is sealed on both sides, but it was there. It has been about 30 min since i resealed it - and i really globbed it on way more then needed. Still no bubbles, but i have high hopes.


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## jrman83

Knew it had to be a leak. Hope you gave the sealer 24hrs to dry.


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## GeminiPrincess

I took it all apart when it never produced, and just did one bottle and boom worked right away so i added the bubble counter and it stopped working so we will see.


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## tscott

Hey I'm new here, have been reading posts here for a while, I just wanted to say thanks for this post. I got it up and running in no time with the jello method and it is working fantastic!


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## James0816

You are most welcome! Glad it worked out for you.


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## Gizmo

Bump


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## Gizmo

Bump again! Good writeup, this is a good go-by for me & has been for years.


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## Gizmo

Bump! Still my favorite DIY CO2 thread


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