# co2 substitute



## igot2gats (Aug 12, 2010)

Anyone have any suggestions on a co2 substitute, as I don't want to spend the hundreds of $ on a co2 cartridge / setup for my 29G Biocube planted tank that I'm setting up soon.

I've heard about Seachem Excel. Any reviews on this?

Any other substitues that are effective?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Are you opposed to doing a DIY CO2 setup? Might cost you $15-20 to get going.


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## Cole (Aug 18, 2010)

+1 for DIY. You can set them up very quickly and inexpensively. Your costs are only 2 cups of sugar every few weeks and some yeast.

Excel works as well, but some plants/animals don't tolerate it very well. I've mainly heard of problems with anacharis, vals, and shrimp.


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## NursePlaty (Feb 5, 2010)

*If pressurized CO2 were rated 10 on a 1-10 scale. I would rate Flourish Excel a 7 and DIY CO2 a 5 or 6. Flourish Excel does hurt some plants but not very many, only a small amount of species. There is also another liquid carbon that is not harmful to anything, but has no algae killing effects like Excel. Its called Flourin Axis from Brightwell Aquatics. Should look like a black bottle. However, I still prefer Excel over Flourin Axis. I have used both and seem to have better growth with Excel. But both are non-comparable to a pressurized CO2 system hehe.*


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## Alasse (Mar 12, 2009)

I use a product called Dinosaur Spit (yeah i know *L*), its excellent.


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## igot2gats (Aug 12, 2010)

jrman83 said:


> Are you opposed to doing a DIY CO2 setup? Might cost you $15-20 to get going.


So, all i do is put air line tubing through a 2L bottle cap, add an airstone to the end of the tubing that's in the tank, add the mix in the bottle & anchor the airstone in the tank?

Stuff I read said to use a diffuser and/or a reactor? Is this needed? What do you do with these?

Also, not sure where I could run the tubing with all the cord line holes on the back of my Biocube hood already accounted for.

I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do, just researching this method more...


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

You can run the air line to the intake of your filter and that would take care of the diffusing. I am sure you could modify your hood to accomodate a small airline tube.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Me personally...If you can't/don't want to go to a pressurized CO2 system, I would definately look into DIY as a much better option. But that's just me. You have to figure out what works for you and what you feel most comfortable with. DIY CO2 is really simple and will be better off than using Excel (both plant wise and wallet wise).


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## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

Cost wise, DIY is MUCH MUCH cheaper then buying excel or other liquid carbons every week.

I run both DIY and pressurized and I gotta say even my DIY is cheaper them the 5# of Co2 I need filled ever 2-3 weeks.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Wow, you need it filled that often? The tank I just got that came with a CO2 system came with a 10lb bottle that the guy said had lasted him a year and a half.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

I just caught that myself. Pressurized definately should be lasting a lot longer than 3 weeks.


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## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

Not here it doesnt, the Co2 is used for alot more then just the plants though, it maintains the Ph and thus uses it quicker. the 20oz diy paintball rig i made lasted 2 months on a full charge.

If i was just using it for plants then the 5# would last me a long time but Im not so it doesnt.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I'll be using to maintain my ph on one of my tanks for now. I'll see if that is the way it goes for me also.


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## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

Mine is hooked via a controller(reefkeeper lite sl1) Its not on always but if the ph goes up or down .01 it kicks on and levels it out.


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## littlefish (Aug 4, 2010)

DIY co2 system Manage your freshwater aquarium, tropical fishes and plants: Do It Yourself Carbon Dioxide Injection


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## Cole (Aug 18, 2010)

Just to clarify the article the "valve" mentioned is a check valve. You don't want a different type of valve that can completely close off airflow, unless you want an exploded bottle.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

And that doesn't mean anything dangerous per se, just one big-a$$ mess.


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## igot2gats (Aug 12, 2010)

Well, after doing more research on YouTube, I've made up my decision:

I'm going to go the DIY co2 route. I think it'll be fun to set up & manage...not to mention watch in action.

Even though some articles I read had step-by-step picture instructions...just not the same as YouTube.

Thanks for all the help as always to everyone.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Go to the DIY section on here....could be different mixtures than what you've read and could be better.


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## Cole (Aug 18, 2010)

^ Agreed

On another forum, someone tried brown sugar instead of white sugar and claimed to get a greater number and more consistent bubbles. I haven't tried it yet, but plan to next time.


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## NursePlaty (Feb 5, 2010)

*My CO2 5lb last me 2 months or longer. Each refill is $11 for me. It probably depends on the size of the tank. I spent too much on sugar every 2-3 weeks for DIY that my pressurized is so much cheaper.*


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

NursePlaty said:


> pressurized is so much cheaper.


Yep..in the long run, your ROI for a pressurized system will balance out. Short term use will be just the opposite in using the DIY method.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Good info on DIY CO2. Good little parts you can buy to make a better system.
DIY CO2 System for Planted Aquarium


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## GeminiPrincess (Oct 1, 2010)

NursePlaty said:


> *If pressurized CO2 were rated 10 on a 1-10 scale. I would rate Flourish Excel a 7 and DIY CO2 a 5 or 6. Flourish Excel does hurt some plants but not very many, only a small amount of species. There is also another liquid carbon that is not harmful to anything, but has no algae killing effects like Excel. Its called Flourin Axis from Brightwell Aquatics. Should look like a black bottle. However, I still prefer Excel over Flourin Axis. I have used both and seem to have better growth with Excel. But both are non-comparable to a pressurized CO2 system hehe.*


I still have algae on some of my plants and just started running the DIY CO2, do you think if i added Excel to get rid of some of the algae do you think it would be over doing it with the DIY?


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## NursePlaty (Feb 5, 2010)

GeminiPrincess said:


> I still have algae on some of my plants and just started running the DIY CO2, do you think if i added Excel to get rid of some of the algae do you think it would be over doing it with the DIY?


*I dont think so. I used to dose both Excel and pump sugar/yeast CO2. I used Excel for spot treatment. I dont think dosing regularly would kill the algae. You would need a syringe and squirt excel onto the algae itself. *


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## GeminiPrincess (Oct 1, 2010)

NursePlaty said:


> *I dont think so. I used to dose both Excel and pump sugar/yeast CO2. I used Excel for spot treatment. I dont think dosing regularly would kill the algae. You would need a syringe and squirt excel onto the algae itself. *


Oh, well I can do that, thanks


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