DIY co2 and affects

[look@thefish]

Hi its been ages since i have posted anything. I guess most have prolly forgotton me.

I was after some of your thoughts on a DIY co2.
Bacially consists of a 2Litre coke bottle with a hole in the lid and air line tubing (like on pumps) which is sealed up with acquarium silcion and an air stone at end which goes into gravel bed.
here the article if anyone is interested http://www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_co2.php

I have made a test one (thats drying at moment)
But b4 i use it i wanna know if co2 can harm discus in any way at all? is there like a level of co2 that u test for?
Should i be using any special fertalisers now that im using co2. Generally i use AQUA master 'plant food'
Should i take discus out and move to hosptail tank while initally starting the co2?

Any help is very much appreciated.

[Phlipper]

Not so sure the method you are trying to dose the Co2 with is up to scratch, but to answer your question Co2 wont harm your Discus if it's done " PROPERLY " and not to excess, a lot also depends on tank size There are various test kits available to measure your Co2 content, but with DIY systems the chance of overdosing is small. I run DIY Co2 in 4 of my tanks with great success and no problems at all.

The airstone into the gravel bed is not very effective at all, in fact I doubt it will even deliver any Co2 to your tank ? One very very important thing to remember is to always have a diffuser inline between the yeast generator bottle and the delivery set up, whether that be from the airstone or a reactor , failure to do this may very well result in toxins being pumped into your tank resulting total anihalation of fish and plants. Do some more reading on the DIY system before going ahead with it, I read the article in the link and I would say it's asking for trouble to do it as suggested.

[FishLover]

Too much CO2 in the tank will kill your fish. It also will drop your pH level.

These are the two things I would watch for, especiall with DIY CO2.

[pbates]

How large is your tank? DIY CO2 isn't very effective past 200L.

Producing CO2 is only half the job, getting it into the water is the hard part.
If you are seeing large CO2 bubbles reaching the surface, your probably not getting much benefit from it.

Look around the net for diagrams on DIY CO2 reactors. These can be placed in line with the filter output, or run off a power head in the tank.

Check out this web site http://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/diyco2.html
Very good write up on DIY CO2.

If you are using a 3 or 4 foot tank, I doubt a DIY system would be able to produce enough CO2 to damage fish, unless you hook up multiple yeast generators. The biggest worry is something going wrong and dumping fermenting yeast into your tank.

[Phlipper]

My 6 foot tank has a DIY Co2 unit installed, using a two bottle system with double mixture amounts in each bottle, the tank is flourishing wonderfully as has been the case for 6 months or more, so done right DIY can do wonders for a large tank.

The worry of the yeast mixture entering the water is pretty much zero so long as a diffuser is incorporated between the generator and reactor.

[d6c1]

How does this defuser look like? Anyone got a pic? Where can I get them from?

Thanks.

[bushie]

phlipper,
are you sure you don`t mean a bubble counter?
as far as I know, a diffuser is what is used to diffuse the co2 into the water.
the bubble counter will safeguard against yeast mix entering the tank as the gas is fed into a secondary bottle and bubbles out before entering the tank.


I would also reccomend drilling a smaller hole than the size of the tubing to go through the cap of the bottle and then force the tube through giving a perfect seal. I have tried the silicone method but always had problems with it.

[bushie]

the use of the secondary bottle ( bubble counter serves two purposes:
firstly you can see the bubbles coming from the generator and see how well your mixture is working as it bubbles from the longer pipe through the water and secondly, any unwanted substances get filtered through the water. the bottle then pressurises and sends co2 up the airline which only protrudes through the cap.

there are many different ways to diffuse co2.
my way is basic ( not perfect ) but still very good.
buy a small pond pump ( approx $15) and make a venturi nozzle to fit.
I.E wooden dowel with a small hole drilled through the middle then larger hole 1/3 of the way down each end and a hole in the top on an angle to fit your airline.
as the co2 bubbles out, it gets smashed through the smaller hole in the middle causing tiny bubbles that diffuse before they reach the surface.

[Phlipper]

I guess it comes down to terminology ?..............I've always based my terms on what I read ages ago, that being the generator is where the yeast/sugar mix is contained { spray pack}.....the reactor is the unit inside or outside of the tank depending on design that mixes the Co2 in with the tank water and is the final stage. The "Diffuser" is what I refer to as the small bottle between the generator and the reactor that has an inlet and outlet tube, no water in it at all, so it's not a bubble counter, merely just a chamber to catch any sugar mix that may spit into the tubing. I have no need for a bubble counter, the clear reactor makes viewing the bubbles easy.....see picture back a bit.

Anyway the "diffuser" I use is simply a small drink bottle, with an entry and exit tube, the picture shows a small coke bottle, but any small bottle is OK, I think a bottle with a bigger screw cap is easier to put two holes into. I also drill a hole smaller than the tubing to push the tube into to create a good seal, but as an extra precaution I also smear silicone around it as well.

[Phlipper]

Just to clear up terminology confusion, here is my rough diagram again indicating what's what This is an old sketch, not exactly what i am using now, but the terminology is the same