Greetings from Fairfax, VA

D

Duque

Members
Oh my God.

I just spend 30 minutes introducing myself and the page went blank when I went to preview post. (Twice, now) AAAhhhh..... This is just like having an algae bloom kill my fish!!

OK, here's the basic info: Started with a shrimp tank, then got into Rainbow Furcatas, German Rams, Killifish, and Gouramis.

Setup:
4 aquariums: 2 X 10 gal., 1 X 20 long, and 36 Gallon bowed. Need to set up breeding tanks for the above mentioned fish, except Gouramis.

I'm new to the hobby and need to learn more about CO2 use in planted tanks.

Anyway, that's the short version.
Hi!
 
AquaStudent

AquaStudent

CCA Members
Welcome to the forum.

I'm relatively new to the hobby (started just over 2 years ago) but began with a nano planted tank. I quickly got into c02 injection and set up a DIY C02 injection system with yeast and sugar. It's pretty simple and works fairly well.

If you want to give it a try get a 2liter soda bottle and clean it out. Poke a hole in the cap and feed in some airline tubing. Hook the tubing up to a valve check (pointed in the right direction) for safety. The tricky part is the diffusion. I've tried using a generic airstone but it's not the best method. If you can pick up a little glass/ceramic diffuser from ebay (usually around $5-7) that'll work great. Stick that on the end of the tubing and you're all set.

For the mixture you're going to basically be fermenting sugar into alcohol using the yeast. It'll take some playing around to get the recipe spot on for your setup but try a cup or two of sugar dissolved in the 2L bottle about 3/4th full and half a teaspoon of powdered baking yeast (activated by stiring it in some warm water). The mixture should begin fermenting which you'll be able to see bubbles collecting on the surface. Be sure the gas is able to flow through your system because a clog could lead to a very big mess (and possible explosion).

The mixture will need to be replaced every 2-3 weeks. You could get fancy with the setup and put two bottles in series and change one every week to have a more constant supply of c02. Scaling up the design will allow you to apply it to larger setups. Other additions include a bubble counter (measuring injection rate) and a drop checker (measuring dissolved c02 quantities).

The Pros to this setup is it's inexpensive and easy to build.
Cons: You can't regulate the rate of injection. You can't stop the fermentation at night (so c02 can build up although I haven't had a problem with this with any DIY recipe) but you can always remove the diffuser if you are worried. You could also run an airstone at night to allow the extra dissolved c02 to release into the atmosphere.

If you have $100-200 laying around you could invest in a pressurized injection system. Many designs use paintball c02 tanks with a regulator (and solenoid for more control) to inject c02 into the aquarium. It works the same way as a DIY system (minus the fermentation) but with much more power.

Pros: Purchasing pressurized c02 is cheaper and more efficient than investing in yeast and sugar. It's less messy. More powerful.

Cons: Large initial cost. Potential for "gassing" aquarium inhabitants.

I hope this helped. Feel free to pm me if you have more questions and I can give you a little more on my experiences.

Again, welcome to the forum.
 
scientist0724

scientist0724

Members
Welcome to the forum!

If you are interested in plants and CO2 and fertilization, consider joining GWAPA. There are a few members of GWAPA who are also in CCA, including myself.

Arlene
 
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