# DIY CO2 and Home Brew



## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

I am not about to do this, but I have a hypothetical question. 

If one were to make a batch of Home Brew in a clean 5 Gallon Home Brew Bucket, 
would the CO2 produced from this

1. be suitable for use in the aquarium as 'good CO2' ?

2. would this supply last longer 

than that produced by DIY CO2 using 'regular' methods? 

I am not about to do this, but if it does work the way I would hope you may be able to accomplish 3 things at once. 1. Good CO2 supply. 2. longer lasting CO2 supply 3. Some nice Home Brew to enjoy if you have the time to properly bottle when 'done'. 

I really look forward to everyones ideas on this.


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## frozenoak (Jul 30, 2005)

I don't use the DIY co2 so I don't know how it would compare. 

The 5g home brew bubbles strongly for 2 weeks and slowes down during the 3rd. I chill my beer after this to stop fermentation so I can bottle it. 

The Co2 would be as clean as the DIY stuff due to them being the same thing (basicly). The only problem I would have with this is that you want your beer to vent freely and I'm not sure you want to vent it all into the tank. 

I also use forced co2 when I bottle (although I usuely keg it.) so I have compressed co2. I feel it is safer to use the bottled Co2 in the tank. 

Another side effect would be that you would be starting a new brew every other week. I don't brew that much beer.

dale


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

> Another side effect would be that you would be starting a new brew every other week. I don't brew that much beer.


Just another reason to have an APC club nearby! (smile)
Swap plants, fishies and Home Brew!
Just don't drink too much Home Brew before you scape the tank :smile:

The 2-3 times I made Home Brew, I loved coming home and watching and listening to it bubble up. 
And the smell was very nice too.

When you say vent freely, I am picturing the 2 things (airlocks?) that I had on top of my Home Brew Bucket that had water in them that kept the outside air from getting into the bucket (germs, bacteria, bad stuff). 
Is that what you mean by that?


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## frozenoak (Jul 30, 2005)

Jimbo205 said:


> When you say vent freely, I am picturing the 2 things (airlocks?) that I had on top of my Home Brew Bucket that had water in them that kept the outside air from getting into the bucket (germs, bacteria, bad stuff).
> Is that what you mean by that?


Yes, It will produce a lot more Co2 than would be wise to add to a tank of normal DIY proportions. If you watch the air lock (not much more than a bubble counter) in the beginning you get a lot of bubbles. near the end of the second week and into the third you get 1 bubble a min or so. Then if you leave the beer alone it will eventually get down to none. At that point you might as well feed it to your garden.


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

> At that point you might as well feed it to your garden.


The Home Brew or the CO2?


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## frozenoak (Jul 30, 2005)

The home brew.


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

It has been a long time since I have made any.

Why do you say that?


> Then if you leave the beer alone it will eventually get down to none. At that point you might as well feed it to your garden.


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## frozenoak (Jul 30, 2005)

because the dead yeast starts to break down and you get really skunky beer.

dale


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## DougC (Aug 4, 2006)

I'm planning to try this. I brew beer and wine. Beer in a 5 gallon bucket. Wine in 1 gallon (UK) glass jars with fermentation trap (aka bubble counter) in the top.
I'm already using this method with 1 gallon of basic yeast/nutrient/sugar/water mix and it seems fine. At the moment it feeds into the top of a power head so there is virtually no back pressure on the fermentation jar (so no explosions). On a 10 gallon tank this seems to get me about 20-30 ppm for several weeks by this method. 
I see no reason not to substitute my next gallon of wine as the generator. One might be concerned by other organic compunds coming off the brew and finding their way into the aquarium. (all those chemicals that make wine taste nice). Maybe the fish will enjoy them.


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## nellis (May 6, 2006)

I've often thought about doing this, as I am also into both hobbies. The idea of harvesting "waste" CO2 is kind of nice. If you use a blowoff you are pretty much using a DIY bubble counter, and collecting any solids/liquids before they would go in to the tank.

Then again I force carbonate both my beer and my tank.


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

Nellis, I tried to click on your photos so I could see your tanks better but it wouldn't work. 

??


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