# Diy co2 question



## wicca27 (Oct 13, 2008)

Does any one know what the white slime is that is on my limewood airstone for my co2? What ever it is has spread to some of my plants and has got to the point of keeping the stone from working as well. How can i get rid of it


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

I do not know what the white slime is, you could try bleach to kill the stuff (if it is alive), and then sand the wood to expose more pores.


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## aquatic_clay (Aug 17, 2009)

I'm not sure what it is but all of my diy co2 has had it before. Just take the airstone out and rinse it off and remove what slime is on the plants. From what i've seen it's totally harmless.

An easy way to keep that from happening is to use a bubble counter on your co2 line. I made all of mine out of seringes. You could also use soda bottles too. Basically the water in the bubble counter will "filter" the co2 before it gets to the tank and then no more white slime. I have seen zero slime since I started doing this about a year ago.


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## James0816 (Oct 9, 2008)

That's just the "snot" for lack of better terms. ;o) It's common. Use a seperator bottle between the vessel and the tank and it should not be an issue.


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## Shad0w (Nov 13, 2006)

is that a yeast foam or something like that?


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## giypsy (Oct 6, 2009)

Yes, it is a byproduct of yeast production.
Another user here just posted essentially the same question link

It is a very common prob, cheap solution; 
check valve and having your CO2 solution lower by a foot at least, 
than your input to the tank.
I have the DIY liter rig; a check valve nearer the tank end of my air-hose,
no bubble counter, input into the impeller of my filter. My CO2s sit on the floor, 
{artfully concealed}
tank is about three feet higher. I have more air-hose than I need, 
so I have that extra container component mentioned above handled by a half-loop.
Not serious issue, just annoying, easy fixes.


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## Suhas (Nov 26, 2014)

I have this slime even after gas separator and a check valve. Help needed..!


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## TropTrea (Jan 10, 2014)

I had this years ago. It was one of the reasons I went to bottled CO2 even though it was more expensive. Yes it is by product of the yeast producing CO2. Good to here someone came up with a fix for this.


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## misant777 (Mar 21, 2014)

That's weird. I've had the "snot" occur in home made bubble counters (5cc syringe & check valve) over long periods of time with bottled CO2 as well. 

It's had me scratching my head for years.


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## John LeVasseur (Feb 12, 2009)

As is the case with most things in aquaria, maintenance is required. What you are seeing is actually "baby yeast" cells. The CO2 carries individual cells to the stone which then grow and multiply in the nutrient rich environment of a tank. They grow in, on and around the stone.

So you need to periodically clean the stone. I used to boil mine but mine were ceramic. I good cleaning with clean water will usually do the trick. If you really want to kill off the yeast cells, use isopropyl alcohol and a good rinsing. As usual, never use soap or detergent.

- John LeVasseur


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