# When DIY Goes Wrong...Very Wrong



## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

I used to use DIY CO2 when I first started into planted aquaria. It was easy, cheap, and never let me down for moderate-tech tanks. Eventually I "upgraded" to pressurized CO2, and then made a drastic jump to El Natural (which required no additional CO2 at all). More recently, I decided on an emersed set-up...easy as cake, right?

Right, until I decided to boost my emersed plants with some DIY CO2.

So, I came up with this great wine recipe, only instead of using juice, I used fresh fruit that I pulped, cooked, and strained on my own. It was WONDERFUL! Blackberries, Black Grapes, some Blueberries and jsut a touch of Peach and Pear. The color and odor and flavor were phenomenal, and all I needed was to get it into a container with yeast and extra sugar, let it foam, strain it off again, and then set it to brew for a couple months.

Well, I skipped a step in haste to start some good CO2 production in my emeresed set-up. I failed to consider the fact that my liquid was too high in the container to allow good air-space between the liquid and the air-outlet (normal CO2 tubing). The tubing got filled with pulp/juice/mix, which flowed into the tank, then clogged the airline altogether, and started pressurizing my container.

Then.....*POW!!!*


----------



## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

I'm not sure why the juice turned a darker purple when it hit the walls and ceiling (as opposed to the brighter red that was on the glass and carpet and electrical components).

After several hours of scrubing and soaking with "oxygen cleanser" (which really did work on the carpet....after several hours) I got the carpet, cords, plugs, and aquarium cleaned up.










I also scrubed the paste-like goo off the walls and now will have to repaint. And the ceiling will also need to be cleaned and painted over.










On the plus side, I did not have time to clean the goo out of the tank before I left town, I only was able to spray the gunk off the plants and into the shallow water. There was about 1/4" of "mix" sitting on the substrate when I left. By the time I got back yesterday, it had all decomposed into a thin black layer of organic matter.


----------



## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

Separator bottle comes in very handy in a DIY CO2 set up. Not sure if it would stand up to pulped fruit, though. The fruit might be too thick to pass through even a short length of tubing.


----------



## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

make sure you paint from corner to corner, not just touch up.

you will thank me later...


----------



## 2ichigo2 (Aug 25, 2010)

holy... my first time to see such a case...


----------



## Aquaticz (May 22, 2009)

most excellet reason to NOT do DIY C02
Sorry about that.......DOH!!!!


----------



## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi Dave,

Wow, that was some "explosion"! I just just hear my wife now.......


----------



## mudboots (Jun 24, 2009)

That was AWESOME!!!!!!!! I am so glad you actually posted all that; what a riot to see it happen to my dear ol' brother. Now that I've said that I will likely come home today to 125 gallons of water on the new floor...I better shut up while I can.

Sorry about the mess, all while you are trying to get moved. Yuck. But if you don't mind, I'd like the wine recipe you were going to use. I think I'd like to try it myself, perhaps in a larger container or using less liquid. Not that I want CO2 in my tank, but the mix sounds like it'd make a good sippin' wine.


----------



## doubleott05 (Jul 20, 2005)

ho ho ho holy crap that was awsome. man what a disaster. i had a co2 bottle explode under my stand once and ooze out onto my floor man was i pissed. i had to wash everything canister tools bottles stand floor even with a throughough wash everything was sticky for like amonth


----------



## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

Haha! Thanks for all the warm comments guys. :-s

Yeah, this actually happened at a good time in a way. My 2-yr-old has colored on some of the wall with crayon, and I had considered just letting it go (this is a rental and we would have lost part of our deposit). Now, I MUST repaint to get ANY deposit back, so I went and got the closest match I could and enough paint to cover all the walls that have crayon and "ooze". We're also now going to get the entire carpeted areas professionally cleaned (otherwise we would have done it ourselves with inferior equipment).

+1 on TAB for those who ever need to paint over the "oops" areas. You'll never get an "exact" match for the paint on your walls unless you have the original cans with plenty paint left in them (and properly sealed).

Mudboots, I'll get you that recipe. I recommend a 5-gallon bucket if you have it. 1 -2 qt of pulped fruit can get you nearly a gallon of wine. And "pulped" might be the wrong word. What I mean is I took ripe-to-overripe fruit and squished it up in my hands, then boiled it down with some water and sugar....I'll go over teh details with you later...


----------



## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

actually even if you have the exact cans, a match is still questionable after a few months.


I've been painting since I was 7 years old. there is no such thing as a touch up.


----------



## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

OH MY!!! See! Drinking always leads to trouble! LOL....


----------



## Dielectric (Oct 7, 2008)

what a mess!


----------



## Viwwo (Oct 30, 2009)

*puts her own DIY co2 in a bucket* there.
I learn so much here!


----------



## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

This thread should be made a sticky in the El Natural forum to remind us NEVER to be seduced by the Dark Side of the hobby. . .


----------



## bigstick120 (Mar 8, 2005)

Thats AWESOME! Sorry it happened to you Dave, but it really made me LOL!


----------



## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

Guys and Gals, I'm glad I could help you through my experience.  

For the record, I still think DIY is a great way to get cheap CO2 production. You just have to be careful to leave some airspace, and DON'T use anything that can cause a clogged airline (like pulp).

I wish I could have recorded the phone call when my wife called me up to tell me about it as it was happening. And I'm sure that my reaction when I got home would have made for a nice "shock-moment". I literally had no words for about 15 minutes as I stared at the disaster. 

Oh, I did get it painted. And, as predicted by TAB, it had to be wall-to-wall, floor to ceiling since the paint didn't quite look the same. You can't tell a difference when you take it to the corners though.


----------



## mudboots (Jun 24, 2009)

davemonkey said:


> Mudboots, I'll get you that recipe. I recommend a 5-gallon bucket if you have it. 1 -2 qt of pulped fruit can get you nearly a gallon of wine. And "pulped" might be the wrong word. What I mean is I took ripe-to-overripe fruit and squished it up in my hands, then boiled it down with some water and sugar....I'll go over teh details with you later...


Woo-hoo! I actually have a 5 gallon plus a lid I wouldn't mind trying this with, maybe once we decide on when and where we'll move soon (like 3 months or so). I'll probably try to find a good brewer's yeast or something so I can end up with something we can test out later.


----------



## Gibby (Aug 5, 2009)

+1 on making DIY CO2 with a resulting liquid you can drink. Must be a thread just waiting to be spawned.

I know someone else was discussing drinking the results on another thread.

Wasn't you was it Mudboots?


----------



## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

Gibby said:


> +1 on making DIY CO2 with a resulting liquid you can drink. Must be a thread just waiting to be spawned.
> 
> I know someone else was discussing drinking the results on another thread.
> 
> Wasn't you was it Mudboots?


I'm not sure, but I know I have mentioned this before and I have consumed the DIY "liquids" several times.  Usually , I would end up with a yeasty-tasing cheapie wine due to using baker's yeast and store-bought juices (and possibly also the warm room temp had something to do with it). This time would have been different, but now I have to wait until I can get the "proper" materials (my wife would toss my brew immediately if she saw another O.J. bottle in the works).

Oh, and don't get me wrong. I enjoy a GOOD red wine. The only reason I started home-brew from DIY was that I thought it would be fun to have a usable product after the CO2 played out.


----------



## mudboots (Jun 24, 2009)

Haha! I think the post on consuming the leftovers come from RestlessCrow maybe? I can't remember exactly, though I have likely mentioned it myself at least a time or two. If you get a hold of a decent brewer's yeast and do it in the winter (and keep the house under 70 - not easy with kids and a hunny who likes it warm) you can end up with a "drinkable" wine that's MUCH better than using baker's yeast in the summer on the canned grape juice concentrate.

Like davemonkey mentioned, it mainly the thought of getting something out of your DIY that just kind of makes it fun to try out once in a while.:drinkers:


----------



## gpodio (Feb 4, 2004)

WOW... my wife would kill me... lol

Giancarlo Podio


----------



## GimmeGills (Sep 29, 2010)

This is awesome! But I have to say I'm not too keen on sampling the DIY liquids.... I'll make sure not to repeat your mistake! Thanks for saving us newbies from your clean up disaster


----------



## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Hey! Don't repaint that wall yet!! Cut out the sheet rock and sell it for a couple of thousand as 'modern art.' 

Haha! I like the pictures, I've heard of this happening several times to people over the years, but I think this is the first time I've seen pictures of it, and it turns out it is EXACTLY as epic as I had always imagined


----------



## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

Man, I wish you guys could have seen it in person when I got home that afternoon. I hate to sound gruesome, but it really looked like some creature had just exploded behind the aquarium. There was just SO MUCH GOOP everywhere...and those are pretty high ceilings that got spattered.

I made a comment recently to my wife about getting a wine brewing kit so I can make "real" wine....she just gave me a dirty look and pointed to the newly painted walls... :fear:


----------



## Gordonrichards (Apr 28, 2009)

Holy crapola! That stinks! Sorry to hear about what happened!


----------



## giypsy (Oct 6, 2009)

Oh my; makes the bed bug beacon I had set up during '09 look tame.
I confess, I laughed, then I teared up at the thought of the cleanup, 
then I laughed again. 

Well for all the support and encouragement you and Mud have passed my way,
my turn to pass it back after the fact. "That's a lot of stress!"
Glad you survived and the lovely Mrs too


----------



## intelsuit (Aug 22, 2011)

I am so sorry to 'read' this but it got me laughing and then thinking is it really worth it all ot have a Co2 creator?


----------



## giypsy (Oct 6, 2009)

*Re: When DIY Goes Wrong...ry Wrong*

Reason #34 why I love this hobby
***It was RestlessCrow, myself and a host of others who
perpetuated the recipe index, but it was RestlessCrow 
who had an explosion similar to Davemonkey's
***There are several compelling reasons not to do DIY CO2 
but I would never discourage anyone from trying, 
with a _cautionary reading_ of the extensive discussions in the forums.
Caveat emptor or rather . . .
_Caveat Brewer!_ :tea:
P.S. I still make 4 bottles at a time of a nice, light, very dry ginger ale
but the tanks get _nothing!_


----------

