# Help! DIY CO2 problem



## brownietrout (Feb 5, 2009)

I started using DIY CO2 about a 3 weeks ago and all worked great until the last time I changed a bottle. It now seems to start and then just seems to die off. I have changed the bottles ( I have 2, 2liter)a couple times in the past few days and get the same results. Is it possible that I have a problem with some bacteria in the bottles that I am not getting cleaned out well enough? I can't use boiling water but have been rinsing them with the hottest tap water I can get. Should I be washing them with hot soapy water to get them really clean? I can't figure out what the problem is. I am pretty sure I don't have a leak it is more like the yeast is just dying. Any suggestions?
I set up a brand new bottle for my 10 gallon today and it seems to be working fine so I don't think the ingrediants are the problem. That is why I thought maybe a bacteria or something


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi brownietrout,

Actually we want bacteria, they are what break down the sugar and create the CO2. I had the problem a couple of times when I did DIY CO2. I resolved it by making sure I was rinsing all soap from my bottles, making sure I was using "fresh" yeast (check the expiration date), and not using too hot of water when mixing. I think the most likely reason I had problems was my water was too hot.


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## brownietrout (Feb 5, 2009)

Well I tore down my whole DIY CO2 setup since I had to change the tubing over to the CO2 tubing I finally got anyways. New bottles, New yeast and it is working like crazy! I must have had yeast that was going bad or the bottles were not clean enough, I don't know but am relieved it is working again. Whew!


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Glad to help brownietrout!


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## pepetj (Oct 2, 2008)

I do sterilize the 2L bottles every time I change the mixture. I boil water (either microwave or stove top). 

The only living organism I want there is yeast. Yeast is likely to be out-competed by other bacteria, which will feed on sugar but not produce CO2 as yeast colonies do.

Are you adding baking soda? a higher pH/alkalinity will favour yeast. Also jump starting the mixture, by dissolving the yeast in a small container with lukewarm water (don't over heat that water or you will end up killing the yeast) and then adding that brownish dense liquid to the content of the just sterilized 2L bottles.

Also if you can't have boiling water, it is likely that if you clean your bottles with the hottest water you have and suddenly dump in there really cold water, the sudden variation might help killing unwanted bacteria.

I do use drinking water, not water from the tap, to do the mixture. It works great for me. I am keeping two tanks with DIY CO2 changing mixture every 3, sometimes 4 weeks. I use a DIY bubble counter to monitor when I need to change the old mixture.

Hope this helps

Pepe
Santo Domingo


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## brownietrout (Feb 5, 2009)

I think either I wasn't getting the bottles clean or my yeast went bad. All is working now and I will be more careful to clean the bottles really well when I change them.


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## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

I'd bet it was just bad yeast. I had that problem my first go-round as well. New yeast solved it. I never washed my bottles out, just rinsed with warm water at each mixture change.


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## brownietrout (Feb 5, 2009)

thanks everyone, my drop checker is back in the green


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