# DIY co2 and wine??!?!?!



## MartialTheory (Dec 20, 2007)

ok bear with me but i have the craziest idea

I make some really cheap wine at home because im just one of those guys that like to know how things work and be able to make it themselfs. So making wine is pretty easy if u don't mine a cheap wine. basically its some fruit juice, yeast, suger, and time.

basically its the same thing as a co2 reactor. so then!! how about hooking up the wine as it ferments to the tank so the co2 isn't wasted.

awesome! i guess there would be some alcohol in the tank too from this but the same should have happened with teh co2 reactors since after all its producing alcohol too. so i guess that shouldn't be a problem.

but i have a hard time knowing when too much co2 is there. i have a 29 gallon tank and was wondering how many bubbles per second is needed for that type of tank?


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

The most accurate and dependable method for determining how much CO2 is in the water is to use a drop checker, with 4 dKH distilled or deionized water and a few drops of pH test kit reagent in it. The bubbles per second measurement doesn't tell you how much is dissolved in the water. It just lets you see that things haven't changed from when you set the bubble rate the last time.


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## gotcheaprice (Sep 4, 2007)

hoppycalif said:


> The most accurate and dependable method for determining how much CO2 is in the water is to use a drop checker, with 4 dKH distilled or deionized water and a few drops of pH test kit reagent in it. The bubbles per second measurement doesn't tell you how much is dissolved in the water. It just lets you see that things haven't changed from when you set the bubble rate the last time.


Does deionized water work as well as 4 dkh? Cause I just ordered some 4 dkh, but my school has a tap that I could run and get as much deionized water as I want... -_-
Ah, i see, 4 dkh deionized water xD


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

If you ordered the certified 4 dKH water you made a good decision. Trying to mix it yourself is a hit and miss thing almost guaranteed to use up a gallon of distilled water before you have 100 ml of 4 dKH water.

Now about the wine CO2: I can't think of a single good reason not to try it. I would be sure to use a big bubble counter, so the not-CO2 gases in the efluent will be absorbed by the water in the bubble counter and not be passed along to the tank. That will have to be the highest high tech DIY CO2 system ever used!

So, to renew this type CO2 generator will require using up the wine from the last batch? I could handle that ok.


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## gotcheaprice (Sep 4, 2007)

Hehe, though our school has free deionized and distilled water  They have machines that do it, and then run it to a tap, and every single room the science building has at least 3 taps of this water source. 

And yeah, when you make wine, do you normally let the gas out? I guess as long as it doesn't totally outgas your wine.


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## Amazon_Replica (Nov 24, 2007)

I agree with hoppy, this would be one set up you wouldn't mind having to replace


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

I have heard that that sort of yeast is quite all right to use for CO2 in aquariums.


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## _chicken_ (Oct 7, 2007)

gotcheaprice said:


> And yeah, when you make wine, do you normally let the gas out? I guess as long as it doesn't totally outgas your wine.


Yes, when making wine (or beer) you do let the gas escape. You attach an airlock to your fermenter, a thingy that is filled with water and lets gasses escape but doesn't let air in. Or, you can run tubing into a container of water, which will do the same thing.

This is what an airlock looks like:

http://www.williamsbrewing.com/TWIN_BUBBLER_AIRLOCK_E79__P203C104.cfm

We used to do a lot of homebrewing, and my husband and I have joked about setting up a carboy of beer or wine next to one of my tanks and running tubing into it to provide co2.

Seriously, though, I'm not sure how well that would really work. A 5 gallon carboy of beer or wine would certainly produce a LOT more co2 than the 2- 2 liter bottles I'm using now for my 29 gallon --probably way more than I would want. At least in the beginning --maybe later, when fermentation slows down quite a bit, it might work. But I don't really want to risk harming my fish to try it.


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## _chicken_ (Oct 7, 2007)

Diana K said:


> I have heard that that sort of yeast is quite all right to use for CO2 in aquariums.


Yeast used for brewing can withstand higher alcohol concentrations than yeast used for baking. A lot of people use wine or champagne yeast in their diy setups for that reason, so they don't have to refresh the yeast mixture as frequently.


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## gotcheaprice (Sep 4, 2007)

You can use a manifold or just have 2 tubing run out(or more) until you reach the desired co2 levels.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

You could put a relief valve on the barrel you are making wine in, so the maximum pressure that would build up in the barrel would be too low to harm anything, but high enough to push CO2 through a diffuser in the tank. Then you could control the CO2 going to the tank with a needle valve. This is beginning to be as expensive a setup as pressurized CO2, but with wine to drink later.


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## _chicken_ (Oct 7, 2007)

Good points, gotcheaprice and hoppycalif. It's starting to get a bit complex, though!

I think I'll continue to keep brewing and aquariums separate for now.


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## gotcheaprice (Sep 4, 2007)

Hehe, yeah, might as well just start up a pressurized set up xD


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## NoSvOrAx (Nov 11, 2006)

Switch to making champagne. Champagne yeast can withstand 22% alcohol concentration. You'll get stronger booze and the bottle will last longer. Unless you can get the sam adams utopia yeast which can tolerate 40% then I'd say switch to beer.


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## MartialTheory (Dec 20, 2007)

NoSvOrAx said:


> Switch to making champagne. Champagne yeast can withstand 22% alcohol concentration. You'll get stronger booze and the bottle will last longer. Unless you can get the sam adams utopia yeast which can tolerate 40% then I'd say switch to beer.


ur thinking of 48 proof which is 24% alcohol. I use to work at a beer distributor and was blessed to try some of the worlds best craft beer including a bottle of utopia which is pure awesome.

i am just using bakers yeast beacuse i have no local access to beer, wine, or chapagne yeast.

this is basically my recipe,

http://www.warpbreach.com/6/6.html

so u see, its a really cheap wine that does taste better than the cheap wine u can buy in the stores.

there is one thing though, Duvel is this awesome beer that has a special Belgian yeast that can with stand alcohol at least at 10% and higher. i still have a good bottle and all i have to do is take the yeast at the bottle. i know its dead but theres still some alive which i can use to culture and use for my co2 reactor and ta da! Belgian yeast wine! although that might taste pretty bad 

hoppycalif, i don't think need a relief valve because its only a gallon containter. but whats this needle valve? it only works in combination with the relief valve?

so far, im going to get a drop checker, a ph test kit, a proper diffuser, and a bubble counter.

what do u guys think about these? I have a 29 gallon tank

http://cgi.ebay.com/Brand-New-Drop-...ageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p1638.m122

don't know if this is the right size for me, all sizes say for 55 gal tanks 

http://cgi.ebay.com/Lot-of-2-CO2-Di...hZ024QQcategoryZ66794QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

trying to find a cheap ph and hardness kit, this is a tank for CRS, and i already made a bubble counter. i had to make a bigger one since i need this water to absorb any of the extra organic compounds from the wine

I promise to get some pictures when im done setting up!!


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

The reason for the needle valve is to be able to control how much CO2 goes into the aquarium water. But, if you restrict the CO2 flow from the wine barrel you also build up some pressure in the barrel, so you would need a relief valve to avoid damaging the barrel. However, if the amount of CO2 being generated is very low you don't need the valves.

All drop checkers are good for any size aquarium you want to use them in. The one in the ebay ad is like what I use now.


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## MartialTheory (Dec 20, 2007)

Well basically its going to be in a gallon jug so I don't think it would make that much co2 that I need a needle valve. 

hahha I'm not good enough to make a barrel or have any methods of getting rid of a barrel of wine when its done. Just making enough for me.

However, my only obstacle now is what size diffuser do I need for my 29 gal tank. Its the size that important or how much co2 my reactor puts out?


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## MartialTheory (Dec 20, 2007)

Ok after waiting for a week for some of my supplies to come in from overseas, I decide to give u guys a photo journey of what I did.

First all the supplies!










Next make the holes and pull the airline through.



















Then I chulked it up to prevent any air leaks



















Then made the mixture.










Very simple, first add 1 teaspoon of yeast and hydrate it. It takes about 15 minutes. Then add half a cup of sugar and the 3 containers of concentrated grape juice. Afterwards add 6 cups of water and mix.










Then I tefloned the bubble counter and connected the system.



















But then the problems. I got my co2 drop checker today and something werid happened. There was no directions so I followed what I read online before. 3 drops of reagent and then fill with 2/3rds water. I read that tap water is fine so thats what I added.

But then I noticed that immediately when I placed the checker in the water, it turn green. But I didn't even put my co2 set up there yet. How did it turn green already?










Can anyone tell me what I did wrong?

But then the other thing. I waited almost 10 hours now and still no co2 bubbles. Most dissapointing.

So then I plugged it to my air pump and it did work. But it was hell on my pump and it looked like it needed alot of pressure. Much more than a DIY. However, I seen people with DIY and glass diffusors. Not sure how to combat this problem right now. Changed my bubble counter with another more airtight container and still same problem .

I need a little help guys.


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## ed seeley (Dec 1, 2006)

The drop checker is best used with 4dKH water then when it's green (at pH 6.6) you will have 30ppm of CO2 in the water. If you use water of a different KH it will be green at different levels...

Also some glass diffusers seem to need too high a pressure for DIY CO2. I've always just used a ladder type of diffuser with my DIY CO2 so the only pressure is water pressure. I know some glass diffusers seem to work ok, but never tried it personally.


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## MartialTheory (Dec 20, 2007)

Your right. I'm trying to get some/make some but for the moment, I am flawed about the drop checker.

But I finally have some good news.

I finally got my co2/wine generator working fully functional.

I turned it into two 2 liter bottles connected with a t connector. And filled it with my getto wine.










Then connect it to a wooden airstone and it works










Then I connected the glass difusor and prayed that it worked.










AND IT WORKS!! Yes sweet sweet success at last. 
But its not all good news. My sister squeezed the bottles and the negative pressure from releasing the bottles caused fish water to get into the bottle. So I have co2 but no cheap wine *tears* I'm going to have to show you wine drinking results in a few months.


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