# diy co2 chopstick?



## kurtv (Nov 29, 2009)

Hi i am planning on starting to use diy co2. but i wont be able to get a quality diffuser for a while, and im wondering if the old chopstick method works. putting the end of a chopstick into the airline. And also, do i need a drop checker?


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## ghengis (Jun 11, 2008)

Try this










It's a bamboo skewer that I pretty much snapped off and speared into the CO2 line...

And I see no reason not to get a drop checker...maybe not really necessary for DIY, but will still teach you all about fluctations and consistency...


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## AquaDean (Oct 29, 2009)

I tried this a while back and it does work pretty good. Be sure that you use bamboo and either spear it in like ghengis or just push it into the end of the airline tubing. Bubbles are not quite as fine as a diffuser but they are small and it works.


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## Vadimshevchuk (Jul 5, 2009)

Do u block the other end of the tub, so that the co2 only goes throught the chop stick? I might wanna give this a try. =?


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## Nymsley (Mar 24, 2009)

If you use a chopstick, it is wide enough to fit into the mouth of the airline tubing very snuggly. You won't have to seal off the end unless the chopstick is not completely round or has grooves in it where the fibers were peeled off. In that case, you can just break off another piece of chopstick to use.


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## kurtv (Nov 29, 2009)

I just finished setting up. I've got it in a little piece of hard plastic tubing so that i could suction it to the glass. Its next to a filter intake as people have advised. I allowed the sugar and baking soda to almost completely dissolve and then put the yeast in. How long (range) do you usually start seeing bubbles?


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## Nymsley (Mar 24, 2009)

It would depend on temperature, yeast type and amount, and sugar solution concentration. I would say a couple of hours for the most commonly published recipe on the web.

(I use a modified recipe so I can't say for sure.)


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

I like the chopstick idea. It's cheap, works great, is easily hidden, and can be changed out instead of cleaned. What's not to like?


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

I happen to have a couple of hundred of the thinner 'Shish-ka-bob' skewers. Would it be a good idea to use more than one in the air tubing?


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## Sugar Cone (Jan 2, 2010)

Hey, yeah.. That might be neat. I could run tubing all the way along the back of my small tank, and put three skewers in at different places, near the bunches of plants, and have them barely stick up above the substrate.


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

That sounds really good: A bubble wand of CO2! 
If the DIY CO2 will generate enough pressure to work several of the little sticks.


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## Sugar Cone (Jan 2, 2010)

I would expect the pressure to equalize and all would let out fewer bubbles.. But I suppose there would be a point where theres not enough pressure.. I wonder...

To the Bat Computer!:bolt:


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## ghengis (Jun 11, 2008)

Vadimshevchuk said:


> Do u block the other end of the tub, so that the co2 only goes throught the chop stick? I might wanna give this a try. =?


Yeah, you'll need to block the end somehow. You can see in the pic, that I folded the end over and secured it with a pair of zip-ties...

I like your thinking there, Sugar Cone, but I agree that there would eventually be an equalisation and the amount of bubbles per outlet would not be huge...might work real well with a pressurised system, though... See how you go and post results!!


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## Vadimshevchuk (Jul 5, 2009)

After i vist chinnese buffet ill try this =D


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## Sugar Cone (Jan 2, 2010)

ghengis said:


> I like your thinking there, Sugar Cone, but I agree that there would eventually be an equalisation and the amount of bubbles per outlet would not be huge...might work real well with a pressurised system, though... See how you go and post results!!


Bubbles per outlet doesnt really matter. If you get 100 bubbles per however long from one outlet, and you split it into three outlets, you should get 33.3 out each, still totaling the 100 bubbles. Even if the pressure drops at the end and you get like 50, 30, & 20, you still get the 100 bubbles. Notice, I keep saying SHOULD, lol.


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## vaiosz230 (Feb 6, 2010)

It's better to get the glass diffuser. I try this chopstick diffuser method and it looks crappy IMO.


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## Sugar Cone (Jan 2, 2010)

Now thats the DIY spirit! lol.


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

An actual chopstick should fit in the air tubing without having to poke it in through the side, and clamp off the bottom. (There are variations in chopstick sizes, though) 
It looks to me as if the picture of the stick that is in the side of the tubing is a small diameter bit of wood. These are sold around here as wooden skewers, and the most popular use is as a shish-ka-bob skewer. (Note- they do not work well for roasting marshmallows- my hand gets too close to the fire)


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## Nymsley (Mar 24, 2009)

They don't work too well for picking up food either. Don't know where the confusion between chopstick and skewer began. 

Anyways... with either diameter of bamboo, be prepared to see some white fluff grow on it. Harmless stuff, just looks weird. I used to get that but it hasn't returned for months even after chopstick replacements. Haven't figured out what causes it or its lack of appearance now.


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

If you do not have a separator bottle between the yeast generator and the tank then the white stuff might be from the yeast bottle. 
I use a Gatorade type of bottle between the 2 liter bottle and the tank, and no more white goo.


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## ghengis (Jun 11, 2008)

vaiosz230 said:


> It's better to get the glass diffuser. I try this chopstick diffuser method and it looks crappy IMO.


It actually looks very, very crappy... But if you were in a bind, where your last diffusor just shattered, it's certainly a handy trick to know...

Diana, yep, it is as you Americans say, a shish-ka-bob stick. We just call 'em skewers...they're also great for cooking prawns on the barbie!!


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## Nymsley (Mar 24, 2009)

I don't mind the chopstick at all, can't see it in the tank unless you look real hard. The tubing on the other hand is much more distracting.


I don't use a separator bottle and the white stuff never came back (even after shaking the main bottle too hard and splashing some liquid at the tube, oops). I can't explain why but I'm glad it decided not to return.


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## wicca27 (Oct 13, 2008)

I had the whit fuzzy stuff show up and some started floting around my shrimp tank amd made some moss all slimey. I had to pull it nd toss it out wish it would stop


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