# [Wet Thumb Forum]-DIY CO2 help!



## lf11 (Nov 17, 2004)

I have a question about my diy co2 system. I am useing a 1L bottle, I have a 5 gl tank, with a yeast and sugar mixture. 
I have tried using the the airstone going into an overturned cup method, but it will not work.I cannot get any air bubbles to come out of the airtube. The water just backs up into the airtubing to the level of the surface water.
What am I doing wrong? Is there not enough pressure in the bottle to push the water out of the tube? Can you guys give me a hand? Thanks


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## lf11 (Nov 17, 2004)

I have a question about my diy co2 system. I am useing a 1L bottle, I have a 5 gl tank, with a yeast and sugar mixture. 
I have tried using the the airstone going into an overturned cup method, but it will not work.I cannot get any air bubbles to come out of the airtube. The water just backs up into the airtubing to the level of the surface water.
What am I doing wrong? Is there not enough pressure in the bottle to push the water out of the tube? Can you guys give me a hand? Thanks


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## mudboy (Nov 29, 2004)

first off,how are you mixing your yeast mixture? the water temperature needs to be 105-115 degrees to activate the yeast. too cold and it won't activate, too hot and it kills the yeast.
the next thing i would check is leaks in your system, particularly around where the tube goes into the bottle cap. 
also,i would either install a check valve in the airline between the bottle and the tank or elevate the bottle higher than the tank to keep water from siphoning back into the bottle.


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## cheesehazard (Mar 2, 2004)

You defenitly need to get a check valve. I had the same problem when I first used the diy method. I was injecting the c02 into an air stone and it worked great. Just keep trying differnt things.


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

BTW, I have the ONLY brass check valve available on the internet as far as I know. Most are plastic. Check valves do make a big difference


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## mudboy (Nov 29, 2004)

wow, talk about a shameless plug! hehe


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## SnyperP (Dec 10, 2004)

I found that using a regular airstone the bubbles were still too big. I don't use an inverted cup to hold the bubbles so i had a find a method to slow down the bubbles. Simply the smaller the bubble the slower it rises. I was looking up a method (a cheap one at that) of diffusing the bubbles. The best and cheapest way to do it would be to grab a chop stick you get from a chinese food resturant, chop off a piece, and shove it on the end of your airline. Just watch it and make sure it bubbles. The bubbles coming out should be about 2x as streaming o2 from a damaged plant. They rise nice and slow. Unfortunately, since they're so small theres issues with the bubbles actually popping. But if you use the inverted cup method you won't get those unsightly tiny bubbles forming on top of your water.

About your problem with not enough pressure. Does it build up at all? If it builds up a bit (pushes the water level down) and then all jumps back up to water level you have a leak in your system. 
How long did you leave the system to start up? It'll start going pretty slow for the first day. About 4-6 hours after initial start up it should be bubbling strong.


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## imported_russell (Sep 14, 2004)

just stick the co2 tubing into the intake of your hob filter. or drill a small hole in the intake tube. this is more efficent than the cup method, and it worked well for me. 22ppm co2 in a 30gal tank with a 3L bottle.


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## imported_russell (Sep 14, 2004)

and, you can put a bubble stone on the end also. just feed the tubing all of the way through, then stick the stone on, then pull it back down to the bottom of the tube.


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## cheesehazard (Mar 2, 2004)

When I first setup my 55 gallon tank I had a hob filter and I injected co2 into it just like russell said. It actually works rather well. My hob filter did not cause surface movement though.


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## imported_russell (Sep 14, 2004)

> quote:
> 
> It actually works rather well. My hob filter did not cause surface movement though


same here. you would like it i bet.


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## Hawkeye (Aug 20, 2004)

When I first stated out with DIY CO2, I spent a week tracking down leaks. Most of the time is was the way I had made my caps on the 2l bottles. After getting that work out I found that regular air stones didn't last long and really didn't work that well. I ended up using ceramic air stones. They work great and easy to clean. I use a glass diffuser in a 15gal tank now. Its just a ceramic stone in glass. 

Hawk


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## imported_russell (Sep 14, 2004)

i always break the blue stones when i clean them


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## lf11 (Nov 17, 2004)

Thanks for the info guys. I got the check valve and it's working now.


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