# dIY co2 system help



## marvik11 (Dec 25, 2008)

hi, All and thanks for looking
first i wish all the best to All now i made a co2 system with yeast and i notice that if i shake the bottle it made more bubbles so my question is can i introduce an air stone in it to shake the yeast and produce more bubble and help the Co2 go out more and quicker ? or like this it finish more quicker in stead of two weeks cause i have the plant turning yellow but i give them 5ml's of each per day iron+ and trace + from ocean nutrition can some one please help thanks in advance 
Regards
MaRvIK


----------



## oregon aqua (Jan 30, 2008)

Hello and welcome.

First off shaking it kills the yeast faster, since the yeast is already killing itself when it makes the alcohol less help is better. The days i did do DIY C02 i found it very nice to run multiple bottles (at one time i was running 4) staggering the weeks you make the new solutions helps to keep a constant supply of C02 for the tank.

My best secret was to keep the yeast warm round 75deg as i found it produced more Co2 though it did not last as long. I did this with a small bulb in a fixture( that was a hard way to do it) then i found a tank heater mat for reptiles that worked very well.

I strongly suggest the sticky http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/showthread.php?t=14453 Its a good read and very helpful.


----------



## ghengis (Jun 11, 2008)

I've read different reports about using an airstone. Some say that just a few bubbles a minute will help to oxygenate the yeast and keep it "alive" longer... Still yet to test the theory myself, but if you have the motivation, make sure you post your results...

Cheers.


----------



## Commodore 64 (Aug 13, 2008)

I don't shake up my yeast reactors. It makes an enormous mess and totally screws up the CO2 bubble rate. Some additional points:

I use 3L bottles with 2.5 cups of sugar, 1/2 tsp of yeast, and 1/2tsp of baking soda and I get 3 weeks out of a mixture. I dill the water up to the shoulders of the bottles.

I'm able to keep 4dkH drop checkers in the green on both my 20H and my 75g (75g has 2 reactors). Both use Hagen ladders to diffuse the Co2.

The baking soda adds a little buffering capacity to the fermentation mix so that the pH doesn't drop too fast and kill the yeast before the alcohol content does.

I mix up a new mix a couple days in advance, and let the yeast reaction get up to speed before I swap it in to my system


----------



## marvik11 (Dec 25, 2008)

i did this because i am waiting for my regulator and ph controller to arrive cause the plants are turning yellowish that's my problem now . i have my 5kg bottle ready to use i take off the carbon from the filter to help the plants to stabilize and turn back to green my problem is that yellowish plant 
Regards
MaRvIk


----------



## oregon aqua (Jan 30, 2008)

are you dosing any Macro ferts?

I realize now that your first post didnt say anything about macros and yellow leaves is a sign of Nitrogen deficiency.


----------



## marvik11 (Dec 25, 2008)

marvik11 said:


> hi, All and thanks for looking
> first i wish all the best to All now i made a co2 system with yeast and i notice that if i shake the bottle it made more bubbles so my question is can i introduce an air stone in it to shake the yeast and produce more bubble and help the Co2 go out more and quicker ? or like this it finish more quicker in stead of two weeks cause i have the plant turning yellow but i give them 5ml's of each per day iron+ and trace + from ocean nutrition can some one please help thanks in advance
> Regards
> MaRvIK


i am given them 5ml's iron and trace plus from ocean nutrition my tank is 103gallon and right now running 1 t5 54watts because i was running 2 by 54 watts for ten hours one white one pink and had a problem with brown algae so now i only run 1 tube of three that in it for ten hours 
thanks 
MaRvIk


----------



## oregon aqua (Jan 30, 2008)

marvik11 said:


> i am given them 5ml's iron and trace plus from ocean nutrition my tank is 103gallon and right now running 1 t5 54watts because i was running 2 by 54 watts for ten hours one white one pink and had a problem with brown algae so now i only run 1 tube of three that in it for ten hours
> thanks
> MaRvIk


The Ocean Nutrition trace+ is called a Micro or trace fertilizer. The iron is a trace fertilizer to. You also need some macro I.E. potassium, nitrogen, and Magnesium. Sticking with the ocean nutrition brand ferts theirs would be the Fertil+ bottle. it does not contain Nitrogen so im assuming they are thinking you will get It from natural sources (nitrogen cycle).

here is a good chart for helping on deficiency symptoms.
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_nutrient.htm

Edit: adding the macros will help balance the tank so algae would be less of an issue. allowing you to use both you lights, even at the 108 watts i would consider it a very low light tank and you may have trouble growing some plants.


----------



## marvik11 (Dec 25, 2008)

hi 
and thanks for you help but my total light output power is 360watts but i using 54w because the problem that i had with the brown algae that's why
Regards
MaRvIk


----------



## John LeVasseur (Feb 12, 2009)

Hi All,

Co2 gets suspended, or more accurately, dissolved in water. When you shake the reactor bottle you are forcibly liberating the Co2 from the water, much in the same way you get an explosive reaction if you shake a bottle of soda before you open it. The yeast does not produce extra Co2 by shaking the reactor, you are only liberating the dissolved Co2 in the water the yeast is suspended in.

I do not believe it kills the yeast any further and have not seen any evidence to the contrary in my experience.

JL


----------

