# diy co2 challenge



## montegna (Feb 2, 2008)

hello,
I am new to planted tanks and all that goes with it. I have read numerious articles and havent come across the issues I am dealing with. I think I might be missing something.

1st issue is my yeast/sugar mixture stops working in hours instead of days. it will bubble for a few hours then sits and does nothing. I check the bottle and it smells of alcohol. I am using a 2ltr bottle with 2 cups sugar, yeast, and water. I have tried varying the amount of yeast from 1/2 tsp to a full package of yeast (about 1 1/2 tbsp) and used different brands. I have tried shaking the bottle to insure everything was mixed well, to letting the sugar settle to the bottom and gently shaking just to mix the yeast and water. I am getting the same results with each attempt. 
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

2nd issue is NitrItes. I started this tank in an established tank with reading of 0 trItes, 0 ammonia, and 20 to 40 trAtes. My nitrates have always run high, I am hoping that switching to plants I can get my nitrates to stay at a lower level. After adding co2, the trItes are now reading off the scale. I have never seen them so high, even when the tank was origionally cycling. I did get a reading of ammonia for a few days, about 1.0 but it has gone back down to 0. The nitrates are still at 20 t0 40. Any suggestions on what is going on with the trItes?

The tank is a 29gl, currently the only fish is 2 sae and 1 adult yellow groumi (sp?) The light is 98 watts of standard flourscents. filter is a HOB aqua clear (rated for a 50gl tank) Substrate is sand, I added fert tabs in the sand. I dont know the names of the plants, the lfs doesnt display them, and with my reading on line, I think I have identified some, not that I could even pernounce the names I would say the tank is moderately planted. I will try and post a pic.

Thanks for any help you can give, or suggestions, We really want to succeed with this tank so we will know how to set up the discus planted.

Karen


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## montegna (Feb 2, 2008)

hope this comes out

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc150/kmontegna/94dccb41.jpg

I treated the hair alge and it is now gone.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Unfortunately, at least one or two of those plants are not aquatic. They will not continue to live underwater.

About DIY CO2: I haven't used it for several years, but when I did I used 1/4 tsp yeast, 2 cups sugar, 2 liters of water. It lasted for about 2 weeks before the activity started to drop noticeably. I mixed the yeast with about a cup of warm water - not hot - in the two liter bottle, shaking it until the yeast was all dissolved. Then I mixed the sugar with warm water in a pan with a spoon until almost all of the sugar was dissolved, and poured that into the 2 liter bottle. I added more water to the pan to dissolve the rest of the sugar and filled the 2 liter bottle to just above where it starts to neck down. I gently shook that to thoroughly mix it, added the cap with the tube in it and that was it. The CO2 would begin to be noticeable in the bubble counter after a couple of hours or so.

I'm not saying that is the right way to do it, just that it worked for me.


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## longbowaj (Nov 25, 2007)

The first thing i would check for is leakage in the CO2 line. It ma be that once the pressure starts to build up you are getting a leak. The formula that i use is 1 tablespoon molasses, 1/4 tsp yeast, 1 cup sugar, and 1tsp baking soda. I put it all but the yeast in a 2 liter bottle, fill it with warm water, and shake to mix. I add the yeast and shake a little more. I usually get bubbles in under an hour. This lasts 2-3 weeks. 

I would suggest using flourish excel to help balance out the carbon. The excel should help if your DIY CO2 is laking.


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## Squawkbert (Jan 3, 2007)

20-40ppm is OK for NO3. If other things get out of hand, I'd suspect the tabs - youu should use those only for heavy root feeders and be sure you bury them deep.


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## SKSuser (Mar 20, 2006)

When I use quick rise yeast, I've noticed that it peters out faster than when I use the regular stuff. I've taken to leaving sludge in the bottom of the bottle, similar to what you would do with bread starter. Then I don't add yeast every time; just sugar and water. It seems to work the best for me, but everybody's system is different. I also used some agricultural yeast for bovine stomach health. It was in the same general family as the liqueur yeasts instead of bread yeast, in that it bottom flocculates. I had better success with that too.

Unfortunately, I let my system die while I was on vacation. Now I'm trying to nurse it back to health from a fresh start. I'm remembering how frustrating that is... :-(


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