Hurriken

IMO it only lasts 10-15 days.

CrimsonTsavo

I am so doing this. Thanks for the idea!

niko

Ok!

I've checked how many people have read this thread as of today December 04, 2009. It's about 60,000.

That doesn't make me happy. The count needs to be at least 100 0000. So here's my rant:

No doubt this thread is the ultra-greatest thread of all times. Everybody should get a whiff of what this thread is about. Between the lines it shows the state of the planted aquarium hobby as it has been since at least 2002. Namely how stingy, tight, and unwilling to spend money we all are on things that make our hobby grow. I made fun of that all over this thread. If this was an $50 project very few of us would even read the thread. Most of us would go with ridiculous external reactors made of PVC pipe because they cost next to nothing. Or choose an elegant, inefficient, and hard to maintain Chinese glass diffuser because it costs $10 on ebay.

Of course there are hobyists that simply can't afford much. I'm not critizing them. I'm ridiculing the rest of us that would blow $50 on unhealthy food, video games and what not, but act stupid when buying something for their planted tank. Me included.

So! Why am posting the above? Because a 60K reader's count makes this thread a soap box on which you can stand and shout things. My reason to shout is simple to understand - look at the reef tank community. It's full of people that know little, talk too much, and spend a lot. That has assured the immense progress of their hobby. In the planted tank hobby we don't need to spend a lot. Nor do we need to talk to much and neglect our tanks. But we need to understand how our attitude can change things. Oh this sounds so wise!

In 2005 you could not buy a rimless tank. ADG bravely changed that. Before 2009 (Orlando from GLA) you could only buy a rimless ADA tank and everybody considered cheaper and ugly alternatives to ADG. Today we have a choice. We have it because we have gotten wiser about the cheap alternatives and are willing to spend more for the right product.

Let that trend continue. Make and use my $10 super-duper-panda-buffet internal reactor. But don't let that stop you from considering quality products IF they are available.

I urge you to look at your planted tank expenses considering the wellbeing of the hobby.

And as usual to keep this confusing - I'm trying the $10 reactor on a 180 gallon tank. I'll post if it actually works well.

--Nikolay

Kamon

I bought this small filter for my 29 gallon. Its breaks the bubbles down into incredibly small ones. I'd choose this over the glass diffusers anyday.

Tex Gal

Niko - you are TOO funny!!

EWUeagle

My hats off to you Niko I'm still fairly new to the hobby but this is the best thread I have read thus far. I am surprised it took me this long to find it! You deserve your soapbox Thank you

sukhkawal

okay, i have set this up, now for 2 weeks. have changed diy bottle twice(once per week). and still co2 is only 12ppm(ph7.4,kh-10). while out of tap it is 8ppm(ph7.6-kh-10). i have no surface agiation, and can hear whoosh whoosh sound about every 2 sec. my mixture is 1cup sugar,tank water,1/2 tsp yeast (feischmann's rapidrise). WHYYY?

niko

Sukhkawal,

Surface agitation REALLY makes things move. I have the exact same issue in the 180 gal. tank where I just put this same reactor. Surface agitation allows for gas exchange (all sorts of gasses) and in the past I've seen big changes after providing good surface agitation. So fix that issue first.

1 bubble every 2 seconds maybe too little for your size tank. Also the DIY yeast method shouild be able to produce more CO2 than that. Unless your room temperature is below 65 I don't see a reason for the slow CO2 production.

Do you have light over the tank? What about plants?

Lastly - forget the stupid water tests. They are always wrong. Sometimes WAY wrong. You can calibrate them (search APC for that), but testing the water is a way to just get a general idea what's what. Never a precise number. You can see trends but that's about it.

--Nikolay

Bunnie1978

I had 4 bottles on my 75 gallon with that reactor and I had great CO2 production. I Also used almost 2 cups of sugar to 1/2 tsp yeast in warm declorinated tap water. I changed one bottle each week and rotated them out, but even the 4 week old bottles were still producing yeast. When I switched my big tank to pressurized, I moved the DIY to a 39 gallon, only the 3 newer bottles, and I still had some CO2 a month later coming out. You may need to look at how many bottles you have, the recipe you're using, and I agree with Niko, forget the tests. You should be able to watch your CO2 with this reactor entering your water as tiny bubbles and follow them circling around your tank, depending on the placement of the mini-filter.

sukhkawal

well i have a 36g. and only 1 2l,ill try to put another bottle. but niko is confusing me. he says you need surface agitation, when i thought that gets rid of co2 and brings in oxygen. if you meant water movement. i do have a powerhead. should i place the powerhead on top of the elite filter, to move around the co2??