[dawntwister]

Just read at krib.com that diy co2 is not safe to use if your water is soft; for ph will fluctuate with this non-regulated system.

 

[gpodio]

You have to be a little more careful obviously, the PH will follow the rate of CO2 which starts off high and tapers off over the course of the mixtures' lifespan. It depends how low your KH is, anything 2 or above should not be an issue in my opinion. If you take for example a tank with 2KH and a change in CO2 concentration from 25ppm to 15ppm, the change in PH is about 0.2. Now if the same occurred in a tank with KH5, the change is PH is still approximately 0.2. So the magnitude of the fluctuation is comparable, the resulting PH is what differs mostly.

Giancarlo

 

[dawntwister]

The kh of my water 2. Read at krib.com it is unsafe to use unregulated co2, which diys are, with soft water. gpodio says it can be done if careful. Now very uncertain if I can change from using flourish excel to diy solution. Any suggestions as to how to carefully switch to diy co2?

 

[Augus]

O.K. I know that this question is the most asked one on CO2. How do I make my own system. This is the best site I have ever seen on DIY CO2... http://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/diyco2.html . This system generally is for tanks under 30 gallons. For larger aquaria I would suggest a compressed system.

This site is dead. Anyone know where or have a copy of it? thanks,

 

[dawntwister]

This site is dead. Anyone know where or have a copy of it? thanks,

I only have the picture

This diy is set up the opposite way, which give you some water flow from powerhead diffuser

Also check out diy section

For mixture found this:
yeast 1/2 tps
sugar 1/2 tps

Rinse bottles and caps in hot water. Then sit in cold water.
Mix yeast, sugar with 1 cup of warm aquarium water.
Mix well, make sure well mixed and airate.
Let it sit and keep mixing every ~5 mins to keep mixed.
When bubbles or some foam starting on the top the yeast done.
Add it to your mixture.
Mixing it with everything intially can kill the yeast.
Mix suger In hot water (aquarium)
Mix in the baking soda and let cool till lukewarm.
If water is very soft, add 2 or 4 tsp of Baking Soda
then just add your yeast
Top the bottle up
Test Ph before + after adding CO2.
Make sure that there's a slight surface current to keep CO2 levels up at night.

Here is another mixture
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp baking soda
0.5 tsp yeast

Tips on Mixtures
Everybody has different water and this influences the your mixture.
So try slight modifications of the yeast/sugar/water ratios till what lasts the longest for you.
Yeast decreased
Co2 last longer
less CO2 produced per minute, but produce more consistant
Yeast increased
Co2 life shorter & initial higher burst of CO2

 

[Flun]

Augus: Was just going to ask for it myself, but I found it under the old name copied on a blog..

http://agustiono-aquarium.blogspot.com/2008/09/treatise-on-diy-co2-systems-for.html

First post should be edited, this is still the best reference for DIY CO2 out there.. I think

 

[surpera1]

dont be afraid - it is very easy to set up for almost no money - i use empty 2 liter cola bottles - the powerhead diffuser is the best way to put it in the tank for sure imo - i use 6 bottles with staggered start times for a fairly even flow of co2 into the tank - i restart 2 or 3 bottles a week - it will get you going and show you the benefits in plant growth - but you will eventually want the convenience of bottled co2 - i use 2 cups sugar , 1 tsp baking soda , 1/2 tsp yeast - there is an initial burst of high output which settles down after the first day - you should run an airstone at night on a timer - have the stone stop 2 hours before lights on - too much co2 at night can kill fish - we have all done it at one time or another - hahahahahahaha

 

[dawntwister]

Amazon_Replica has it set up so she can still get circulation from the powerhead here.

 

[John LeVasseur]

For anyone interested, the original posters link to my treatise on DIY CO2 systems still works and I updated the document to make some minor corrections, in December of 2014.

- John LeVasseur