DIY CO2 help needed

[jvision]

I think the fuzz is bacteria - they like the sugary CO2 that comes out of the airstone. I've seen it on just about every DIY CO2 I've done. It's harmless to fish, and Otto's actually love the stuff.

[Wackinator]

I think the fuzz is bacteria - they like the sugary CO2 that comes out of the airstone. I've seen it on just about every DIY CO2 I've done. It's harmless to fish, and Otto's actually love the stuff.

sweet cuz I wanna get ottos for that tank, but I have no clue how they are gonna get in there, I have made like a DIY diffusion bell out the bottom half of a small water bottle.

The bubbles stay there until they get dissolved into the water, lighting is not exactly the best, 30 watts of 6500K bulbs and the plants seem to be showing growth every other day if not daily so it must be doing something right.

Thanks

[catchandrelease]

That fuzzy stuff you see is a inevitable byproduct of diy co2. What you can do to stop that is make your self a bubble counter with a pop bottle, drill two holes in top and run the tube from the co2 bottle to the bottom of the bottle. The get another tube a just put in about 3/4" past the lid (this one runs to the airstone). Then fill the bottle with wwater to about half way. Then the co2 gasas will bubble through the water in the bottle and come into the other tube and go into the tank. voila, no more fuzzy stuff

[catchandrelease]

BTW diffusion bells are not your most efficient option for diffusion. there are many better options, if you are willing to buy a cheap powerhead i can send you a link to a diy you can do that will give you near 100% efficiency, I run an inline reactor with pressurized now but prior to that i had the red sea 500 reactor, worked quite well with DIY co2.

[Wackinator]

BTW diffusion bells are not your most efficient option for diffusion. there are many better options, if you are willing to buy a cheap powerhead i can send you a link to a diy you can do that will give you near 100% efficiency, I run an inline reactor with pressurized now but prior to that i had the red sea 500 reactor, worked quite well with DIY co2.

I can look into a powerhead and I know diffusion bells arent the most affective way lol it was in the spur of the moment and the result of not a lot of planning for the CO2 but the link would be appreciated =]

How much do powerheads cost?

Thanks

[jvision]

You can get cheap powerheads at AG or WalMart for less than $20. I have found that putting the CO2 into the INTAKE of a powerhead creates a fine CO2 mist, which has been found to be one of the easiest ways for plants to take in CO2.

[Vallisneria]

I use an Elite mini filter for my CO2 diffusion. They cost around 12$ and work great.

[catchandrelease]

There are varied opinions on how co2 is more easily utilized. Personally i prefer to have it diffused 100% into the water, where as many people feel that it is more beneficial to use the powerhead impeller to create a co2 mist throughout the tank. Reasoning behind that being co2 bubbles will sit under plant leaves readily available for use.

Like i said previously an inline reactor is the way to go IMO but if you dont have a canister filter a powerhead is the next best thing.

Option 1 being to put the co2 outlet in a place where the intake for the powerhead will suck in the co2 and the impeller will create a mist and spray it throughout the tank.

Option two being http://www.plantedtank.net/articles/DIY-CO2-Reactor/2/

[catchandrelease]

Also if you have an HOB filter make sure your water is topped up to avoid too much surface agitation, when your using diy co2 every last bit needs to be utilized.

Edited March 17, 2010 by catchandrelease