# Diy co2



## Warhawk (Feb 23, 2014)

Does anyone run a DIY CO2 setup?

I have played with it a little over the years but nothing major, but never really gave it my full attention. With all the plants in my tanks think it might be worth setting up some CO2 but before I spend hundreds of dollars thinking a DIY method is worth a shot. 

For those that do run a DIY setup what is your mixture?

I set up 2 bottles last night and one is working better than the other but still not real happy with my mix. 

I took a 2 liter bottle, drilled a hole in the cap for a air tube, used super glue to help seal the gaps, and run the tube into my tank with a small air stone. Very simple I know.


Mix number 1.
2 cups of sugar
1/2 tablespoon baking soda
1/3 tablespoon yeast
Filled the bottle 2/3 full with warm water.

Mix number 2
2 cups of sugar
1 tablespoon baking soda
1/2 tablespoon yeast
Filled the bottle 2/3 full with warm water

The first mix didn't work very well, but the second is working much better. I know it will burn out faster but with it I'm getting steady bubbles in the tank. I do know I'm loosing pressure in my caps so I'm going to make new ones this weekend. I came up with a design that should seal up tight.

I know I can get a set of caps with tubes and gauge built in for $20 but I want to make sure it bottle work before I spend a lot of money on the set up. Right now I'm out less than $5 and some time.


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## Warhawk (Feb 23, 2014)

Friday night I used some epoxy to seal up the tubing going thru the caps. Worked great no leaks and the bubbles are steadily pumping out.

Here are 2 pics of the bottle and caps. I know I went a little heavy on the glue but didn't want any leaks. 
















I have the air tube going into a air store and it pumps out 6-10 small bubbles about the size of a pin head every sec. From what I have read small bubbles are best because it allows more of the CO2 to go into the water. 

On my two mixes Number 1 took a little longer to get going but it is making good CO2 also a little slower than Mix number 2 but I will let both run for a few weeks to see which I like better. 

I'm waiting to see how quick I notice a difference in tanks. I have 6 tanks with plants and only 2 have CO2 running, I hope that after a week of running my plants will start growing a lot and I can tell it helps.


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## Bilbo Baggins (Jan 27, 2016)

Hey Warhawk, good luck with all this, there is something Hippy about brewing and fishkeeping combined. You are using sugar and yeast which will work fine, But I have a book on making home made wine, and I plan to combine the two activities. Simple things like Potato or Rice can make very acceptable wines and they of course churn out industrial quantities of CO2 in the process.


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## Warhawk (Feb 23, 2014)

Years ago my dad and I made muscadine wine. That was 15-16 years ago I think now. Not sure what else people call them but they grow wild like grapes in the area my use to live. It was a lot of fun and the wine wasn't too bad very sweet. We didn't make a lot but got a few bottles and didn't cost that much. 

Now how times have changed I worry about people seeing my Co2 bottle and think I'm making some kind of drugs. 

If you do make some might as well save the Co2 for your fish tank, no reason to let it go to waste.


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## Warhawk (Feb 23, 2014)

It has been 2 weeks and I really can tell a difference in the tank plants. Not sure if I will keep using my DIY caps or buy new ones, they are working fine so why change them.

I am thinking about adding a second bottle with just water that should help filter the Co2 of any junk before it hits the tanks.


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## LittleStar (Oct 2, 2015)

Wow this is all very new to me thank you for sharing such a cool idea! So how long will this mix typically last before you have to make a new one?


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## Warhawk (Feb 23, 2014)

I'm not sure how long the mix will last but from what I have read about 3 weeks is the normal time. I will post how long my mix last, that way also helps me track my time better. This is a very simple setup and I just copied the design that others have been using for years. 

I did the math and each bottle costs is super cheap. 
Bottle --Free
Air tube $3.00 for 10 feet (enough for 2-3 bottles)
Yeast $1.50 three packs. (that is enough for about 20 bottles)
Baking soda $1.00 (enough for hundreds of bottles)
Sugar $2.50 4lb bag (enough for 4 or 5 bottles)

So as you can see each bottle is very cheap, less than $1 each maybe less that $0.50 each if you play with the mix. So if your doing this on 1 or 2 tanks for $10 you get a years worth easy.


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## LittleStar (Oct 2, 2015)

Thank you this is an awesome experiment at the very least and a way to get bubbles going in case of power outage, so cool!


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## Slaz (Sep 8, 2014)

Been using a diy Co2 system for two years now. Works great with good results. My mixture is basically the same as yours. However, I use the two bottle system as I don't want any back wash in my aquarium. I also use a bubble counter and have been using a ceramic diffuser. I am presently experimenting with a Fluval Co2 20 diffuser. Reason being; is that my ceramic diffuser constantly gloggs up. I get about one month out of each batch.


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## Warhawk (Feb 23, 2014)

Slaz said:


> Been using a diy Co2 system for two years now. Works great with good results. My mixture is basically the same as yours. However, I use the two bottle system as I don't want any back wash in my aquarium. I also use a bubble counter and have been using a ceramic diffuser. I am presently experimenting with a Fluval Co2 20 diffuser. Reason being; is that my ceramic diffuser constantly gloggs up. I get about one month out of each batch.



I was thinking about setting up a 2 bottle system to keep that gunk out of the tank. I haven't notice anything but I know it is possible. When i change out my mix I will make that change. By then I should know where I want to put my bottles they they aren't in the floor. 

I set up 2 more bottles over the weekend because I moved some plants to new tanks. That means I have 4 bottles so if I put a cleaner bottle on each that takes up a lot of room. Did think about hooking up a linked system so I could have 3-4 bottles of mixes going at one time and the plumb them out to each tank as I need them. 

On the diffuser I have looked on amazon and I have seen a few options but not sure which I like better. I did read that the simple ones will work with a DIY system but some the fancy ones need more pressure. I have 2 running on air stones making very small bubbles and the new 2 I use part of a chop stick. The chop stick is making smaller bubbles for sure.


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