co2 in the aquarium

At Johnarthur's suggestion I have decided to post a blurb about my experience with co2 in my 46 gallon bowfront aquarium. First off, I wanted healthier plants so I started looking into a decent way to improve their health. A co2 system seemed to be my best bet even though I hope to eventually add flourite to my substrate. Not wanting to spend 300 dollars on a fancy co2 system for such a small aquarium I did some shopping around. I found the Turbo co2 bio system. I am not sure of the exact amount, but I think it was around 30-40 dollars on Drs. Foster and Smith. A similar system can be built even cheaper from a liter soda bottle at home. This one I am using is simply a bottle with water, yeast, and sugar. It ferments and produces co2. The mixture comes in a separate container and is dry. You just dump it in the bottle and add the water. It also comes with a rubber hose with a one way valve and a little pump that diffuses the bubbles and injects them into the water. The smaller the bubbles the more co2 is absorbed. My pump quit so I replaced it with a better more powerful one that I already had. So far the results have been really good. The plants are bigger and greener and they have fewer dead parts. My loaches and otocinclus catfish love the current from the pump and like to swim through it or lay in front of it. I plan to make my own mixture in the future. I basically paid the money to have the system made for me since I was afraid to try it myself. If anyone decides to make one at home, make sure you test you water frequently. There is potential for fluctuations in the ph. Also, too much co2 can deplete the oxygen in your tank and cause distress to your fish. My system is rated for 40 gallons and suggests that I turn the pump off at night since the plants do not utilize co2 during that time. Attached are some pictures of my aquarium. You can see the hose attached to the pump. If anyone has questions or needs clarification, let me know and I will do my best to help.

Thanks for sharing your first hand experience and the excellent pictures. I know that a carbon dioxide system can affect water chemistry and have been reluctant to use one because of all the attendant complications and required testing. Still, it's very tempting. From making wine several years ago, I know that the fermentation process can make some pretty bad odors. Has that been a problem with your store bought system, and do you think it will be when you start using your own yeast and sugar mix?

Please keep us up to date on your carbon dioxide adventure, and thanks again for sharing.

This is a beutiful aquarium!
I once tried to build a DYI CO2 system, and it leaked CO2 in my house.
Eventually I bought a similar system (and I believe in a similar price, not sure, it was long a go).
My plants started to thrive after that.

Thanks for the wonderful compliments guys. John, I have not had a problem with a bad smell form this system. The only time I smell it is when I dump it. Also,Admin, this system has a rubber o-ring inside the screw on cap to the bottle. I believe it is this that keeps it from leaking both the bad smell as well as actual co2. I don't think using my own yeast and sugar will cause it to smell more. As far as I can tell, the stuff that came with it is simply yeast and sugar. I don't think it is baking yeast though. I am not sure what other yeast there is. I think as long as you don't build the system too big it won't have much of a chance of harming the water chemistry. I have had this one in operation for about six months and have had no problems.

Somewhere I read that the yeast they sell at wine and beer making shops lasts longer than baker's yeast.

i just wanted to add to this thread.
bakers yeast does not last long at all ..mine lasted about a week so i'm gonna look into different kinds of yeast.I'll let you all know which one in my opinion works best. If you add a little baking soda to the yeast sugar mix then you wont get yeast baking up into the tank ..so it just levels it out. JohnA im gonna look into that kind of yeast, can you get it at any DIY wine, beer making shops?

Mine is lasting for 3 weeks.
I don't add anything other then sugar and yeast, I just leave enough space for gas on the CO2 tank, so that the yeast never gets to the pipe leading the CO2.
I'll check what type of yeast I'm using and get back to you.

I know they sell yeasts specifically for wine making. The idea is to get a higher alcohol content, so wine making yeast lives longer than bread yeast lives in alcohol. The fermentation process, and thus carbon dioxide generation, should last longer with wine making yeast. The alcohol eventually kills all yeast cultures.

I like the idea that the commercial kit has a shutoff valve and diffuser, although I'm not sure why a diffuser is better than an air stone. Small bubbles are supposed to be good, but air stones make pretty small bubbles. I may try a crude DIY system on an aquarium with no fish. Megan, do you know how often pH should be checked in an angelfish tank with a CO2 system?

I might try an airstone this week and see if its any better.the diffuser type thing i have looks like a maze, the bubbles come out the tube and goes up the maze, when the c02 leaves the tube the bubbles are huge and when they get to the top they are very tiny meaning that the c02 is being dissolved into the water properly and what is left is other gases that escape to the surface.

I am going to not use the baking soda and see if there is any differance.

thanks for the feedback
Leah

Please let us know how it works out.

On another website, I read that a carbon dioxide system running at night will change the pH of the water, because plants are also producing carbon dioxide when there is no light. If I make DIY system, I'll try it in a tank with no fish and will leave the lights on all the time.

Sorry John, I hadn't read this thread in a while. Anyway, I think it may change it a little, but it may not be enough to be a problem. I admitt I have not checked my water for ph fluctuations since adding the system. My fish never showed signs of stress so I really don't think it changed anything. At least not enough to make a difference. Still, just to be safe I will not be using co2 in my discus tank. I will just be using flourite soil in planted pots once the little discii are done growing and are a bit more stable. George won't have any discus until February so it will be a while before I get mine.

I just thought I should add that my system made enough co2 for a 40 gallon tank and mine is a 46 gallon. This may have something to do with my not having any problems. If you are unsure, definitely check the water parameters regularly just to be on the safe side.

I would also like to add that using a diy co2 system such as the one that you all are talking about never shuts off until out of sugar so the yeast dies. This equals not good, because even when the lights are out the co2 is still forming.
Last year I purchased a co2 tank for around 50 dollars from a welding supply company, its a 5 pound tank that lasts between 6 months and a year. Costs 9 dollars to refill. I also obviously bought a pressure regulator which ran for around the same price as the tank. Used regular air line tubing and bought a co2 diffuser off of ebay. (To answer Johns question) The diffuser puts out really really tiny bubbles. I recently broke my diffuser a couple of months ago, and went and bought an air stone because that is all the pet store had. The day I install it my tank goes crazy because it needed more co2 to push out any bubbles what so ever. So again last week I made an investment into a bubble counter, another diffuser and an adjustment valve so I can more easily turn off the co2 at night.
Overall this has been the best investment for my tank, allowing my plants to become more lush, now all I need is more lights on my tall tank to allow some of my smaller plants to really flurish, and hopefully rid the nasty green hair like alage.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Kx125rider572 wrote:

Overall this has been the best investment for my tank, allowing my plants to become more lush, now all I need is more lights on my tall tank to allow some of my smaller plants to really flurish, and hopefully rid the nasty green hair like alage.:)

Any chance to get a glimpse of the aquarium?

BTW - I placed my diy system "on" the lighting system, which makes it cold when the lights are off, and the CO2 creation is radically slower.

I would love to take a picture but since I broke my co2 diffuser a couple of months ago I no longer have co2 in my tank, and this black hair has taken over my plants. I am afraid to use the bleaching method. I really do not want to kill these plants and plus it is still on some of the gravel. I was thinking about turning off the lights for a few days, but I might kill the plants this way aswell. When I get my new plants and everything straightend out next week I will post a picture. Thank you for wanting to experince my tank aswell.

Let me add my thanks for sharing your experience, and if I didn't already say welcome to our forum, I'm saying it now.

Have you thought about the low technology method of controlling algae: lots of live floating plants. They use up many of the nutrients that algae would otherwise use to grow. Of course they also block the light, but not all rooted plants need megawatts of illumination.

Just adding the photos that I have promised of my tank. Just recieved my bubble counter and co2 diffuser in the mail on Saturday, along with my new plants on Friday. Also, on thursday night I bleached my existing plants to get rid of the dreaded black/brown/green hair alage. Worked perfect, 1 cup of bleach to 1 gallon of water. Take a look. My tank isnt really all that clean, but if anyone has any suggestions I would love some feed back. Does anyone know how to get rid of what looks to be a build up of black dirt on the walls of my tank?

Thanks for sharing the pictures.

I have two Nutrafin CO2 systems on two different tanks, and although it does alter the pH (seems to lower it), I've not had any problems thus far. I've had the one system for about 4 months and all I've noticed is that my plants seem bigger and nicer.
Yes, it does run all night, but I have added an airstone to both tanks and I run that at night to make up for the oxygen that's being taken by the plants and the extra CO2 that's being produced by the system.
I have not had any bad smells at all, and have not lost any fish because of this.
I would hesitate to get an injection system as I think that would put too much CO2 into my tank. I actually have a smaller system than is suggested for my tank size, but on the other tank it's the perfect size.
Until I see harmful effects I am going to continue to use this system. I think the pluses outweigh the minuses.

You can also make a carbon dioxide reactor on the cheap. You put some water, yeast and sugar in a two litre pop bottle. In the cap, you drill a hole big enough for an air hose, seal one end of the hose with silicone and put an air stone on the other end. For a long time, I've been intending to try doing that, but intentions at my age are considerably more numerous than actions.

Actually John, that's all mine really is, it's not anything sophisticated, but it gets the job done.

can you expand on the diy co2 system? I'm in the process of setting up a 20 gallon hex and like the idea of a cheap co2 system.. i'm not going to get any hi maintenance plants and low ph would be good for my s.american themed tank.

Rinse out an empty, two litre pop bottle, and drill a hole in the cap just large enough for an air hose like you use on an aquarium pump. Push the air hose just below the cap, and secure it with aquarium sealant (clear silicone rubber). If you can find a wine or beer making shop in the area, get some yeast from them and find out how much sugar and water it takes to ferment about three pints. The yeast you get there will last longer than baker's yeast, because it is more tolerant of alcohol. Once everything is mixed, put the output end of the hose into the aquarium. If there is enough pressure to operate an air stone, more carbon dioxide will dissolve into the water.

When the lights are off, the plants will produce carbon dioxide to go along with that provided by the fermentation system. That can mess with pH, so be careful. If you have a few hundred extra, you can buy a system that uses a carbon dioxide bottle, valves and timers.

can you pull the stone out of the water at night if the ph gets to high, is that even a possibility with a single 2 liter bottle in a 20 gallon tank, with 36 watts of light? Thanks,

Yes, you can pull out the air tube/stone and let it rest above the level of the pop bottle. Of course, it will still expel carbon dioxide and associated odors. And you need to remember when to remove and reinstall the air tube/stone and also when to replenish the fermentation media. If you can tolerate the drawbacks, carbon dioxide supplementation and proper lighting and fertilizers will let you grow some spectacular aquascapes.

after reading all the DIY stuff I decided to buy the turbo co2 system and be done with it. I am going to hook up to timer so it doesn't pull at night (thru the venturi?) The DIY system seems very doable but I like the Turbo systems powered venturi to manage the co2 better. Is that a correct theory? I also agree that beer/wine yeast is probably better...