122 replies to this topic

[SuperColey1]

It should work. I think is high on cec so should be OK.

Leonardite underneath would be good. Sold as diamond black in the US I think.

You want the powder/granular and not the nectar (liquid)

Don't know who sells it but this is who makes it.

http://www.generalhy...amondblack.html

AC

[lljdma06]

By the way, I have linked this article to my profile page...

Great work! Andy. Let's pin this now...

[SuperColey1]

Lol. Nice one Llj. gonna alter recipe again later today.

AC

[alex.wardle]

well i am in my 2nd full week now of you DIY system AC and i would like to say thanks. Plant growth is amazing, but i will let you be the judge of that.
1st week in
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2nd week in

[alex.wardle]

 IMG_0516.jpg   72.71K   0 downloads
I have just had a little tidy up and trimmed the Rotala Wallichii on the other side of the tank and the Cabomba Caroliniana in the pic

[SuperColey1]

Just thought I'd explain something before anyone just copies exaclty my recipe and bottle numbers etc.

I am trying to get a constant (or as closes as) 30ppm on MY setup. That means if succesful it will be suitable for MY 125ltr tank with my heavy plantmass and plant types etc.

That means others should use the recipe as a start point and then move it up or down as applicable. I would actually suggest starting lower than me (see below) and pushing it up as you gauge its output. No point starting out really high and waking up with dead fish (which I am pretty sure is a realistic risk now.)

How can you adjust you setup.

Well I am using a 3 bottle stagger.

You can alter the 'power' and longevity of the mix by altering the content.

So think about the sugar as the control. From that sugar you can get a control on the total cumulative output.

By that I mean if we talk about the cumulative as being the gram weight then 400g will only produce 400g worth CO2 whether it is run fast or slow.

With this in mind my setup uses 3 x 400g sugar.

To controle the longevity you add more or less yeast. So half a teaspoon may last 4 weeks. 1 teaspoon may last 1 week. However you need to find that perfect level where all 3 bottles are giving you the average close to 30ppm

So no use thinking. Ahh Run each bottle for 4 weeks and then a lot less changes. that is unless running at this level means you are reaching your desired ppm of CO2. You could even go for more bottles with longer periods but that sort of defeats the object as you are then changing more bottles and asving no time

So lets just stick with 3 bottles.

To reduce the total output reduce the total content of both the sugar and yeast. Some rough ideas

If 400g + 1 tsp = 1bps, then 200g + half tsp = 0.5bps

You can therefore reduce these contents to suit smaller tanks. I would suggest using more bottles for larger tanks rather than increasing above the 400g sugar.

To make the mix more potent, which works faster but for a shorter time then increase the yeast proportionally.

So if you were doing the 400g + 0.5 tsp on a 125Ltr but are now working on a 60ltr and therefore using 200g + 0.25tsp then where on the 125Ltr you jumped from 0.5 to 1tsp on the 60 setup you would jump from 0.25 to 0.5.

Experiment with your setup, not too much or you'll just have an algae fest but trial how it works. Get your spare diffuer and site it in a clear bowl of water. Setup a DIY kit and bubble counter and count the bubbles, try different mixes. Different ratios.

Why do you need a diffuser? You need to emulate what you are doing with the actual kits and tank. That means you need backpressure from the diffuser otherwise with no resistance at diffuser end you will get really fast bubbles

As a guide I am currently pushing back up to the 1 teaspoon of yeast on all 3 bottles. It may well have been a leak on one of the original bottles (which has been replaced) that caused the original mixes to finish so quickly. 1 leak in the system means that the whole lot can fail.

I may try a small setup on my 10ltr tank. that will use 3 x 500ml bottles with 100g sugar and 1g yeast. Probs another 500ml bottle for the bubbles counter. Need to get a little diffuser first though

AC

[ian]

What kind of diffuser you after mate? I have a jbl one you can have, you can change the size of it, it's the ladder type, I also have an old powerhead one (it might be to big for your 10l though!) it only pushes 68lph. Give me a shout if you want me to bring em up


Edit, I also have the Hagen ladder diffuser, as well.

Edited by ianho, 15 October 2010 - 09:53 AM.

[SuperColey1]

Lol. I'll probs be trying something inline on the 10ltr too. Just researching that. I may not bother with it TBH but the large tank is looking sweet.

Good growth but still a few algae spots here and there. All that fiddling with the levels. lol

AC

[SuperColey1]

Best to get this up to date I suppose. Any changes will also be detailed in the first post so people can see what is happening at the moment.

A little timeline:

Recipe 400g sugar + 1 teaspoon yeast
29/9 - Setup the first of 2 bottles
1/10 - Setup second bottle
3/10 - Setup third bottle
Noticed the first bottle was already finished. Second didn't look too good either

5/10 - Changed first bottle recipe to 3/4 teaspoon yeast assuming that 1 teaspoon was dying out very quickly.
7/10 - Found a leak on second bottle. Probably the cause of the first 2 bottles dying so quickly. Replaced bottle but continued with the 3/4teaspoon method.

Conclusions - Leaks are hard to avoid With no leaks the system is now working quite well.

The 1 teaspoon yeast means the mix seems to last about 5 days at a decent rate. The 3/4 is better. About 1 bps from the 3 bottles on 3/4 teaspoon and the DC is remaining lime coloured.

What next?

Well I am satisfied that the 3 bottles-3/4 teaspoon mix will work fine and keep CO2 steady. However now I am going to try something else I normally say is 'not the point'.

My next little test is to see if I can get the 3 bottles working on a 3 week cycle rather than a 1 wek cycle. That means less total CO2 but less changes. Trying to maintain a lower (but stable) amount of CO2 and see if I have any problems there.

So for the next few weeks (started this last week) I will change 1 bottle each Saturday and therefore each bottle needs to last for 3 weeks. Yeast will be decreased to half a teaspoon.

I will post up some more pictures later. I have put an inline valve to each bottle, just cheap plastic ones similar to a needle valve, which means I can close the line to the bottle I am changing and therefore not let all the pressure out of the system while I do the change.

Will update on the 3 week cycle in 2 weeks time when it is complete.

AC

[Ryefish]

wondering if you have noticed any algae growth yet?

[SuperColey1]

wondering if you have noticed any algae growth yet?

In the first few days when I was messing around with the setup a lot there was some extra algae as a result but since then nothing new yet nothing died off either. I will give it time though.

AC

[lljdma06]

wondering if you have noticed any algae growth yet?

In the first few days when I was messing around with the setup a lot there was some extra algae as a result but since then nothing new yet nothing died off either. I will give it time though.

AC

Any updates on this? Been over a month?

[SuperColey1]

I will get back to this don't worry. A little overloaded at the mo.

Stlil running on the half teasponn of yeast/400g sugar per bottle and each bottle lasting 3 weeks at the moent. Seems to be working fine. mid green colour.

On the 10 litre I am using a single 500ml bottle with 100g sugar 1/4 teaspoon yeast. This is on yellow permanently yet the shrimp seem unaffected. Tried it at 1/8th teaspoon and only just reached green so I may move down to 3/16the teaspoon and see if I can get mid to light green rather than greeny blue and yellow

Andy

[stevereade]

Sounding good, mine is running two bottles still changing each once a week as they die off, only takes two mins. Just bought a nano glass diffuser tho, installed it today and it takes a lot more pressure to get through the ceramic plate than my old airstone with the ladder above it. Thing is it did say when I bought it that it can be used for yeast and pressurized so we'll see. Hoping by this evening it will be in full flow as I just changed the bottles mix for a new one.

Edited by stevereade, 14 December 2010 - 11:52 AM.

[mbsqw1d]

i think i'll b adding a third bottle to my setup on a 125litre.. im getting 1 bubble per 2 secs max and my drop checker is green/blue with 3/4 teaspoon yeast and 400g sugar. Although, my plants have grown like mad! im very happy with the results so far. and as for algae growth, i never get chance to spot any with my 2 ottos

AC i received delivery of some leonardaite yesterday (soil builder granules) just need some plant substrate n then think ill do a post when i rescape everything. i take it u hardly need any leonardite in the substrate?

[SuperColey1]

Just bought a nano glass diffuser tho, installed it today and it takes a lot more pressure to get through the ceramic plate than my old airstone with the ladder above it. Thing is it did say when I bought it that it can be used for yeast and pressurized so we'll see. Hoping by this evening it will be in full flow as I just changed the bottles mix for a new one.

Are you using the same yeast as me? the one that comes in several sachets within a box. I am using a nano glass diffuser on the 10ltr. About 1cm diameter. Even tohugh it is only getting the gas created from 100gsugar and 1/4 teaspoon yeast it is delivering some very fine mist from one part of the disc. Very low pressure yet it is enough to send the DC yellow

AC i received delivery of some leonardaite yesterday (soil builder granules) just need some plant substrate n then think ill do a post when i rescape everything. i take it u hardly need any leonardite in the substrate?

You only need a quarter of an inch if that. It isn't so much for nutrient. It is more to do with a slow release of carbon. Especially for non CO2 tanks really where you want alternative carbon sources. Even the KH may be used up after a year of no water changes. Not a problem though. The Leonardite just 'adds' to what can be used.

AC

[stevereade]

Just bought a nano glass diffuser tho, installed it today and it takes a lot more pressure to get through the ceramic plate than my old airstone with the ladder above it. Thing is it did say when I bought it that it can be used for yeast and pressurized so we'll see. Hoping by this evening it will be in full flow as I just changed the bottles mix for a new one.

Are you using the same yeast as me? the one that comes in several sachets within a box. I am using a nano glass diffuser on the 10ltr. About 1cm diameter. Even tohugh it is only getting the gas created from 100gsugar and 1/4 teaspoon yeast it is delivering some very fine mist from one part of the disc. Very low pressure yet it is enough to send the DC yellow

AC i received delivery of some leonardaite yesterday (soil builder granules) just need some plant substrate n then think ill do a post when i rescape everything. i take it u hardly need any leonardite in the substrate?

You only need a quarter of an inch if that. It isn't so much for nutrient. It is more to do with a slow release of carbon. Especially for non CO2 tanks really where you want alternative carbon sources. Even the KH may be used up after a year of no water changes. Not a problem though. The Leonardite just 'adds' to what can be used.

AC

Yes mate the easy bake stuff in a green box. After clearing the water from the tube today it kicked into life as I still have no non return valve fitted lol. The extra pressure it takes to get the bubbles through these ceramic discs tho will be enough to back syphon when I disconnect the bottles so I'll be fitting the non return valve next week on bottle refill. My diffuser is 2cm diameter disc and gives a constant stream from the whole disc but on one side a very very fine mist too and the rest of the bubbles are tiny.

[Haveagojoe]

Very very interesting thread going on here, i'm just putting my toe in the water as regards DIY C02 and i'm learning a heck of a lot, one question though after reading about Seachem Purigen, i'm running a fluval U3 filter in a 120 ltr setup would I have to replace the bio media tray in the filter with some sort of bag or would the purigen fit in the tray ?.

[SuperColey1]

Not sure what goes inside the U3. Purigen is best (in my experience) bought prebagged rather than loose and then user bagging. Comes in a 100ml/g bag which is about 4inches x 2 inches and about half an inch in depth.

If it won't fit in you could remove some media or make some media smaller to put it in.

It isn't a necessity though. the reason I use it is because it removes organic N (mainly ammonia) which I then replace with inorganic N (Potassium Nitrate) It also pmakes the water absolutely crystal clear. A bit like Carbon except 10 x better and it last more than a day before it is wasted. lol

So it isn't necessary at all in relation to the yeast method. Just something that I like to use.

AC

[Ben M]

I have decided to start using DIY CO2 in my 210l tank, and if that goes well, I'll use it in my others. This guide is a great read, and very helpful.

How many bottles do you think I'll need for a 210l tank? I'm thinking 4-5 2l bottles? And will using more bottles keep levels more stable?

cheers