Baking Soda In Yeast Mix

[d3tained]

Hi...

Im just wondering?Why do some people add Baking Soda to there yeast water and sugar mix in DIY C02?

Is it to cause the C02 not to affect your PH??

 

[George Farmer]

I think you mean bi-carb rather than baking soda. I'm not 100% but I think it helps those with soft water i.e. less than 4dGH. I've heard that the yeast can froth and/or give sporadic CO2 output with it. However I have also heard that it makes no difference. For your interest the Nutrafin sachets of "Stabiliser" are bi-carb.

Is it to cause the C02 not to affect your PH??

No. Bi-carb in a seperate container will have no effect on aquarium water pH.

 

[MoreCoffee]

I think George is correct, as far as I understand it the Bicarb of soda in the canister is to provide a more stable fermentation environment and is supposed to make the production of CO2 last a bit longer. It has no effect on the water in the tank.

As for 'bicarbonate of soda' and 'baking power'. There is a difference ....the baking powder has additional rising agents added to it (or so I've been told by a chef I know).

Anybody looking to do a DIY CO2 system would benefit from reading this link. DIY CO2

 

[Themuleous]

I'll third that.

Thinking about it off the top of my head, when you add bicarb to a tank you increase KH which in turn increases the pH. Yeast based systems generally stop working as the alcohol byproduct eventually kills the yeast itself. I think the bicard helps reduce the effect of the alcohol and keeps the pH higher for longer.

I have used both with and without the bicarb and my tap water is very hard being 14 dGH and 10 dKH. Both ways I got a relatively good CO2 production and also the white fluffy stuff. The best way IMO to stop the white fluff getting into the tank is to have a second chamber/bubble counter then the fluff grows in that and not the tank.

Sam