Co2 And A Soda Stream?

[rubberdoofa]

Im exploring the co2 venture but have come up against some problems, ie i just cant afford it right now! i have read up on the DIY method and it sounds straight forward enough but have also read of some disasters from yeast in the tank to having your living room redecorated yeast colour and smelling like a brewery, I dont know how many bubbles per min ide require for my 240ltr tank either .My main question is could i use the soda stream? ie take out so much tank water and put it through the soda stream and replacing it in the tank carbonated or just buy fizzy water? It wouldnt turn the tank fizzy as it would be diluted many times on replacing it and add the aquasafe. whats you think am i totaly barking mad or does this have possibilities untill ive saved up for a pressureised kit.

 

[samyboy]

do you have natural world pet shops anywhere near you

i saw a sign on a planted tank saying complete DIY system £14.99..........i didnt bother to make further enquires as i have very few plants

 

[rubberdoofa]

do you have natural world pet shops anywhere near you

i saw a sign on a planted tank saying complete DIY system £14.99..........i didnt bother to make further enquires as i have very few plants

Nope i dont have NWpetshop near me , the pet shops we have x2 cater in horse feed and petfoods etc not the place for a specialised aquarium accessory,Grimsby is a total mystery no one stocks it ive beeen to any way, and the aquatics place is ................well the sell you anything type they do have them, pressurised at huge prices! the diy kits ide need x3.
never seen a diy kit for that price any way that sounds good 3 of those wouldnt be so bad i guess but a hell of a lot of cleaning/mix replenishing and 3 bells in the tank as i dont fancy the idea of having the bottles colapse redecorating my room having the thing direct in to the power head.
thanks for the info though

 

[craynerd]

I think you would have several issues.

1) You would struggle to maintain the CO2 in the water when mixing with the tank water.

2) It would take a lot of fizzy water and mixing to get a high enough CO2 conc.

*****
3) IMO your biggest, the CO2 would escape the water quickly and therefore you would not be able to maintain a stable CO2 concentration with this method, unless you added more fizzy water every X minutes!!! *******

4) It would be costly, since the CO2 canisters are expensive for the soda streams


I think it would be more economical in the long run if you made a DIY pressurised system!

Chris

 

[rubberdoofa]

...you mean harnessing the soda 'fizz' for co2? I'm not sure if the fizz is pure co2, or if it's safe for the fish. But even if it is, soda or any carbonated drink is more volatile than the yeast/sugar mix. When you mix the yeast/sugar mix, it doesn't bubble up as much as carbonated drinks.

EDIT: i don't know what im talking about haha. dont mind me.

EDIT 2: Ok, I found out what Soda Stream is online.

The power supply comes from Alco2Jet Cylinders which are refillable. When you bring back your empty cylinder, we refill it and distribute again.

Isn't that co2? You might as well just get the co2 bottle.

yep its co2, its just i cant afford at the mo the aquaium specialised ones. I have a soda stream bottle im not using as my kids dont like the juce flavors any more ,just wondered if i carbonated some of the aquarium water and put it back compleat with the aquasafe ide get some co2 in the tank for my plants, only untill i can afford the kit that is, i guess im just bone idle and dont want the hard work of mixes topping up redoing and callarbrating a diy yeast. Would it work doing it this way?

 

[craynerd]

look above your last post....

i dont think its possible, i may be wrong !

Chris

 

[rubberdoofa]

look above your last post....

i dont think its possible, i may be wrong !

Chris

It was only a stab in the dark idea any way! so you reckon its a nono then, so how do i make a pressurised diy co2 kit for a 240 ltr Yor most likely right any way thanks

 

[craynerd]

I may be wrong, wait for others to respond...

Especially with the tank being so big.

Chris

 

[Bowman]

I have been using two sodastream fizzy drinks makers on two 5ft tanks( approx 50galUK) for some years now.
I have attached airline (any plastic pipe would do) to the sodastream injector tube and that goes to a diffusion 'bell' (a cut off section of popbottle, aka PET bottle) in the tank.
A squirt from the sodastream fills the bell with CO2 and this dissolves gradually over the next few hours.

You can choose the diameter of your bell to control the rate of diffusion of the CO2 into the tank to be suitable for your tank volume ( ie. your desired mg/l of CO2 for your tank), and choose the length (hence volume) of the bell to last long enough between refills comensurate with your visits to the tank. (eg. morning, lunchtime and early evening )

You are dealing with unregulated high pressure CO2, (but so also is the fizzy drink bottle in its normal function). I am describing what I do. I am not telling anyone else what they should do !

 

[craynerd]

A squirt from the sodastream fills the bell with CO2 and this dissolves gradually over the next few hours.

ahh, thats a great idea, there are similar CO2 kits available that do the same thing correct isn`t there? CO2 canister than u squirt each night into a bell.

I am describing what I do. I am not telling anyone else what they should do

That sounds like a disclaimer

 

[Spader]

would seltzer water work??

 

[Bowman]

A squirt from the sodastream fills the bell with CO2 and this dissolves gradually over the next few hours.

ahh, thats a great idea,

thank'ee kindly sir !

there are similar CO2 kits available that do the same thing correct isn`t there? CO2 canister than u squirt each night into a bell.

I have no idea, but sounds like they may be a lowish pressure jobbie ( and thus contain not very much CO2) if they are disposable canisters ?
Why at night though ? That would defeat the object would it not ? daytime (lights on) is when the CO2 is needed.

I am describing what I do. I am not telling anyone else what they should do

That sounds like a disclaimer

Ah ! you noticed ! cant be too carefull these days with the elfinsfty jobsworths around !

 

[craynerd]

QUOTE
there are similar CO2 kits available that do the same thing correct isn`t there? CO2 canister than u squirt each night into a bell.
I have no idea, but sounds like they may be a lowish pressure jobbie ( and thus contain not very much CO2) if they are disposable canisters ?
Why at night though ? That would defeat the object would it not ? daytime (lights on) is when the CO2 is needed.

Sorry, figure of speach, i always maintain my tank at night. Basically yes, a squirt per 24 hours. I do`nt know the ins and outs, i have just seen them at my LFS!! I am still sceptical to how well they work, since it must be impossible to maintain stable concentrations, and i high enough ones!!

What CO2 conc. do you get with your method?

 

[Bowman]

What CO2 conc. do you get with your method?

One is able to choose anything from 0 to way in excess of 100mg/l , if you wish to tweak the tail of the dragon !
The key is in this, from my earlier post :

You can choose the diameter of your bell to control the rate of diffusion of the CO2 into the tank to be suitable for your tank volume ( ie. your desired mg/l of CO2 for your tank)

I assume a more or less cylindrical diffusion bell that one would obtain by using a cut off PET bottle.
{And of course the frequency that you are able to refill the bell !}

You can also play with 'still water diffusion' and 'turbulent water diffusion' (ie. direct the output of a pump across the opening of the bell, to increase the rate at which the CO2 laden water is spread into the rest of the tank )

But we have drifted a bit off rubberdoofa's original question now !

 

[rubberdoofa]

What CO2 conc. do you get with your method?

One is able to choose anything from 0 to way in excess of 100mg/l , if you wish to tweak the tail of the dragon !
The key is in this, from my earlier post :

You can choose the diameter of your bell to control the rate of diffusion of the CO2 into the tank to be suitable for your tank volume ( ie. your desired mg/l of CO2 for your tank)

I assume a more or less cylindrical diffusion bell that one would obtain by using a cut off PET bottle.
{And of course the frequency that you are able to refill the bell !}

You can also play with 'still water diffusion' and 'turbulent water diffusion' (ie. direct the output of a pump across the opening of the bell, to increase the rate at which the CO2 laden water is spread into the rest of the tank )

But we have drifted a bit off rubberdoofa's original question now !

OMG!!! your well over my head mate lmao, havent a clue what you just said , I havent got a c02 kit yet would love one but cant afford it as yet.
would love to know what the equipment is called what it does and how many ppm of c02 if thats how you put it do i have going in to a 240 ltr tank.just so i know how big a co2 tank i need.
hope it all come in a box compleat ready to set up with instructions in English