Just Installed Diy Co2 !

[nicklfire]

ok boys and girlz,

well i'm one hour into my Co2 diy pop bottle thing. I tried to find champage yeast.. but they sell them only in little packets.. which sucks and costs ALOT lol so i bought normal bakers yeast... I siliconed (with safe aqua silicon) my silicon hose to my pop bottle cap, i put a checkvalve in between the line..(well see about this) and then i put in my ingredients.. of.... 1.5 cups of sugar, 1/2 tsp yeast and lukewarm water to the top line on the bottle. I'm about... 1 - 1.5 hours in and i'm betting about.... 1 bubble every 8 seconds.

I got the line hooked upto a nutrafin bubble counter/diffuser ladder (cost 22$).

All looks good

 

[kenneth_kpe]

next step would be to measure the co2 inside the tank hjeheheheheheheheeh

 

[WendyinWichita]

You need to store your yeast in the fridge or it may lose its potency. I use the same brand you have with the same ladders, got mine at Bigals online for $11.99! I like to sit and watch the bubbles it is rather entertaining!

 

[nicklfire]

WEll at about 3 hours now and i'm getting about 1 bubble every... 3-4 seconds, looking good.

I thought i might have problems with the check valve... because of the lack of pressure from the bottle but it's going really good so far

 

[Waterloo Kid]

Those DIY bottles can produce huge pressures. Enough to blow the bottle to bits if the gas cannot escape!

WK

 

[nicklfire]

Hey dude, yes i am undestanding that.

Well i just woke up and took a look i'm getting about 1 bubble every 1.5 seconds.. if less.... This is going pretty quick now hehe

guess i gotta go buy some testers.. to measure for co2

 

[nicklfire]

ARe the bubbles supposed to get smaller as they go up the ladder, i would think it means... the co2 is dispursing in the water.... but any confirmation?

 

[IovaykInD]

Yea, they're suppose to get smaller as they go up the ladder. That shows that the c02 is going into the water, which is good

 

[Jen]

Idealy, the bubbles should dissapear before the get the the surface of the water. That would insure 100% absorption, but it rarely happens

 

[nicklfire]

Ok so i just bought some testers.. and did ... the tests here are the results after running co2 for 24 hours.

Ammonia: I know that's good so i didnt test prob 0
Nitrite: 0.1
PH: 5.5 <--closer to this then 5
KH: close or under 10 mg/l
GH: 140

ok.. so next question what now
what's my co2 at?

 

[IovaykInD]

Here's a site:
http/www.aquabotanic.com/charts.htm

If your tests are correct, you are somewhere around 400-600. NOT GOOD. This is way too high, but my guess is that you tested it wrong somewhere. Just make sure your fish are fine. Maybe someone more experienced can help you out.

 

[pseud]

Are you POSITIVE that your KH is 10mg/l?

10 mg/l is equal to 10ppm which is equal to 0.6 degrees. Which is bad. You want your KH to be at least 3 degrees. You hsould buffer your KH with bicarb soda.

Use the following tables to figure out how much bicarb to use to raise your KH: Buffering Capacity and pH

Then use this calculator for your CO2: CO2 Calculator

 

[nicklfire]

howd you get that calculation bud?

with the ppm and deg


I got the calculation.. twice... i just added 1 drop of the KH and it immediately turned yellow which indicates... 10 or below.

why would my kh be so low?
it's a established tank
Maybe cause i just did co2 ?

 

[Ptarmigan]

.

 

[nicklfire]

Well that's not good,

I just tested my tap water and it's reading 50ppm for the kh...

So... what's my plan of action??

I just did a 25% water change... and it's reading 20ppm for kh now

i guess i should do that bi carb stuff eh?

What would be a suitable dosage.. how much soda