NOw i want to be sure when should this be kept ON (Day/night/all time). SHould the aquarium lights be on too all the time. how do u turn this thing off
Where to begin...
Making these things can seem like a lot of fun but adding diy C02 to your aquarium is this hobby's equivalent of driving at 100mph on a slippery and wet road. One mistake and you will crash and burn. And I have seen too many aquariums crash and burn by being over run with algae some of which are extremely hard to get rid of. I figured I'd tell you this because of the question quoted.
The single most important thing you need to consider when starting up a diy reactor is the recipe. You need to experiment or at the very least research into which recipe will give you the most consistent output of bubbles per second. This is important because to begin with your recipe may produce say 3 bubbles per second and over the course of a week slow down to one bubble every ten seconds. It is this fluctuation that many algae types rely on to take hold and flourish so my advice is to keep a keen eye on your bubble counter and replace (preferably after the aquarium lights are off) when you notice a drop in consistency.
.You don't "turn it off."
.You don't keep the lights on all the time as this would be bad for your plants and fish (they sleep too) Depending on your lighting I'd aim for 7-9 hours max
.I just watched an add for M seal and no, you're going to need actual silicone sealant as your dealing with gases
.I'd also recommend using a coke bottle or a plastic bottle designed to hold pop/fizzy/soda as these are designed to deal with gas/pressure that your reactor will produce.
Make sure there is enough water surface movement/tension to ensure a good amount of oxygen is available to your stock while running co2
Take pics and keep us posted.
/www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHS6yEDPKSU
