Why I NEVER Do This To My Aquariums Anymore...

[@nathanhoveyaquatics]

I have a diy pressurized system that uses 200 grams of baking soda and 200 grams citric acid then add 300ml of water (dechlorinated) let sit 10hrs (I find it's needed). The cylinder is 2 Liters. Idk if you can use the same ingredients for the plastic bottle CO2 but I've enjoyed learning about diy type CO2 and it's definitely getting me into the better systems.

[@maverickstclare3756]

no, he missed that entirely and at 300PSI it would split the bottle and dump it all on the floor. For anyone else reading this: you can buy a setup for under $100 with the cylinder, the solenoid valve and the timer. Get an inline diffuser if you have a small tank, I had in in-tank one and it squeeked !

[@DylanRenke]

The systems that use citric acid are a great in between. Its less expensive initial setup than a pressurized co2 system, but it still has a solenoid and a regulator for bettwr consistency. Its also worth a try if pressurized co2 cylinders arent readily available in your area.

[@curvingfyre6810]

Huh. That kinda makes me wonder if you could invent a CO2 setup that doubles as a vinegar eel culture.

[@basilmaurer8425]

Thanks for this vid. I love your humor, and open mind.😂 I have pretty good results with two 1L bottles (ideally mixed up every week) on my 55gal tank. I read that this is a good ratio of fermenter to tank size. I feed the CO2 outflow directly into a tube connector plugged into the side of the sub pump inflow between the filter sponge and the pump. It's positioned at the waters surface so there's surface ripples for oxygenation, but not too much agitation. The bubbles get chopped up really finely by the sub pump, and evenly distributed through the tank if the outflow is positioned right. As far as suffocating fish with diy CO2 I think it could be possible, and not necessarily from just a trashcan sized system so I'd recommend a CO2 monitor bubble to anyone starting out at least until the you determine the max output of their system under ideal conditions for their tank setup. This could take a while so it's worth monitoring this with each ferment remix for several months. Under ideal conditions, and ideal mix with fresh bakers yeast I've had the reaction liquid turn a very light lime green within a few hours of hooking up fresh bottles, so it's definitely worth the minor cost of getting a monitor bubble. Also for anyone who doesn't have access to a CO2 bubble monitor and reaction fluid I've read running strong air stones along with the addition of CO2 would prevent any risk of suffocation, though if you look online opinions are mixed on this. Some suggest that all the CO2 will be off gassed by the air bubbles, and others say that water can have high levels of both CO2 and O2, and suggest doing both simultaneously. From reviewing many online posts on the subject I choose to run the CO2 injected sub pump during the light hours while plants are photosynthesizing, and producing oxygen, and then switch to air stones during the night while plants are using up the O2, and expelling CO2. This somewhat balances out the O2/ CO2 levels between night and day though the reaction fluid turns dark blue by morning so is probably not necessary. The reasoning behind doing this being that O2 levels naturally drop at night due to plants O2 uptake so running CO2 during this time could lead to suffocation. Also the air pump uses less energy than the sub pump so is more economical on the small DC solar system I set up to run this tank. I supplement my tank with dry ferts after water changes, and sometimes between changes ( at first very meticulously, but now just by feel, and plant monitoring), and have noticed a significant boost in plant growth using the diy CO2. Though CO2 production and plant growth fluctuate with the time of year, and room temperature since yeast is lest active in cold temperatures, but plants typically are as well, and the sugar lasts longer during the cool months. Since I don't have a heater, because the whole tank is run on a small 12v DC solar setup since I'm off grid ( another reason I chose diy CO2), and winter lows where I live don't drop below the mid 50's on the coldest nights, the tank temp stays above 60 getting some heat from the lights and power head during the day. Certain plants seem to take off in the winter while other varieties get more growth during the warm season. Due to this I'm slightly limited on what plants, and fish I can keep, but still have enough options to keep a diverse selection of both. I have some fluctuating issues with algae, but if I allow the tank surface to overgrow with plants periodically blocking light the algae subsides, sometimes more than I'd like since I keep a couple of Borneo suckers, and a number of snails in this tank. But with a little monitoring it is very possible to keep the tank in a fluctuating balance, but definitely not without it's occasional imbalance. Another upside to using DIY CO2 is a steady supply of fermented mash. Once CO2 production tapers off I transfer the used mash to small gallon carboys with breathers until they're full, and then pour off the clear liquid into a large 7 gal carboy which can then be distilled once it's full. I'm not much of a drinker, but it offsets the cost of the sugar and yeast some. All in all it's the perfect system for my particular situation, and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who is interested in adding CO2 to their aquarium.

[@tauncfester3022]

You missed the Booth's articles in AFH magazine where among their Almost High Tech system tanks was a Dupla heated substrate with really gentle amounts of CO2. This was back in the early 1990's when all this aquarium gardening stuff was still highly experimental. They used pressurized CO2 on a timer but fed the output line into an airstone inside their wet-dry filterbox near the pump intake. I was a not exactly rich bike mechanic and wanted to make something like the Booth's system, but smaller and cheaper. For the heated substrate I used an Electropack 125 watt Mercury Vapor pendant light from Jerry's hardware and wrapped the lamp's ballast coil in a layer of silicone airline tubing. One long carefully wrapped layer. The phosphored Hg. vapor light provided a pretty darn bright pinkish light similar to aquarium plant flourescents, just way more intense. This actually worked great as the water came off the coil with the light running at about 110 degrees average and I pumped it into a grid of more silicone tubing under the gravel, ( no AquaSoil back then, Theil AquaTech had just released their Laterite gravel additive Iron High CEC clay fractions I sprinkled around the coils in the gravel. So this was in a 32 gallon tank ( little bigger than a 29) I had an ancient Lee's HOB power filter (with 1970's J siphons!..) nearly a gallon of capacity, polyfloss filter that took the meager output of one 2 liter CO reactor into the return pipe and also with the return impeller's suction intake to force the water through the ballast and gravel heater. The thing about Dupla was they were really reluctant to sell their stuff to the US, and that included their transformers and electric heating cables. So I was clever. Cycled the tank with a few Tetras and some Java Moss and Water sprite. There was initially not much difference between this and my 40 long plant tank's growth until I planted some Rotala Green in the tank. The Rotala started kicking in some intense growth and the Water Sprite and Java Moss started growing faster too. I believe that this was the tank cycling more quickly with a happier soil bacteria with faster Iron and Ammonium cation exchanges at the plant's roots. You could stick your finger in the gravel and feel the temperature difference. I'm still convinced to this day that the Booth's were onto something. My tank ran from 1991 through 1997, when we had to move, and it was a plant growing monster all through that time, especially Rotala Green, Rotala Macradra, H. Polysperma, Java Fern and Water Sprite. I think timed CO2 and EI high tech is great, but my old system if anything was reliable and didn't use much CO2, I would like to set it up again someday.

[@theatermusic87]

2 liter soda bottles (they're degined as a pressure vessel good for over 100psi, your gatorade bottle... not so much) with the screw on tubing adapters from amazon that are like 15 bucks even comes with a pressure gauge and a "valve" of sorts for adjusting flow... takes me about 10 minutes to swap out 2 bottles and thats good enough for a month+ on a 25 gallon. Nothing fancy, bread yeast and 1.5 cups of sugar

[@maartenz9417]

I have really good (and stable) results with DIY co2. The only difference in my case is that I make a sugar solution in gelatin and once it is cooled down and stiffened up I put a water and yeast solution on top of it. It’s an easy process and you can make for example 3 bottles in one time. Per 1,5 liter bottle I have co2 for around 4-5 weeks and I have a 75 liter tank. The gelatin causes the sugar to slowly dissolve in the water and this creates a very stable co2 production.

[@piplonsdale]

Hi! Any chance you could share your recipe for this DIY c02? I bought a kit that runs on this same system but I don't want to buy the overpriced refill. Thanks!

[@williampotter3369]

not a bio-reactor but close - alkaseltzer tabs. a jar, some hose, and a bell (in the tank); done and done. if one chooses a clear bell, one can see when CO2 is getting low because the bubble is getting small. plus, it does not make one's fish room smell liek beer-farts

[@darrylmoore5847]

I will probably never do this, but it was fun watching you do it.

[@Wakeupgrandowl]

I have 💯 percent had fish gasping at the surface for air (and nuking shrimp) having DIY CO2 go haywire… usually citric acid CO2z but the shrimp have suffered inkling yeast before

[@pg412]

Here's my insanely convoluted system to get consistent CO2 with a DIY system. I keep two freshly made bottles on my 40 breeder. After a week, I make new mixtures for the 40 breeder. Then I take the week-old mixtures that were on that tank and I pour one into the system on my 29 gallon, and the other week-old mixture into the system on my 20 high. Then the week-old mixtures that were on those tanks go into two additional bottles that both go into another 29 gallon. So, basically, each mixture lasts three weeks for me, but I move them to different tanks since a three-week old mixture won't produce CO2 at the same level as a fresh mixture. My 40 breeder always gets a fresh-to-week-old mixture, the 29 and 20 high always get one-week-old to two-week-old mixtures, and the other 29 always gets a two-week-old to three-week-old mixture.

[@ToolTeardowns]

Former beer brewer here. The real question is did you ever taste the alcohol-filled byproduct left at the end? 😂

[@AQUAPROS]

Hahaha i had a disclaimer at the very end NOT TO TASTE the final product... its not worth it, trust me ;)

[@Lost.aussie]

So you mean if im making a mash ,it's legal here, I should not hook it to my tank ?

[@AQUAPROS]

@@Lost.aussie technically you could 🤷‍♂️ might be too much co2, aim for 2-3 bubbles a second on like a 50g

[@Lost.aussie]

Just a basic co2 will set you back 1200 to 1500 in Australia

[@LogacysAquaticLove]

@@Lost.aussiethat’s absurd mate!

[@WatermelonJiki]

Completely agree with your take on DIY Co2! This topic reminds me of an experience I had a few years ago.. I knew this guy known as “GarlicNoji” he was friends with Kalichi. He was a cousin of Kalijigi, who studied at Django Kiyoji. He moved to a place called Crustiji, where he met Mrs Kanishki. There they had a kid name Gobi, who grew up to become a Blazing Pillpoji! It was a cool experience overall

[@GarlicNoji]

Hey I’m GarlicNoji :) Small world, Watermelonjiki!

[@slowiedovie]

I run citric acid and baking soda single pressurised cylinder method. Pressure is building up to about 50bar and it runs about 2-3 weeks. At this stage for me it is the cheapest method. I do have solenoid to shut it down for night time

[@angiebear8727]

Bought a bio reaction CO2 system on Buce Plants (great sight for plants huge variety) anyway. Rather than buying refills I just started using sugar water and yeast in it. It’s in a 20 long and has made a difference. Especially in my red plants. I change it once a month. Really just wanted to see if it’d actually make a difference. It does. I’ll stick with it for now but will get a “real” CO2 system in the future. Edit: my other tanks have no CO2. They are growing just fine. Got obsessed with red plants for a while so have CO2 just for that on one tank. Won’t bother with it on the rest.😊

[@ZsoltPapp79]

I think that Tank is crying for some white caridina variation, you have soft water, lower PH presumably and no water changes means a very stable chemistry. Ideal to start the Caridina route :D

[@dodongheinz4527]

Do you need a Co2 for a 10 gallon aquarium that has a few monte carlo plants?

[@FirozAlam-fm4zz]

The link ght. What kind of light you install on ur aquarium? I mean any specific?

[@givetanks]

Sometime I have a c02 issue - it likes to escape all at once!

[@OneMoreTank]

Back in college I ran THREE 1 gallon milk jugs of DIY co2 on a dutch style 75g. I cycled out one jug every week. That tank grew lush af! I have a 20lb co2 tank now, never going back

[@AQUAPROS]

Thats awesome! I always wanted to hook up a 5 gallone IPA homebrew to a tank.... never did tho 🤪😄

[@rgorji]

I used Green Leaf Aquarium C02 regulator. Excellent customer service and I think it has a life time warranty.

[@steve852011]

i got a no name regulator on ebay for 20$ a cylinder on craigslist for 25$ and it costs about 20$ a year to keep it running.... compare that to the price of citric acid.

[@evilone543]

I never wanted to deal with the mess and potential unpredictably of diy. Having plastic bottles next to my (at the time) living room tanks was just a solid no.

[@AQUAPROS]

DONT DRINK THIS, TRUST ME.... 😂😅😅😅

[@0action847]

I have six DIY co2 set ups for five tanks, it is driving me a bit mad refilling them every week with water changes.

[@matthewsmith22]

Companies seem to be selling expensive gear to run these systems for diy co2 at the moment, baffles me a little. I think fluval have the yeast one in a cylinder now, columbo here in Europe sell the citric acid setup for a small fortune. Seems cheaper to go solenoid and fire extinguisher to me.

[@tauncfester3022]

Reactor caps: My 2 liter pop bottle cap barbs were made from Lee's 3/16" hard airline (styrene...?) tubing, back when you could still buy this at the LFS. I used a hot glue gun and because the hot glue forms a better bond to the soft plastic of the 2 liter bottle caps. I also cut the Lee's hard tubing into about a 1.25" length and used a lighter to soften one end and allow it to form a gentle bell mouth. If you did this right, the tubing would form a interference fit into the 3/16" hole in the cap and then sealed it in place with the hot glue gun's heat. I never had any of these leak. I have a couple I made back in the 90's that still hold pressure. Silicone is kinda dodgey in this respect you need huge fillets and must let it cure at least for a day. The hot glue barbed cap is ready to use as soon as it cools. Also if you're curious about the early days of planted tanks, including some of the Booth's annotated Aquarium Fish Hobbyist mag articles and much of the UseNet Planted Tanks chat forums from the mid and late 1990's, is archived at www.thekrib.com/

[@Griimnak]

In the cannabis world there's these CO2 bags we purchase for our grow tents. Hanging one over the fish tank would probably be really good too!

[@alexanderpopov3587]

While I agree the yeast based DIY is too inconsistent and smelly, it is the opposite for citric acid+baking soda DYI which is quite good. Have been using one such system in а 60L for two years quite successfully. One dose (200g of each component) lasts a month and is very cheap. It is control by a valve and is only running during the day.

[@AQUAPROS]

I gotta try that... can't believe I never have

[@andystokes8702]

If I were to ever go down the DIY route I would use fruit juice, sugar , water and yeast in the reactor and be hygienic about it. It's exactly the same process for brewing wine so why not do that instead rather than ending up with something unusable.

[@toddbigeasy]

Hi. always enjoy your content! Are those Orange Millineum albino rainbows I keep seeing in the tank during the first part of the episode? I just bought 3 yesterday, they look awesome! Todd

[@AQUAPROS]

Albino milleniums, maybe they have a couple different common names? Cheers!

[@AQUAPROS]

*red

[@toddbigeasy]

@@AQUAPROS gotcha, I plan to have those in my 110 I'm setting up. Arian Reds, Turquoise and Bosemani. thanks!

[@danielduong7808]

Ziss use a chemical reaction so it is pressurised with no tail off.

[@hanslarsson9157]

I have stoped to use C02 since it lower the Ph so much.

[@gregghorner9107]

I quit CO2 because it made my bba algae worse and not better even after years of running it. It was also an ongoing hassle getting the tank refilled. My tank has less algae and the low light plants are doing great after quitting CO2.

[@basilmaurer8425]

If you're EL dosing you can use dolomite AG lime for cal mag, and will up the ph. I use rain water that's near 5.5 and balances out after dosing with lime. Plants love that stuff👍

[@michaelalexis1443]

@aquapros ask Corey to find a new manufacturer for the co-op regulator that was the best design for the hobby I've ever seen!!!🤔🤔👀😎✌🏿💯

[@technomad9071]

yeast is heat based

[@gardockis.playground]

Found my self saying yes the entire video

[@mickealm93]

I'm looking at the soda stream Co2 systems cuz that would be the most common source for me

[@tauncfester3022]

It's better to use paintball CO2 tanks, at least you can get a 32 oz tank, the 33 oz tanks for SodaStreams are really rare and no-one fills them in the US that I know of.

[@mickealm93]

@@tauncfester3022 I’m not from the US (Sweden) and I can change and empty soda stream tank for $2 to get a new one in my local grocery store 😉

[@mickealm93]

@@tauncfester3022 I didn’t know they were rare in the US tho 🤔 they are in every grocery store here so I just assumed it would be the same there

[@tauncfester3022]

@@mickealm93 My Sis uses a Sodastream that she recharges with dry ice, because of the cost shipping and lack of replacement. This is a US problem, because we're stoopid.

[@mich421]

I really have this problem that I have little CO2 in the water and my Vallisneria doesn't grow maybe I try to build this

[@AQUAPROS]

Its a fun project!

[@James-9999]

How’s your light? I find that’s done far more for mine then co2

[@mich421]

@@James-9999 My light is quite good because the Sessiflora has no growth problems only the Vallisneria has been blocked for months

[@laurabustos6560]

This comment boggles the mind. Valisnaria is like the "go to" plant for low and no tech planted set ups. Maybe you just need to give it more time?

[@mich421]

@@laurabustos6560 It's been making small plants for three months but they don't grow. more or less, it's the same as when I bought it

[@Alexander.makinano]

So, are you going to do more summer videos? Like outside? lol.

[@AQUAPROS]

Lol ya once the sun comes back out! 😎😄

[@adeptusmagi]

nah i came damn close to CO2 poisoning the fish with a bio reactor on a 100 liter tank with a 2 liter reactor the filter spray bar came lose and was giving almost zero surface movement have thought about turbo yeast barrelling the finished result and getting it distilled when i have a barrel full and what about the citric acid and bicarb of soda reactor systems quite cheap on the Chinese web site

[@AQUAPROS]

Interesting... ya i dont doubt it with the turbo yeast, especially if you nail the recipe and have it at a high temp

[@adeptusmagi]

@@AQUAPROS bread yeast only that time i think the amazon swords sort of created a lower canopy block and the CO2 was just circulating around the bottom of the tank lost 2 higher oxygen fish SAE's to be exact so invested in a solenoid to leave it running for far less time

[@hammerr3]

Why are so many of the Aqua youtubers so attractive? 😵

[@sergeantslick2949]

Pfft watch me flatten the curve

[@hammerr3]

@@sergeantslick2949 hahahahahaha

[@spacefish4220]

You can totally kill your fish from a diy bio reactor! I’ve done it already.

[@rachaelkenworthy6044]

I love how just said 16s as if more than 0.1% of your viewers know what you’re talking about. (I have a PhD in biology so I know, but I suspect I’m in the minority) I’m also a home brewer.

[@AQUAPROS]

hahaha well, im just glad someone who knew made it that far into the video! Cheers :)

[@IOSALive]

AQUAPROS, This is great! Let's be friends and have fun together!

[@ivanganchev8066]

what means co2 proof tubing? This is good scam :). How thin is co2 molecule? Why i can not use regular sillicone tube? I everytime use normal sillicone tube, not rated ... just 0.3$ per meter in Bulgaria. I never see co2 leak from the tube :). This is just marketing guys. Use regular sillicone tube and do not worry about co2 leaks :)

[@P00rmanalltime]

Lots of yapping

[@AQUAPROS]

im a big yapper 🤓