Post by MADMIKE on May 8, 2007 15:27:42 GMT -5
There are several systems on the market for injecting CO2 into the aquarium. They are however expensive. For smaller aquariums (30 gallon and below) there is an inexpensive alternative which is described below. I have not had success using this system with larger tanks though.
Mixing sugar, yeast and water will produce CO2 that can be injected into the aquarium. . The following describes a setup you can used with success.
Add 2 cups of sugar into a 2 liter plastic coke bottle. Mix 1 teasthingy of yeast in ½ cup of lukewarm water until it dissolves. Add the yeast mixtures into the two liter plastic Coke bottle with the sugar and fill with water until it is ¾ full. Do not seal the bottle yet, the mixture will ferment and produce CO2. If the bottle is sealed, the resulting pressure from the gas production will cause it to explode.
Now come the tricky part. Make a small hole in the coke bottle cap and insert one end of some airline tubing. You are going to need enough airline tubing to reach from where you plan on placing the coke bottle to inside the aquarium. You then need to seal the joint between the airline tubing and the plastic coke bottle cap. If the joint where the bottle cap and the air line tubing is not well sealed, the CO2 will leak out before reaching the aquarium.
The other end of the air line tubing should be placed in the aquarium and within 24 hours you should see bubbles coming out of the tube. As these bubbles of co2 rise to the surface, the water will start absorbing them, however this is not instant and in order to get increased absorption the time the bubble is in contact with the aquarium water needs to be increased. Here there are several options. You can add an air stone to the end of the airline tube. This will make more and smaller bubbles which increase the surface area in contact with the water.
Another variation if you are using power heads is to connect the airline to the venturi of the power head if it has one. This will spray the CO2 into the aquarium increasing both the area in contact with the water as well as increasing the time required for the bubbles to reach the surface.
Some people stick the end of the airline into the intake of their power filter. You need to be careful here, injecting a gas or air to the inlet side of the pump could cause cavitation resulting in impeller damage. I mention this method but I really don't recommend it. If your filter pump starts making noise after you insert the tubing, take it out.
The idea is that the more time the bubbles stay in contact with the water, more CO2 will be absorbed.
Mixing sugar, yeast and water will produce CO2 that can be injected into the aquarium. . The following describes a setup you can used with success.
Add 2 cups of sugar into a 2 liter plastic coke bottle. Mix 1 teasthingy of yeast in ½ cup of lukewarm water until it dissolves. Add the yeast mixtures into the two liter plastic Coke bottle with the sugar and fill with water until it is ¾ full. Do not seal the bottle yet, the mixture will ferment and produce CO2. If the bottle is sealed, the resulting pressure from the gas production will cause it to explode.
Now come the tricky part. Make a small hole in the coke bottle cap and insert one end of some airline tubing. You are going to need enough airline tubing to reach from where you plan on placing the coke bottle to inside the aquarium. You then need to seal the joint between the airline tubing and the plastic coke bottle cap. If the joint where the bottle cap and the air line tubing is not well sealed, the CO2 will leak out before reaching the aquarium.
The other end of the air line tubing should be placed in the aquarium and within 24 hours you should see bubbles coming out of the tube. As these bubbles of co2 rise to the surface, the water will start absorbing them, however this is not instant and in order to get increased absorption the time the bubble is in contact with the aquarium water needs to be increased. Here there are several options. You can add an air stone to the end of the airline tube. This will make more and smaller bubbles which increase the surface area in contact with the water.
Another variation if you are using power heads is to connect the airline to the venturi of the power head if it has one. This will spray the CO2 into the aquarium increasing both the area in contact with the water as well as increasing the time required for the bubbles to reach the surface.
Some people stick the end of the airline into the intake of their power filter. You need to be careful here, injecting a gas or air to the inlet side of the pump could cause cavitation resulting in impeller damage. I mention this method but I really don't recommend it. If your filter pump starts making noise after you insert the tubing, take it out.
The idea is that the more time the bubbles stay in contact with the water, more CO2 will be absorbed.