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CO2 diffusion for a yeast-based system

yehh.. and you may accidentally drink the mix of yeast+sugar.
in high concentrations it might be deadly
 
Trying to 'turn off' DIY CO2 setups is asking for trouble. either in the mix firing up the line when you turn it up or a leak somewhere else. yeast mixes stink when they're going and there is a lot more pressure in those bottles than you would imagine.

Don't know why someone above said that 2 might be too much for a 120 litre. I would've suggested 3 bottles for a 125 ltr tank. You should be overlapping them and using a mixture that is a much slower burner. No point using 1 bottle and changing it every week as you will have first day inactivity then 3 days of too much then 3 more days of it dropping down again.

Pressurised is the way to go and is much cheaper than DIY. Add up how much sugar and yeast you are going to buy in 1 year. You can buy a regulator for that money!!!

However I did pause pressurised and experiment for a bit of fun a few years ago. Forgive all the picture missing. They must've disappeared when I sorted out my webspace. lol.

The Yeast Co2 Method - Lighting, CO2, Ferts & Flow - Tropical Fish Forums
 
SuperColey1 said:
Don't know why someone above said that 2 might be too much for a 120 litre. I would've suggested 3 bottles for a 125 ltr tank. You should be overlapping them and using a mixture that is a much slower burner. No point using 1 bottle and changing it every week as you will have first day inactivity then 3 days of too much then 3 more days of it dropping down again.
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I can tell why.. what kind of mixture are you talking about? As with my mixture (400gr of shugar+20g yeast and tiny bit of soda) the
CO2 gas was on the "killing spree" in 1 hour. This pressure was so good as it was keeping the tank in levels around 30mg/l for 1st 2-3 days. I could only
imagine what would happen to my tank if here would be 2 or 3 (omg) bottles. and then it started to drop down.. till the 7th day I was able to get around 18-20 mg/l
the biggest issue was diffuser getting blocked and even the pressure is nice enough there was no mist more.. just small bubbles dissolving in water less ..

just what I have from personal experience using diy for at least 7 months..
 
exactly you should be making the mix weaker, to last longer and keep a more consistent level. a bubble counter should be used to stop the gunk getting to the diffuser as well.

20g yeast is a massive amount!!! I ended up using half a teaspoon I think and that would be something like 3 - 4g
 
I was using bubble counter and non return valves

Once I was low yeast supply (just my lazy a**) for a half or even less as usual..
this is what I ended up with..

If the mix was weak it really did not give any results in first
day and also the levels were low on 2nd and 3rd and much less after..
 
I remember in the good old days of the nutrafin kit it was 3/4 teaspoon sugar max. They were only 500ml or so containers though if I remember rightly.

A lot of the asian DIY'ers who make their own filters and lights seem to have very good results from slow burners. But then those guys seem to be able to work miracles with anything aquatic. lol
 
daizeUK said:
I did consider the JBL M402 system but the initial price plus refilling costs put me off. I was told that a 500g canister would only last about a month on my 120L tank, at £18 a pop.
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If you are close enough, pop down to Guildford Calor Gas for a 6.35kg pub co2 bottle. Not sure of the current price but last year they were £18. That will last you all year.
 
Good lord, but where would I put it?!

SuperColey I read your yeast experiment article already and it was very interesting. I think it was your article that actually made me want to give yeast a try. A pity the pictures are missing. I noticed that you recommended changing all three bottles every week, did you ever try this yourself or did you stick to one a week?
 
A long time ago now. For the setup I was using I ended up putting 1 teaspoon+400g sugar. bottles filled up with water and change 1 a week. This wasn't for 30ppm though. was probably closer to 20ppm. changing each bottle on different days of the week i.e. bottle 1 on tuesday, bottle 2 on thursday etc I did half teaspoon+400g sugar and that was pretty much on 30ppm

however 3 bottles x 400g of sugar = 1.2kg. 1kg of sugar = 85p. 52 x1.2x .85 = £53 a year just on sugar. Add in the yeast. Add in any repairs to the setup etc. Pressurised is cheaper within 2 years and much less hassle.
 
I messed around with diy yeast for about a year with various results and various algae. Looking back now if gas bottles weren't an option I would plump for liquid carbon only system.
In my quest to get co2 levels right and stable which, undoubtedly is the hardest part of the hobby, I find myself looking at small things like the diffuser losing effectiveness through clogging. The general flow reducing in the actual tank over time because of the filter. Co2 not getting round the plants because of too dense planting and also the Reg and needle valve not being the most stable because I went for the budget option.
All this is with pressurised co2! Diy yeast adds a myriad of extra problems to the mix. Leaking pipes, stuck ferments and rather than variations on a week timescale changes to co2 production happen within hours. Having made wine for many years I found there is also different stages to the process. Aerobic which is vigorous and anaerobic which is slow. Temperature, acidity due to co2 the alcohol content all cause the production of co2 to change. In the world of co2 change is not good.
 
Hi, I'm new to this forum and I only learnt about the CO2 requirement for making pizza dough the other day, I'm interested to learn how this is used and how much CO2 you need? Is there a danger of a CO2 leak which could cause harm to the human body?

If you anyone could give me information on this it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
 
Yes, if you put a plastic bag over your head and duct tape it tightly to prevent leaks you will easily suffocate in that confined space.
On the other hand, CO2 is used as a fire extinguisher, so, like many things (electricity comes to mind) the irony is that it can either kill you or save your life, depending on the application.

The more relevant danger is that CO2 is highly toxic to fish and to other aquatic fauna, so the use of it is an art form as well as a science.

Please navigate to the Tutorial Forum and read about the techniques of CO2 application.

Cheers,
 
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