3 L DIY CO2 help

[malkore]

you really want the water about 90 degrees when you add the yeast. try adding the yeast to a cup of lukewarm water, wait ten mins and hten add to the bottle (assuming the bottle is close ot the same temp). Then shake the heck out of it so you get a lot of oxygen in the solution. yeast need oxygen for the first 24 hours hours...

[kagentx]

so 3 Liter is no good? i'm going to insert an airstone next time i do a batch, [acronym:9d5b95aa45="By the way"]BTW[/acronym:9d5b95aa45] as i pull the airline tube out of the water, the bubbles suddenly come out, is this a good sign? or do i just have to wait longer? i have 2 hagen [acronym:9d5b95aa45="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:9d5b95aa45] systems there too, but i figured its not enough for my 50 gallon. I found a way to lead the bubbles into the intake tube of a filter, i took a piece of a tank divider and cut it into small pieces and just put it on top of the ladder where the [acronym:9d5b95aa45="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:9d5b95aa45] escapes. This makes like a bridge for the bubbles into the intake tube.

smell the mix after you've used it for a few weeks (I'm not just being weird!). It smells fantastic--just like a sugary beer; it has, after all fermented!

WHAT THE......????

What kind of yeast do you use? Mine smells terrible! Like some sort of terrible bread/vodka/vomit concoction! Sorry, but it's disgusting!

[LAGlocker]

I have never been tempted to smell mine when I am getting rid of it....wouldnt want to either, since I dont use wine yeast.

[madasafish]

Arg. I thought you'd be weirded out!! I'm not a wacko, I swear!!!! The mix I have smells just like beer (if you like the smell of beer).

I don't *smell* the bottle, but I do have to smell the mixture when I pour it out into the sink. I was *really* surprised the first time I smelled it to find that it wasn't like most other fish-tank smells!!

Anyway, maybe my sugar's just really rockin'. I use nice brown sugar. But I'm switching over to the really cheap stuff for $$$'s sake.

I'm not a wacko, I swear!!!!

We all are, get over it!

The mix I have smells just like beer (if you like the smell of beer).

fresh beer, yeah, I'm having one right now.

I don't *smell* the bottle, but I do have to smell the mixture when I pour it out into the sink. I was *really* surprised the first time I smelled it to find that it wasn't like most other fish-tank smells!!

Same here, pouring it out, you can't help but smell it. On the other hand, I like a lot of the "other fish tank smells."

Anyway, maybe my sugar's just really rockin'. I use nice brown sugar.

That must be it, I just use cheapest generic white sugar I can get!

You just use regular bread yeast? No fancy wine yeast like Rex? If just bread yeast, it must be the Brown Sugar.

[Raimeiken]

I got my recipe here http://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/diyco2.html and it didn't say anything about filling up the bottle 2 inches from the top. Should i fill the bottle up?

[kagentx]

i also have this curiiousity to smell things even tho i know its bad, i once sniffed ammonium hydroxide in a chem lab, even though i heard it was bad. It stung my nose for like 5 minutes. I agree with madasafish about the smell, it smelled a little sweet and alcholic. haha...

[shawmutt]

so 3 Liter is no good? i'm going to insert an airstone next time i do a batch, [acronym:527051581a="By the way"]BTW[/acronym:527051581a] as i pull the airline tube out of the water, the bubbles suddenly come out, is this a good sign? or do i just have to wait longer?

It's not so much that it's no good, it's just that adding one large bottle like that could cause pH fluctuations. When the bubble rate peaks, your pH will drop, and then as the yeast expires, the bubbles slow, and the pH crawls back up. Over time this may prove harmful to your fish and plants. If you use two bottles, a fresh mix of yeast is exchanged every week, so it evens out the cycle and reduces pH fluctuations.

I got my recipe here http://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/diyco2.html and it didn't say anything about filling up the bottle 2 inches from the top. Should i fill the bottle up?

The air tube needs to be above the mixture and the foam. 6 cups of water per 2 liter bottle is about right (I am assuming the airline is placed no more than one inch from the bottle cap or rubber stopper). If the foam or the mixture touches the air tube, you'll get a sticky mess in your tank.

Funny thing is I bought one $0.65 pack of wine yeast almost a year ago and am still using it. I just pour a bit of the old expired mix into the new mix and it takes off. The wine yeast is much hardier than bread yeast.