My DIY CO2 System

[Smitty]

Ok, I'm new with this whole CO2 thing and thought I'd post some pictures in case someone has some advice... of course anything to fix would need to be cheap or free

Sorry about the flashes... I stink at taken pictures.







And new full-tank shots:





Thanks for looking!

 

[Jnam]

I see 3 bottles is one of those a gas separator? If so good job if not, get one. the other question is the co2 feeding directly into the reaction chamber or is it passing through the powerhead first? last suggestion you have a very long tank looks like a 55 gallon? If you have a second power head it may help (depending on your flow) to place a power head near the bottom of the tank pointing towards the other side just to help circulate your co2 saturated water around the tank.. Look great trhoug

 

[Smitty]

I have 2 2L bottles with a 3 way connect going into a smaller 3rd that is empty and that goes into the spray end of the powerhead. The CO2 is then pushed into the diffuser type thing.

I am worried as to how it will work when that diffuser is full of CO2 because it is steadily filling up. I did it the same way others did, that I saw on you-tube... guess I'll have to wait and see.

I can add a 2nd powerhead if needed but this is also right next to the output of my XP2 and there is a lot of water moving around there. The intake is on the other side of the tank and I was hoping it would move over there with the normal flow. I can tell the plants are enjoying it as I've seen a lot of growth in the last 2 weeks of starting the CO2.

 

[Jnam]

you may have too much media at the bottom of your diffuser try reducing the amount of batting you have stuffed in there. you want to be able to feel the flow comming out of the bottom from your powerhead.

 

[fort384]

Is the empty bottle full of water? The idea is to use the gas separator as a bubble counter as well... you can run the input side into a rigid piece of airline tubing, fill it up with water, and the co2 goes down the tube, bubbles in the water, and out the other side.

 

[Smitty]

No, the empty bottle is empty, I didn't know I was supposed to have it full. I can try that as well.

I don't think the diffuser is working at all. I've upped the power head to max and cut the media at the bottom to almost nothing and the CO2 is still just going to the top of that bottle and never exiting. Even without any media at the bottom it does the same thing. Should it be smaller?

Another option I have it to run an air stone out of the power head to the bottom of the tank, that way the power head will be forcing the CO2 through the air stone and hopefully break it up more that way as well.

 

[Smitty]

Well, I'm really hoping I made a mistake, but I've checked it twice and it looks to be correct.

First, the PH of the water out of my tap is around a 7.8 or so. My normal PH is usually around the 7.6 or 7.8. Yesterday I did a cleaning with a 50% water change. Today, the PH is 6!

I know CO2 drops PH but that is pretty big!

I also did the Kh test and it was an 8. This is the same 4 days ago when I didn't have CO2 going into the system (let the 2L bottle run out).

This puts my CO2 at like 240! I have noticed some of the fish hanging out at the top of the tank like gulping air... I'm worried.

Right with the DIY system I don't have an on-off type valve to limit CO2 coming into the tank, or a drop counter. I will get out tomorrow to get them (as the shop is closed now). Will this be OK till tomorrow?

 

[brutus]

The bubbles will always rise its the water in the chamber that gets saturated with co2 and forced out the bottom with new water coming in from the powerhead. Id keep an eye on the fish or unplug powerhead at night untill you get a drop checker. I almost wiped my tank out twice.

 

[Smitty]

Well, I counted the times it was pushing bubbles out into the tank and I counted 10 bubbles over 12 seconds. I've seen threads saying 1-2 bubbles per second so I don't see this as being too much, but what is normal?

I've taking the diffuser out of the system for now to reduce the efficiency for now. I'll test again tomorrow after work.

 

[fort384]

When I was running DIY, I just put an airstone in the tank that ran at night. This gassed off the extra CO2 that wasn't being utilized during darkness. It worked like a champ.

 

[Smitty]

Well... now that I have this CO2 going it looks like it helped spur a BBA outbreak. I'm treating with Excel to see if that helps. I can't just pick out the plants because it is covering every inch of every plant. It is also starting on the glass I think. I'm pretty depressed right now and have no idea what to do to help. If I have to pull everything out I'm going to be very upset and it will put a damper on anything including possibly trading all my fish in and starting over...

 

[Jnam]

BBA will go away with your excell dosing. Just give it time. You may have an excess of nutrients and not enough plants. Try increasing your biomass with a bunch of stem plants. Helped me cure my BBA faster

 

[fort384]

Smitty, what is your CO2 at?

Anything unstable below about 25ppm can really invite a BBA outbreak. When I took my CO2 consistently up above 30ppm, the BBA stopped growing. I spot treated the existing BBA with excel using a syringe, and have not seen it come back in months.

 

[Jnam]

Your bubbles per second are hard to use as a guess at CO2 levels because you dont know how effecient your method of disolving your CO2 is... The best thing to do is test it. IMO

 

[xgarland77x]

I spot treated the existing BBA with excel using a syringe, and have not seen it come back in months.

hey fort how did you go about doing that? did you just fill a syringe with straight excel and squirt the BBA while under water like hand fully submerged style?

 

[fort384]

Yup u got it. U can add as much as twice the recommended dosage that way safely. I treated every other day for about a week. Worked like a champ.

 

[Smitty]

Well, upon further research I think it is hair algae, not BBA. Either way, the excel is helping a lot. I did loose one of my tinfoil barbs though... not sure if it is related but I'm sure it is.