When to refill DIY CO2?

[neurotik]

I have a DIY CO2 set up and I noticed today that bubbles are coming out of it very very slow now, at one point I thought it had stopped entirely. But if I take the bottle and spin/swish the water around in it a bit, a whole ton of bubbles come out for a little while and then slow down/stop again. Is this a sign that I need to empty out the bottle and put in and mix up a new batch of CO2?

 

[Jedi]

From my understanding most 2-liter DIY CO2s last about 2-3 weeks. It really depends upon what type of yeast you used. I hear wine yeast lasts longer.

 

[timwag2001]

how many bottles are you using?
i use 5 bottles on my 55 and 2 on my 29.
what i do is stagger them. i make one bottle one week and keep the old one still connected. and replace the old one everyweek. that way i know that my co2 levels are always as consistant as i can keep them.

 

[neurotik]

Same thing that I've started doing -- staggering mine on my 55. I just started using them about two week ago though, so I have not yet experienced when it is time to refill a bottle, but I guess it's safe to say that I should probably mix up a new batch for this bottle that has slowed down noticeably since yesterday?

Also, any special way that I need to unhook/open the bottle so that I don't risk anything backwashing into my tank or blowing up in my face?

 

[timwag2001]

i would definately change it. i try to change it before it slows down
do you have check valves after the bottle?

 

[neurotik]

No check valve on this one, unfortunately.

 

[timwag2001]

i guess it really depends on your setup. check valves should be an investment you make soon. it will make everything easier and help prevent any accidents. if you're using a powerhead i would turn it off before disconnecting your bottles. and then after you disconnect make sure that you're air tubing is higher than your tank to prevent any siphoning. other than that you should be fine.

 

[neurotik]

Will definitely be investing in check valves soon if I don't just say screw it and buy a pressurized CO2 setup sometime soon, lol. Anyway, thanks for all of the help guys, I got a new batch of CO2 mixed up a few minutes ago, no problems.

 

[timwag2001]

i hear ya. i'm feeling the pressure to go with the pressure

 

[mgamer20o0]

lots of factors to how long they last. with 2 of them i would just switch one out every week.

 

[brutus]

i did the same thing once on a 2 bottle diy i change one came back to find water all in front of tank.Wife got home from work asked why all the towels where wet. I had to make up something.Then added check valves.

 

[mgamer20o0]

you could always put them above the tank if you are worried about that.