Could my DIY Co2 mix be the problem?

[chinoanoah]

No co2 is coming out of my airline -- This is m second mixture, the first one worked great (although i didn't have a diffuser at the time, bubbles still flowed freely)

I put ~2.5 cups of sugar and 1 teaspoon of yeast, 1.5L of water (in a 2L btw). Still after a day there are no bubbles! Is this the wrong mix?

Last time I put in similar amounts (I can't remember exactly what amounts i put but I also put in some baking soda, is this necessary?)

I think it could also be a leak.

What are your thoughts?

 

[joy13]

First I think it could be a leak. Sometimes it depends on how warm your water was when you mixed it up or possibly how warm your room is. I don't use baking soda, some people do.

 

[chinoanoah]

Thanks, Joy. I'll check for a leak once this class gets out.

 

[Smitty]

You know, I have the same issue and it is driving me nuts. I have two 2L going into a 20oz that has water to act as a bubble counter/separator. The first mix was smoking! Plenty of bubbles, everything was great.

Then came time for the 2nd mixing. I've tried 3 different times and I can't get anything to work. Each time I would wait 3 days or more and still no bubbles. I would activate the yeast in tepid water, see bubbles, then add it to cool water/sugar (2 cups sugar and water up to the curve in the bottle) and nothing happens. I've tried mixes with baking soda, without, everything I can think of. I also re-did my seals to get rid of leaks. My last straw is I ordered some things from tower hobbies that should have a tight seal instead of the silicone.

Post here if you get your's to work, I'd like to know how. My mixtures just look dead and I can't figure it out.

 

[Chafire]

I'm just starting with planted aquariums and am testing things out with a 10 gallon. Made my DIY Co2 by the specs given at this website DIY CO2 System for Planted Aquarium, seems helpful and gives some different recipes for Co2. Just made a mixture(on a smaller scale) to test my DIY Co2 to make sure there are no leaks before I set up my Aquarium.

 

[chinoanoah]

How should i check for leaks, soapy water over the seal?

 

[fort384]

yup that will id any leaks quick.

Weird that there are so many having issues with it. I guess I got lucky with my system 'cause it worked like a champ all the time.

 

[timwag2001]

leaks will definately throw you off. i was getting co2 in my tank at one point but no bubbles in my bubble counter. i was drunk and it took me like 3 hours to figure it out. another time i had a small leak on top of my 2 liter and if i shook the bottle i would get bubbles all the way to the tank. but if i let the system alone, the pressure would build up slowly and leak out before it reached my bubble counter.

 

[chinoanoah]

UHHHHHHGHG I can't seal this leak. How annoying. Going on vacation for a week starting tomorrow morning too! Oh Well. Guess my tank will rot for a week then I'll tackle it again...

 

[timwag2001]

whats wrong? how bad is the leak?

 

[fort384]

Superglue fixes all!

 

[chinoanoah]

Well I have a rhinox 1000 I ordered from aquatic magic -- will my DIY co2 even work with this?

The setup I planned on using was just:
2L -- > check valve ---> rhinox.

My problem was that i was trying to seal the little airline connected to the bottle cap but all I had was hot glue. co2 just kept finding it's way out.

 

[fort384]

I don't know, but my guess would be yes, so long as the system doesn't have leaks in it.

 

[timwag2001]

you need some alabama chrome (duct tape)

 

[Purrbox]

Goop works really well for airtight seals.