DIY CO2 discussion

[Mr.Cola1151]

I made CO2 many times but I never got the week long results. Haven't personally tried the jello method, but the yeast doesn't work well for me.

Has anyone gotten the long lasting results from DIY?

Would like to add that retail additives are worth it to use as well.

 

[evil Nick]

I made CO2 many times but I never got the week long results. Haven't personally tried the jello method, but the yeast doesn't work well for me.

Has anyone gotten the long lasting results from DIY?

Would like to add that retail additives are worth it to use as well.

it was always hit and miss with me, sometimes you have to shake up the bottles and it will get you another couple days. Sometimes add a bit more sugar. I never got consistent enough results to pin point on any one variable. At one point I thought brown sugar worked better but then it didnt. I would save the hassle and just look into a pressurized system.

what size tank is this?

 

[mbkemp]

Try citric acid and baking soda. Two weeks are possible

 

[Fresh2o]

I used to get about 2 weeks per batch using the yeast+sugar method. 2 cups of sugar in 1.75L warm water plus 1/4 tsp yeast. I ran a pair of 2L bottles with several check valves. This allowed me to swap out a new batch each week.
If I were to do DIY again, I would try the citric acid and baking soda method, preferably with a kit with shutoff valve and gauge. I like that you can control the reaction and output rate. I don't like that you have to open and close the valve daily.

 

[Funken_A]

I never could get stability with those recipes

 

[Fresh2o]

I got tired of setting up new batches each week so that is why I went to a pressurized setup (that and I wanted a controllable, consistent source of CO2 as I ventured into higher light intensities).

 

[evil Nick]

you can build yourself a reg setup pretty cheap and just use paintball jugs. a 20oz used to get me a few weeks easy. depending on the size of your tank a few hours a day could prob run you a month and they're only about 7$ to fill.

They sell 20oz regulators pretty cheap and you can even buy a cheap solenoid and hook it to a timer. I built one a while back for a temp setup.