55 gallon co2 system

[vaquero]

Any info on a co2 system (DIY) for my 55 gallon planted tank. Should I be using say, 2 2L bottles for it? I have read people using 1 bottle for a ten gallon, but no advice on size for a 55G. Also is it 1 cup of brown sugar to 1 teaspoon of yeast per one 2L bottle?? Please help as I don't want to screw this up.

 

[George9]

Any info on a co2 system (DIY) for my 55 gallon planted tank. Should I be using say, 2 2L bottles for it? I have read people using 1 bottle for a ten gallon, but no advice on size for a 55G. Also is it 1 cup of brown sugar to 1 teaspoon of yeast per one 2L bottle?? Please help as I don't want to screw this up.

Technically, to get optimum co2 levels in a large tank like that, you'd need 6-8 2 liter bottles. I usually use 3 cups of white sugar, a teaspoon of yeast and a teaspoon of baking soda for a 2 liter

 

[aqua_chem]

Up beyond 35g or so, DIY CO2 really starts to lack consistency and throughput. DIY CO2 suffers from pretty severe diminishing returns on larger tanks. 40g is the absolute maximum I would ever recommend running it on, especially if CO2 is the limiting factor as is the case with high light setups.

 

[vaquero]

Just want my planted tank to do well

 

[vaquero]

Technically, to get optimum co2 levels in a large tank like that, you'd need 6-8 2 liter bottles. I usually use 3 cups of white sugar, a teaspoon of yeast and a teaspoon of baking soda for a 2 liter

What does the baking soda do

 

[Evilgrin]

In my experience 1 2 liter bottle was more then enough for my 29 gallon tank so based on that I would say 2 2 liter bottles with out puts on opposite side's of the tank should be enough to get your self started.

With that said if you find that you need more then start saving for a pressurized system. Even if your not getting optimal CO2 levels in the tank it's more then you had with out the DIY CO2. With the DIY setup there is nothing to lose by trying it and it can only help your plants when done correctly. Is it a long term solution for some yes depending on their needs, it worked for me for several years but again I had a 29 gallon tank with high light and inert neon colored gravel (it was cheap and my first tank) I'm about 2-3 weeks away from setting up my 55 gal tank and will be doing 2 2 liter bottles of DIY CO2. Am I considering a Pressurized system you bet but with kids a wife a house and other bills it may be a few months to squirrel away enough money to go all out on a CO2 system.

everyone's mileage varies with DIY CO2 my advice is to try it for yourself and make your decision from there to keep it or upgrade.

 

[Cichlid Kid]

I always see all these diffrent recipes for diy co2 but rarely see how much water is to be used. Exactly what is the correct amount of water per 2liter bottle?

 

[Evilgrin]

I always see all these diffrent recipes for diy co2 but rarely see how much water is to be used. Exactly what is the correct amount of water per 2liter bottle?

Generally I try not to go much past half the mix does foam up a bit and you don't want that residue in your tank, you should be letting it bubble into another container 3/4 full of water (some use a home-brewed concoction but I always just used tap water) or less then thru a second tube into your reactor of choice.

 

[vaquero]

Ok sounds like i am on the right track. All I need to do is to add one more bottle and put in two inlet tubes in my tank one at opposed ends. One more question, do I need some kind of diverter to mix the co2 into the tank water, or just let it bubble out of the two tubes into the water??

 

[Evilgrin]

Ok sounds like i am on the right track. All I need to do is to add one more bottle and put in two inlet tubes in my tank one at opposed ends. One more question, do I need some kind of diverter to mix the co2 into the tank water, or just let it bubble out of the two tubes into the water??

You definitely want some to put something on the end in order to allow the CO2 to dissolve into the water letting it bubble out into the water straight from the hose will be very inefficient. I used to use lime wood air diffusers with good results but still not very efficient but much better then air stones.

There are several ladder styles devices out there that will allow the CO2 more contact time with the water allowing for much better absorption rates. I've also seen some diy reactors on you tube. If you have a power head you can direct the bubbles towards the inlet end and that will chop the bubbles up and allow for more absorption. Since the DIY CO2 is a very low pressure system a lot of the micro diffusers just won't work since they need more pressure then the DIY setup will generate.

One of the interesting setups I've seen some one come up with was to use a power head with either a gravel vac end or a plastic water bottle, the output of the power head is connected either directly or via tubing to the gravel vac/water bottle(with the bottom cut out) the CO2 hose is placed in a hole in the side of the bottle/gravel vac about half way down with the CO2 bubbling into the incoming water flow, the incoming water then is forced to mix with the CO2 as it enters the chamber from the video I watched this looked to be very efficient. If you have a power head with an adjustable flow rate this may be the way to go cut the flow rate to it's lowest setting and sit back and enjoy watching the plants grow.
Here is a link to what the lime wood diffuser looks like in action.
CO2 DIY Diffuser wooden Airstone Yeast - YouTube

Here is a link to the DIY CO2 reactor I described above.
DIY CO2 reactor - YouTube

If you look around on YouTube you'll find all sorts of great ideas granted some are better then others.

Hope those help you out.

 

[vaquero]

Ok so I put an air stone on the end of the tube, and it is sitting right under where the filter outlet is at. This seems to be mixing the co2 well enough. Should I put the tube further down in my tank? I'm so new with co2 that I need all THE HELP i CAN GET!

 

[Evilgrin]

check the videos I posted earlier the way you have it set not your losing most of the CO2 to the atmosphere.
if you can't do anything else then yes move the stone to the bottom of the tank to give the CO2 as much time in contact with the water as possible , although not very efficient you will get more CO2 into the water then where you currently have it situated.

 

[vaquero]

working great used air stone to diffuse co2 integrated it into the output of the filter.

 

[fort384]

You will want to make sure you are testing your CO2 levels and making sure you are keeping them up. On a 55 gal tank, it is tough to maintain optimal levels with a DIY system, as AC alluded to earlier. In my experience, inconsistent and low levels of CO2 injection actually does more harm than good. Don't get me wrong, good levels of 25+ ppm of CO2 are phenomenal for a tank... but if it is in the 10-20 range, you can actually see increased algae growth and increased risk of BBA. It will take some diligence on changing mixtures frequently to keep your levels up on a tank that large.