Co2 for planted freshwater

[stephens0813]

I've seen plans for diy co2 bottles all of them were 2 liter bottles. Is it possible to do it bigger so I wouldn't have to change it out as often? I was thinking of a 5 gallon water jug.

[BigJim]

It's possible, but it would get expensive. If you really need a CO2 system that large, consider going to a pressurized system. The buy-in cost is higher, but the upkeep is a lot cheaper and neater and the results are better. I've done both DIY CO2 and pressurized CO2 and the pressurized system wins hands down, even thought I've only been running it for a week.

If you watch craigslist and eBay and have a little luck, you can do a pressurized system for a decent price. I've got $35 into mine (soon to be $70 with a hydrotest and a refill), but I should be able to run for years with my one tank or run all my tanks for a year or so.

[neilanh]

I have to agree with Jim here on the pressurized system.

Also, having bigger bottles won't increase the amount of time between changes too much, it'll primarily just increase the amount of CO2 it's able to produce in the same amount of time.

[stephens0813]

Ok thanks guys.