Diffusing methods for diy co2

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Just a thought. Bubble counter solution...what if I distilled one of the old batches that I could leave to ferment. This would essentially give me pure alcohol or as close too which would kill any yeast or bad stuff before entering my tank if I'm correct.

And with the white film that has now taken over most of plants what do you suggest do to remove this. Just wipe it and water change?
 
Mattfinn said:
Just a thought. Bubble counter solution...what if I distilled one of the old batches that I could leave to ferment. This would essentially give me pure alcohol or as close too which would kill any yeast or bad stuff before entering my tank if I'm correct.

And with the white film that has now taken over most of plants what do you suggest do to remove this. Just wipe it and water change?
Click to expand...


Initially that sounded like it would work since concentrations of alcohol will kill yeast. And it may for a while, but since alcohol is volatile, it will evaporate and leave the bubble counter.


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A 20oz bottle with the input tube below water and output tube above water is plenty to keep any of the mixture out of the tank. You may want to put a check valve on it though.

Sent from Peabody's rabbit hole.
 
Update.
-Bubble counter rigged up
-co2 is working well. Getting some pearling
-the slime seemed to kill off many of the older leaves on all my plants. And a few platys that are about two months old began to eat it and new growth on my hygro....
-crypts pretty much melted with the white slime. Feeling kinda peeved off. Had a nice dense parva jungle with with some balansae waving through and over three days all leaves just rotted and there's one balansae left with a few leaves.... And yes there at root tabs underneath.
-positive of the slime is that diatoms left completely and it was on everything and I couldn't get rid of it.
 
wildroseofky said:
How deep is your tank? I found that anything over a 10 gallon it is hard to get enough pressure to overcome the water resistance. For shallower tanks I have had luck feeding the CO2 into the intake pipe. You can drill a hole just smaller than the tubing along the intake pipe and push the tubing into that. For deeper tanks I like a power head. I had an old one that I drilled a hole in the bottom of and put the line into that. The force of the impeller draws the CO2 down into the power head and it gets broken up. More gets into the tank that way. I put the power head on a timer with the lights so that when the lights were on the CO2 was chopped up and dispersed. When the lights go off the CO2 just gathers in the power head and is released in one big bubble and doesn't get mixed into the water. That way the PH doesn't bottom out.

I just bought a small power head from Dr. Fosters and Smith and I am going to try that. The old one is huge and takes up too much room. Hopefully the small one will have enough pull to drawl the CO2 into my deeper tank.
Click to expand...

can you put a air pump on the same line to over come the presser of the water? sorry if any 1 else has asked or answered it ant read that far yet :)
 
Abaolutely not bam bam. Actually, you can. Except it contradicts the point of having co2 in the tank. Air rises to the top of the tank, and forces co2 out of the water. Which is why usually air is shut off when the lights are on so the co2 can diffuse into the tank.

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can the air in the sump stay on and my 2 return pipes to the sump produces shed loads of air bubbles will that still be okay? sorry if that is a stupid question all new to me
 
You know what, it is always going to be okay. But the more air in your water, means the less co2 that is in. If you are pumping air into the sump, the co2 will get pushed out, and if your return pipes are creating bubbles as well, you will lose co2 there as well.

But not to say that you will not get co2 dissolved into your tank water but that you need to really focus on getting your co2 bubbles dissolved. If you can find a way to get close to 100% dissolved, you should be just fine. But if you are only getting $25 dissolved and you have air bubbles everywhere, you're co2 will not be helping out your plants much.

If you are doing a diy co2, know that you are not producing enough co2 to harm the fish. And that turning on your air only at night (when the lights are off) should be plenty of air for the fish. Sometimes I don't even turn my air on at night.

Also, if you have sensative fish like discus that need lower levels of ph, then air only raises the pH in the tank. And co2 lowers it.

But back to the question, if you can get your co2 to dissolve into the water at a rate of near 100%, the air bubbles you are getting won't affect it much

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never new that ever. thanks again :) (air only raises the pH in the tank. And co2 lowers it).


Thing is my plants seem to grow really well and fast in my tank already but they don't seem to root at all :S that is why I fort try the diy co2.
 
have set it up now will see what happens. I have the pipe in the foam in my return pump in my sump to main tank. I let you now if it works :)
 
AdamsAquarium said:
You know what, it is always going to be okay. But the more air in your water, means the less co2 that is in. If you are pumping air into the sump, the co2 will get pushed out, and if your return pipes are creating bubbles as well, you will lose co2 there as well.

But not to say that you will not get co2 dissolved into your tank water but that you need to really focus on getting your co2 bubbles dissolved. If you can find a way to get close to 100% dissolved, you should be just fine. But if you are only getting $25 dissolved and you have air bubbles everywhere, you're co2 will not be helping out your plants much.

If you are doing a diy co2, know that you are not producing enough co2 to harm the fish. And that turning on your air only at night (when the lights are off) should be plenty of air for the fish. Sometimes I don't even turn my air on at night.

Also, if you have sensative fish like discus that need lower levels of ph, then air only raises the pH in the tank. And co2 lowers it.

But back to the question, if you can get your co2 to dissolve into the water at a rate of near 100%, the air bubbles you are getting won't affect it much

Sent from my SM-N900V using Aquarium Advice mobile app
Click to expand...

You have the wrong idea here. It's actually possible for your tank water to have plenty of CO2 for the plants, and at the same time have so much dissolved oxygen that it's beyond the saturation point- up to around 120% saturation. This is what you'll see in high-light tanks with injected CO2, and this is why pearling occurs (tiny oxygen bubbles forming on plant leaves). The plants are producing so much oxygen that it can no longer dissolve into the water.

The reason to avoid airstones is because they agitate the surface, not because they add oxygen. If healthy, your plants should be adding a lot more oxygen than an airstone would anyway. Whenever CO2 concentration in the water becomes higher than the CO2 concentration in the surrounding air, it will be constantly escaping into the air (trying to reach equilibrium with the surrounding atmosphere). Also, it has nothing to do with the bubbles from the airstone. Exchange of CO2 happens at the surface, so it's the agitation of the surface caused by the bubbles that speeds up gas exchange. An airstone or a filter outlet raised above the surface will both have the same effect on gas exchange.

Yes, pH will drop in relation to CO2 concentration, but oxygen does not have any direct effect on pH.
 
PerfectDepth said:
You have the wrong idea here. It's actually possible for your tank water to have plenty of CO2 for the plants, and at the same time have so much dissolved oxygen that it's beyond the saturation point- up to around 120% saturation. This is what you'll see in high-light tanks with injected CO2, and this is why pearling occurs (tiny oxygen bubbles forming on plant leaves). The plants are producing so much oxygen that it can no longer dissolve into the water.

The reason to avoid airstones is because they agitate the surface, not because they add oxygen. If healthy, your plants should be adding a lot more oxygen than an airstone would anyway. Whenever CO2 concentration in the water becomes higher than the CO2 concentration in the surrounding air, it will be constantly escaping into the air (trying to reach equilibrium with the surrounding atmosphere). Also, it has nothing to do with the bubbles from the airstone. Exchange of CO2 happens at the surface, so it's the agitation of the surface caused by the bubbles that speeds up gas exchange. An airstone or a filter outlet raised above the surface will both have the same effect on gas exchange.

Yes, pH will drop in relation to CO2 concentration, but oxygen does not have any direct effect on pH.
Click to expand...

I agree with what you said, except that ph will raise from excess of oxygen. Ph is in direct correlation of co2 and oxygen from opposite spectrums.

For example, if you have compressed co2 set up to run only during the day and off at night, if you monitor your ph throughout that 24 hour period, your ph will go up at night and down during the day. Alot of people do not know that.

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AdamsAquarium said:
I agree with what you said, except that ph will raise from excess of oxygen. Ph is in direct correlation of co2 and oxygen from opposite spectrums.

For example, if you have compressed co2 set up to run only during the day and off at night, if you monitor your ph throughout that 24 hour period, your ph will go up at night and down during the day. Alot of people do not know that.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Aquarium Advice mobile app
Click to expand...

Explain why oxygen would have any effect on pH. It is neutral. CO2 on the other hand will combine with hydrogen ions to form H2CO3 (carbonic acid).

If you shut off CO2, of course your pH will raise, but it has nothing to do with oxygen. Actually, oxygen levels will often gradually drop after lights out, even if you shut off CO2 and turn on an airstone. This is because the plants stop producing oxygen, but it continues to escape at the surface, so the oxygen concentration will drop back down until it returns to equilibrium with the surrounding air.
 
AdamsAquarium said:
I agree with what you said, except that ph will raise from excess of oxygen. Ph is in direct correlation of co2 and oxygen from opposite spectrums.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Aquarium Advice mobile app
Click to expand...

I did not interpret anything about oxygen concentration and pH in the previous post.



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