I need really dumbed down idiot style DIY steps for CO2

[Guest]

generator and diffuser.

I mean real dumbed down.


I want to make one for my tanks, and i have read some stuff on here and online and still don't get it =(. I am just not that bright i guess and do better with step by step directions.


Can anyone give me some simple, step by step directions for making and putting in tanks my own CO2?


Thanks
P.

 

[Tong]

Reactor

Materials
1 2 Liter Bottle
1 Check Valve
3' Airline tubing (Length can vary)
1 Tube of Silicon Sealant
3 Airline tubing suction cups (Number may vary)

1. Drill small hole in 2 Liter Bottle cap. The hole should be smaller than the diameter of the airline tube. About 1/2 or 3/4 the size works well.
2. Cut a six inch piece of airline tube. Cut one end of this six inch airline tube at an angle to form a pointed tip.
3. Using the pointed tip part of the six inch airline tube, thread it through the hold drilled in the 2 liter bottle cap. Pull it until it is about 1" or 2" through the hole.
4. Seal both the top and the bottom of 2 liter bottle cap around the airline tubing with the silicon sealant. Wait 24 hours for it to dry.
5. Attach the check value to the end of the airline tube that is going to be outside the 2 liter bottle.
6. Attach the rest of the airline tubing to the other end of the check valve.
7. Using the suction cups, place the other end of the long airline tubing in the tank.


Bell Diffisor

Materials
1 20oz Soda bottle.
1 Airline tubing suction cups

1. About 2" or 3" from the top, cut the top completely off of the 20oz soda bottle.
2. With the cap on the top of the 20oz soda bottle, drill a hole for the suction cup in the cap.
3. Place the suction cup in the hole.
4. Seal the suction cup to the cap with silicon sealant. Wait 24 hours for it to dry.
5. Attach bell diffusor to tank above co2 airline.


Yeast Solution

Materials
Tepid dechlorinated water (Does not feel warm, does not feel cool).
1/4" teaspoon yeast
2 Cups sugar

1. Fill a small cup with tepid dechlorinated water. Add a small amount of sugar and all the yeast into the cup. Stir somewhat vigoursly with a fork for maybe 10 seconds or so.
2. Fill the 2 liter bottle with the rest of the sugar.
3. Fill the 2 liter bottle half full of tepid dechlorinated water.
4. With the cap on (or your hand over the top), shake the bottle to mix up the sugar.
5. Fill the 2 liter bottle with tepid dechlorinated water to just below the point where the bottle begins to curve.
6. Add the contents from the small cup to the 2 Liter bottle.
7. Attach to tank at anytime (Usually takes an hour to start producing CO2 though).

I hope that makes sense. Its really easy. I described a bell diffusor because those are simplest. Someone else might need to explain an active diffisur if you want one because I've never done those.

 

[Guest]

you really kick butt. thank you so much. i tried hard to understand it and i just could not grasp the concept.

i can build my own filters right and left but i couldn't get this for some reason =)

 

[mr funktastic]

so do u understand now is is there anything that u are still confused about? i had a hard time with it aswell till someone broke it down. what kind of filter do u have? alot of people will often use there filter as a diffuser. by this i mean u simply put the end of your co2 line(where the bubbles come out lol) into the intake part of the filter. so all the bubbles get sucked into the filter then the impeller chews up the bubble and it gets spread out into the water from the filter and shot back into the tank. this diffuses it really well and doest involve building anything. the only problem is that the impellor makes a little gurgling noise when it eats the bubbles lol.

 

[bman]

I have heard that putting the line into the filter intake on a HOB with a bio-wheel, you have to remove the biowheel. Is this true? I am in the same boat as FishyPeanut, as I am contemplating adding DIY CO2 to my tank. Also, would you see more algae growing on the filter media this way, since the greatest concentration of CO2 will be on the filer itself. When I clean my filter weekly, it does have a green layer on it.

 

[Guest]

I have HOB filters. I am likely going to use the bell diffuser.

I am starting to get it noe.


Thank you all for the help.

 

[Purrbox]

Reguardless of how you are injecting the CO2 (into the filter or otherwise) the biowheel should be removed. Biowheels are extremely efficient at gassing off the CO2 you are working so hard to inject, making it nearly impossible to get good CO2 levels with DIY CO2. With pressurized CO2, it's possible to compensate for the loss, but you'll end up spending more money as you will have to refill the cylander more often.