The second most difficult part about adding a yeast-powered CO2 system to your planted aquarium, after ripping all your hair out trying to find where its leaking (see our article on building your own CO2 generator for step by step instructions on how to avoid this), is to find a recipe that fits your CO2 needs. You can find all kinds of recipes and resources online that tell you to boil containers, add baking soda, use honey, brown sugar, and all sorts of other crazy things. Take it from me: I've tried these and I still keep coming back to a basic recipe and procedure. The main thing to remember is that depending on what proportion you add the ingredients, you will either get very intense CO2 production for a short period of time, or milder CO2 production for a longer period of time. If you add more sugar and yeast, the CO2 production will be more intense, while adding less of both means it will last longer. This is because as yeast create CO2, they produce alcohol which eventually poisons the yeast and kills it. A smaller amount of sugar and yeast means the whole process is slowed down and lasts much longer. I opt for this type of mix, only because I find it a pain to replace the mixes every week, let alone every few days! My recipe usually produces CO2 at a fairly regular rate for about 14 days. It will continue to produce CO2 for at least another week or so, but it will produce less and less each day. This recipe works well in containers of roughly 2 liters (soda bottles, juice containers):
Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp yeast (regular dry baker's yeast is fine, see picture)
- Start with a small cup or bowl and add a small amount of lukewarm water and a pinch or two of sugar. Mix in the yeast with a fork, stirring vigorously until the water is bubbly. This will help to "activate" dry yeast by adding oxygen, preventing mass die-offs that occur if you just dump the yeast into the water. Let this sit while you prepare the container, or for at least 10 minutes, and stir every few minutes to keep the water oxygenated.
- Rinse out your container if you have used it before to remove all traces of alcohol. Fill it about 2/3 of the way with lukewarm water. Tap water is fine.
- Using a funnel, add the 2 cups sugar and the baking soda to the water in the container. If you've used the container before, it's likely you don't have a lid you can use to close it up and shake it, so just put the palm of your hand over the opening and turn it upside down over the sink and shake it gently, making sure to keep the seal with your hand. The point is just to dissolve most of the sugar in the water (otherwise it will just sit on the bottom). If you haven't used the container yet, wait to drill a hole in the lid till after you've shaken it up, just to save yourself a sticky hand.
- If it's been about 10 minutes or longer, pour the yeast and water mixture into the container using a funnel. No need to mix it up, just put the lid on and it should start producing CO2 in anywhere from a few hours (I've had it start in around 1 hour!) to 12 hours depending on how well you activated the yeast.
12 comments:
What is the baking soda for?
I agree, the simpler the better as long as it works.
I use the same amount of sugar and yeast that you use. I also run 2 bottles alternating the refill once a week. Come refil time I rinse the bottle out with hot water untill it doesn't smell any more and refil it.
I keep my sugar in one of those refridgerator pitchers with the little plastic lid on top of the screw on cap. I just flip the lid open and poor the sugar into the bottle. Add the yeast, shake well. Add the water - make sure it isn't too hot! Cover with my hand, shake well and screw the cap with the tubing back on at the aquarium.
Baking soda is made of Sodium Bicarbonate. It act as a catalyst to expedite the whole process of generating your CO2 bubbles. In another word, if you add baking soda, you will use a much shorter period to create your CO2.
how do i shut off the co2 at night. i know it is not absorbed at night, therefore raising the ph. how do i combat this issue
It is DIY ... I do not think you can shut it off.
"It is DIY ... I do not think you can shut it off."
No, of course you can shut it off.
All you need is an electronic valve that will stear your CO2 to different tubing that is connected with the open air outside (to avoid pressure buildup in the CO2 tank). Btw, shutting off DIY CO2 during the night is often worse than not shutting it off
iv setup my co2 DIY generator and so far its very promising.
now its about 1 hour and i can see small bubbles.
thanx DJKronik57
Using this recipe, how much should I use for a 1 liter bottle?
You do not have to turn off the CO2 just put an airstone and pump near it timed to turn on at night. I would also suggest before the CO2 makes it to the tank running it through another bottle filled with saltwater with 2 holes drilled in it one with an airstone the other for an outlet this will kill the slime that can clog your system.
One thing you can do to increase the amount of CO2 that gets dissolved into the water is to attach a nyquil cap, or something similar to the tube right above the airstone ( under water). This will trap the CO2 bubbles... allowing for more CO2 to be dissoved in the water.
I just want to say that this recipe is great. Using this recipe, and using a 64 oz V8 bottle, I've got about a 3 week average life span for CO2 production. Thanks for your great advice!
My diy co2 setup only produces co2 into my diffuser when I shake the bottle. then is see bubbles in the diffuser like crazy which last a while, but if i don't shake the bottle, no more bubbles, or only very infrequently. is there a problem with the pressure? i did 1 tsp yeast, 2 cups sugar, no baking soda. i'm on the 4th day...
also i have a second bottle i use in between the c02 generator and the diffuser, with a check valve between 1st and 2nd bottle. 2nd bottle is empty but i see after 4 days about an inch of water has built up on the bottom. thanks!
hi followed all steps and its not bubbling after 13 hours now i remember reading somewhere that it wont work if your water is higher then 7.8 on the ph scale and mine is 8.3 would this be the problem?
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