# How to make a DIY co2 system



## MrAL (Feb 28, 2008)

Hey everyone. I'm just about to start my planted tank and i need help making a co2 system. I've googled it and i can't seem to understand them. Can anyone break it down for me? Pictures would be great! Thanks.


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## Canadiancray (Apr 27, 2006)

Here is a nice article on it.

http://www.plantedtank.net/articles/DIY-Yeast-CO2/7/


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## MrAL (Feb 28, 2008)

Perfect thanks. The amount of co2 produced won't kill my fish will it? I have a 35g and all my fish are livebreeders...



Canadiancray said:


> Here is a nice article on it.
> 
> http://www.plantedtank.net/articles/DIY-Yeast-CO2/7/


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## Grey Legion (Mar 20, 2006)

MrAL said:


> Perfect thanks. The amount of co2 produced won't kill my fish will it? I have a 35g and all my fish are livebreeders...


No, Following the guide provided, everything should be fine.


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## MrAL (Feb 28, 2008)

Alright thanks.



Grey Legion said:


> No, Following the guide provided, everything should be fine.


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

Hard to kill them with a smallish DIY yeast/sugar based system.

Also though, I don't think DIY works very well for anything larger than 20g tanks. I'm sure many do it, but I think the maintenance involved is just more of a pain.


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## MrAL (Feb 28, 2008)

Maintenance? What kind of maintenance would i have to do? And also what do you recommend for my setup?



Chris Stewart said:


> Hard to kill them with a smallish DIY yeast/sugar based system.
> 
> Also though, I don't think DIY works very well for anything larger than 20g tanks. I'm sure many do it, but I think the maintenance involved is just more of a pain.


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

Well, you have to replace the mixture every 2 weeks or so, and for a 35g, I would probably try to run 3 different canisters staggered, so when you replace one you always have 2 more going strong(ish). So that would mean just about every week you have to redo one - and even then it is REALLY hard to keep a steady amount of co2 in the tank. They aren't on/off like a pressurized system. Also, to create ideal amounts of co2 in the tank would take a high amount - but since you can't turn them off at night, you can't really provide the same levels or you will kill your fishies at night, since the plants won't be using up the co2 at night when they are respiring.

For anything above 20g, I would always recommend setting up a pressurized system. In the short-run, it is an investment, but in the long run it honestly ends up being cheaper and MUCH less maintenance.


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## daking (Mar 6, 2008)

I have set up a DIY co2, the thing I have noticed is that the set up is VERY precise. If you add too much of one thing in the set up, you get either too much reaction and a burst of co2 (not too mention yeast in the line). Even with measuring exact portions, I can never get it to last the 2 weeks like all say. I don't want to spend the coin on a pressurized system due to the fact that once everythign is up an running the way it use to, I am going to have this as an almost self sustaining environment. Where the fish equal teh plants and both balance each other out. Hopefully it will work as I have seen it numerous times in different places. So in conclusion from using the DIY, try it, and experiment with it. I have noticed a difference with plants, and suplementing with a fertillizer (just using a general all around fert), everythign is growing fast... as in daily noticing growth


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

daking said:


> . I don't want to spend the coin on a pressurized system due to the fact that once everythign is up an running the way it use to, I am going to have this as an almost self sustaining environment. Where the fish equal teh plants and both balance each other out.


Just to let you know, if you are trying to have the fish supply all the CO2, you will most likely be subjected to low light plants that do not grow very quickly. There would be no way for there to be enough fish to meet the CO2 needs of the plants in in a heavily planted tank (and no, don't even think about overstocking your tank!).


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

Darkblade48 said:


> Just to let you know, if you are trying to have the fish supply all the CO2, you will most likely be subjected to low light plants that do not grow very quickly. There would be no way for there to be enough fish to meet the CO2 needs of the plants in in a heavily planted tank (and no, don't even think about overstocking your tank!).


And the reason that doesn't work very well is because the majority of natural co2 found in lakes and rivers (or what you are trying to create with a "selfsustaining" ecosystem) is not created by fish or large organisms, but rather by microbial respiration and the decomposition of "stuff" (leaves, dead plants, poop, dead animals, etc.).

Like Darkblade said, you won't be able to reproduce that via bioload.


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## MrAL (Feb 28, 2008)

Thanks for all your help guys. Appreciate all the info. As soon as i get it established, i'll post pictures. I was thinking. Instead of using the 35g tank, i would get a 10 or 20 gallon from BA and start from there. I'm on a tight budget right now so i'll most likely be using a regular florescent lamp for light and a DIY co2 with no fish for now.


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

Hey bud,

I didn't want to make you rethink your whole plan.

The whole idea of this part of the hobby is the trial and error, and until you REALLY try something yourself, all we tell you is just hearsay.

Give it a go, try the DIY - maybe you can find a way to do it better than I did. I think it is more than possible. Then, down the road, if you are still enoying the hobby you can think of a pressurized co2 system!


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## MrAL (Feb 28, 2008)

No no that's not what i was thinking at all. I'd rather separate the planted tank from the fishes.


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

Cool, either way post some pictures of the process, we would love to see how it develops!


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## dekstr (Oct 23, 2007)

Another way is to blow air through a straw lol.

Excerpted from thekrib.com:

"Alternative source of CO2
by krombhol-at-freud.inst.com (Paul Krombholz) 
Date: Tue, 18 Jul 1995
What with all the stories exploding fermenter bottles and rocketing CO2
tanks, you may want to consider another CO2 source---yourself. You breathe
out two or three percent CO2 all the time, and it can be collected and
bubbled into the tank with an airstone. I breathe into a plastic garbage
bag, and then pump the air into my plant tanks every other day. The pH
typically goes down to 6.5 to 6.7. One bag does 3 fifteen gallon tanks.
The CO2 is free, and you can't overdose your tanks, at least, I have never
seen any ill effects on livebearers and zebrafish.

Think about it!

Paul Krombholz"

Seriously though, DIY CO2 works great for smaller tanks. Once the aquarium gets above 20 gallon, it's less practical.

I'm using DIY CO2 in my 55g right now and it's a big pain to refill 3 bottles, one once a week. The sugar costs add up too! Eventually I'm hoping to move to pressurized. The big problem is getting the DIY co2 distributed evenly in a large tank. Right now I'm getting by with Excel dosing.


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

And keep in mind, Excel is a different source of "co2" (so to speak) and it is a longer and more complex process, if I recall, for the plants to use that type of carbon.


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