Question about a new CO2 DIY

I decided a month ago, after getting a 50% off coupon, to grab this little FW tank to sit here in the bedroom next to the computer. No big thing, simple, a few live plants and fish within arms reach.

Here is a pic taken a couple weeks ago...those fish were for cycle purposes..





Anyway, I decided to throw together a CO2 reactor to jump start the plants. I have done this before, with good results, back in the mid 90's when I was running a shop. I went with the simple plastic jug/tubing/air stone/'highly active yeast'/sugar/pinch of baking soda setup.

I have read that it takes up to three days for bubbles to start appearing. That brings me to the question.....After three hours of mixing the yeast/sugar I am already getting a 3 second stream of bubbles. By that I mean I get a steady single stream of bubbles for approx 3 full seconds and it bubbles approx every 15 seconds....so it is bubbling pretty fast (single string of bubbles). Is that normal or unheard of? Is that actual CO2 coming out already?

2Qt (64 oz) 'reactor'
1 Cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon 'highly active yeast'
pinch of baking soda
Approx 80 degree water at mixing

Thanks for any info. Marine breeding and reef keeping is my thing so any advice or suggestions with this are appreciated!


-Tim

 

I did this for a while in a 2-liter bottle when I had my 10 gallon planted tank. I always had bubbles within the first couple of hours. Remember though that the bottle is initially filled with air, so you probably won't get a 100% CO2 mixture to begin with. That yeast is hungry! It shouldn't take long to start making CO2.

Ivan

Edit: Nice tank btw! :thumb_up:

 

Update:


I don't know if it is the C02 or not but a Amazon sword is producing new leaves just about every 3 days and noticeable new growth on a couple other plants.

I have the air stone of CO2 blowing directly into the power filter intake as I heard this optimizes the performance of the CO2. What I am wondering about is the amount of bubbles entering the tank. As I am typing this, the flow is a single stream of bubbles that is non stop.

Is this good or bad? CO2 was running for four days, then a few days off and now it is flowing again (fresh mixture).

Thanks for any info!

 

I would get a little airline valve (plastic..super cheap) and cut it back to a bubble every 1-2 seconds. A constant stream is too much and a lot of the CO2 is just being wasted. A little bit goes a long way.

All of that CO2 is also REALLY dropping your pH, so keep an eye on that. It can get to a dangerous level easily.

 

Thanks for the advice.

After testing the water:

pH - 6.8-7.0 (San Antonio water out of the tap is 7.8 which was used when the tank was set up a little over a month ago. I didn't test the water prior to starting the CO2)
Nitrate - 0-20ppm
Hardness 150 (Hard)
Alkalinity - 180
Ammonia - 0


I'll throw a valve on there and slow the flow down as suggested. I would be thrilled if the pH remains neutral.

Thanks again.