DIY CO2 Diffuser

Sharkee

Sharkee

Large Fish
#1
Jan 29, 2010
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#1
Somebody has shown me how to make your own diffuser and seeing as how it has worked for his tank, I tried it myself. I got myself an empty water bottle, extra tubing and a t-valve. Mixed water, yeast and sugar. I hooked everything up and everything was fine and dandy. Within 3-5 mins I notice that my other airstone which I hooked this up with was not producing bubbles andd wouldn't you know it was clogged by the mixture! :eek: luckily the airstone was under a heavy glass like rock which made it verry difficult for the yeast to come out and contaminate the water. well... I don't think so anyway. I unplugged the pump and smelled the bottom of the rock, there was no yeasty scent). It was really lucky that I stayed close to my tank. Wish me luck. I hope that little "excitement" hasn't done anything bad to aquatic babies.
 

Sharkee

Sharkee

Large Fish
#3
Jan 29, 2010
108
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0
#3
no. yeast was in a water bottle was under the tank which cap had a hole and a tube inserted into it. then that was t-valved with the pump and an airstone.
 

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no.1chuy

Large Fish
#6
May 22, 2009
272
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Las Vegas
#6
just like newman said you dont need an air pump. you dont wanna have diy co2 and an air pump running at the same time because you dont want the water surface to be distured and allow the co2 to escape frome the water also if you have a hob filter you wanna fill you tank as much as posible or at least untill there isnt a lil water fall coming from the filter. also ceramic air stone do a good job at diffusing the co2 you want the smallest bubbles possible
 

Sharkee

Sharkee

Large Fish
#7
Jan 29, 2010
108
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#7
k, 2nd try (minus t-valving to the aerator). I think the bubbles are too big. will it be better if I stick the airstone into the filter to make the water grab the co2 quicker? As I can see right now, this a waste of CO2 as it just goes straight to the surface. Or will this be just like keeping the surface agitated so that water can grab oxygen, therefore just leave the set up be and let the agitated water grab the CO2?
 

Sharkee

Sharkee

Large Fish
#8
Jan 29, 2010
108
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#8
I've given up on this diy diffuser. the mixture still climbed up the tube. I don't know if the sugar:yeast:H2O ratio that was given to me is incorrect but nonetheless, I'm not trying again. Does anyone have any suggestion on a good ole store bought diffuser?
 

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OrangeCones

Elite Fish
#11
Feb 27, 2009
4,395
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#11
I used two of them when I first started out in planted tanks (still have them in a box somewhere). The ladder I still use in a tank, its good at getting some CO2 in the tank. I didn't waste the money on the 'refill packets' they sell tho. Its just yeast and baking soda.
 

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OrangeCones

Elite Fish
#14
Feb 27, 2009
4,395
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36
#14
Newman said:
dang maybe I need that diffuser/ladder thing....but doesn't it look kinda bulky in the tank?
Click to expand...
Mine was hidden behind my sponge filter so I didn't see it from the front of the tank (and plants grew up to hide the sponge, so all equipment was hidden eventually).

It lays flat against the back or side wall of the tank. I'm putting one tomorrow in my otos' tank to lower the pH a bit and help get more O2 in the water for them. I'll take a few pics once I have it in so you can see what it looks like.
 

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OrangeCones

Elite Fish
#15
Feb 27, 2009
4,395
0
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#15
no.1chuy said:
i always see this in the stores but never payed attention i wonder how much better that diffuser is compared to a ceramic airstone or some diy diffuser
Click to expand...
The ladder isn't super efficient, but a good start for someone just starting out and wanting to stay low-tech and 'safe' when using CO2. Other than possibly getting the yeast/sugar mixure in a tank (which won't happen if you follow the instructions that come with it), there isn't much you can do to hurt fish with DIY CO2. Now pressurized, that's a whole nuther thing. You can kill everything quickly if you do not know what you are doing. Those are 'big boy' (or 'girl') toys to be sure!

What I like about the system is a) its all-in-one, nothing else to buy/attach except the water and sugar and b) its a good way to see how CO2 works, how you may need to adjust lighting periods and ferts, and c) its low-tech. If you unplug things while cleaning your house (I do to plug in a vacuum sometimes in that room) or if the power flickers, it still works. No need to remember to plug anything back in.
 

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Sharkee

Sharkee

Large Fish
#16
Jan 29, 2010
108
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#16
*DRUMMER**DRUMMER*so I've done more reseach and found out that I should have put baking soda as well. That's what was lacking from the mixture that I was told to do. I also found a check valve from my aquarium stash. Now I won't have to spend 50 bucks on diffuser. *DRUMMER* *DRUMMER*

I've also made a diy ladder and made the bubbles smaller by pulling the tube tighter. (Not shown on pic). this is actually very rapid that you won't see the bubbles until they reach the top. It's just my cam.

Oh this will be placed on the back of the tank later. I'm just monitoring it to make sure nothing goes wrong this time. I'm out of yeast!:rolleyes:
 

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Sharkee

Sharkee

Large Fish
#20
Jan 29, 2010
108
0
0
#20
oh it's just that thing that keeps all the tubes together when you have multiples of them in your tank. I forgot what exactly they're called.
 

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