Here is a picture of my CO2 ladder. It is the Hagen one that you can buy in pretty well any fish store. The idea is that the large CO2 bubble starts at the bottom and by the top it is very small, having disapated into the tank water.
Anyone have homemade CO2?
- Thread starter redwingbum19
- Start date
garnpet said:Here is a picture of my CO2 ladder. It is the Hagen one that you can buy in pretty well any fish store. The idea is that the large CO2 bubble starts at the bottom and by the top it is very small, having disapated into the tank water.
that would be a bubble counter cheap and effective not worth doing a diy
If you truly want to DIY see the web page below. However it seems like a lot of work to save a few bucks. 
http://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/diyco2.html
http://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/diyco2.html
so would this be correct; 2 liter soda bottle with the mixture in it air line tube going through the cap, check valve, and tube runs in to the hagen ladder? Thanx for all the help
That would be it. You will probably find that the bubble go very quickly up the ladder at first, but after a week or so they will slow down considerably.
Things to remember...
1. A check value would be good, I don't use one but I should!
2. Don't squeeze/shake the pop bottle, this will cause a lowering of pressure in the bottle and the tank water will start to back up into the bottle. (See #1) Been there, done that, cleaned up the mess.
3. I would suggest using the nylon bulkhead fittings as I mentioned previously in the thread. The silicon just doesn't always work the best.
4. If you have smaller fish in your tank, block off the area behind the tubing in the ladder as fish have some idiotic idea that swimming up it is fun. Usually they get stuck and then die. You can see in my picture to the right of the bottom suction cup where I have blocked it off.
5. Get the ladder, skip the CO2 cannister from Hagen, it is just too small to do anything useful.
Best of luck
Things to remember...
1. A check value would be good, I don't use one but I should!
2. Don't squeeze/shake the pop bottle, this will cause a lowering of pressure in the bottle and the tank water will start to back up into the bottle. (See #1) Been there, done that, cleaned up the mess.
3. I would suggest using the nylon bulkhead fittings as I mentioned previously in the thread. The silicon just doesn't always work the best.
4. If you have smaller fish in your tank, block off the area behind the tubing in the ladder as fish have some idiotic idea that swimming up it is fun. Usually they get stuck and then die. You can see in my picture to the right of the bottom suction cup where I have blocked it off.
5. Get the ladder, skip the CO2 cannister from Hagen, it is just too small to do anything useful.
Best of luck
hi garnpet you ever see a fish swallow a bubble i have, had a baby gourami that kept on doing this did'nt hurt him though wich surprised the heck outa me i freaked when i seen him
even unpluged the co2 for a while just like watching a kid eating mud
FNH...
even unpluged the co2 for a while just like watching a kid eating mud
FNH...
My BN plecos play in the ladder a lot without any ill effect. I must say though I have never seen them eat the bubbles.
I used the HAGEN DIY CO2 system initially it works on tanks up to 40g and it was only 30 bucks. You can get it a little cheaper at www.bigalsonline.com. As a matter of fact you get a whole lot of your aquarium supplies there cheaper. If I were you I would just get the right equipment, CO2 is very tricky remember its pressurized gas and if for some atmospheric reason you "coke bottle" over pressurizes them BOOM - Big smelly mess and God forbid the mixture gets in your tank you will need to take a month off from work and strip down your tank a couple of times to get it right. IMO the best CO2 system with the least amount of maintenance is the Carbo PLus CO2 system. it works on the principle of electrolysis, no Pressurized tanks, tubing or reactors, you control the output and each unit works for tanks up to 125g. Check it out. For info about the product go to http://www.belowwater.com/products/carbo-plus/. Big Als online sell it also... cheaper
aquafever said:
greetings and welcome to MFK:
have you personly experianced a bottle exploding because this has turned into a myth from the old days of the first plastic bottles exploding after dropping them the bttle manafacturers correct this years ago
I have been using 2ltr bottles for 15 yrs never had a misshap as long as you have a check valve in place and dont over fill this will work great even if the airline became obstructed the cap has safety measures in place
I have the afore mentioned systems i use them on my book shelf tanks they are smaller and look more pleasing then pop bottles but for my large tank the pop bottle is the best for longtivity and cost just make sure they cant get tipped over now thats a mess
I have been looking for more ingo on DIY CO2 systems thanks for listing the link.sohfatfish said:
