# Diy CO2 yeast question



## Ovidiu (12 Feb 2016)

Hello everyone,
I am going to start a yeast based co2 generator for my 30 liter nano tank and i got a little bit dizzy after reading every post i could find about this.

 A lot of people are suggesting NOT to start doing this but it is really not worth a try?

I have read that baking soda keeps the gas output stable for about 2 weeks if you use less quantity of yeast so this means that for a nano tank it could actually work. Is it true?

I really need some light here guys but if you are going to say No then i will reconsider creating this little project. 

I've got my bottles ready just in case 

Cheers


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## tim (12 Feb 2016)

Hi ovidiu, I've used the DIY co2 yeast method and tbh it was a pain swapping mixtures and a bottle exploded once creating quite the mess  it can be done though, greenfingers journal is a good example.
http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/starting-point-1st-aquascape.29505/


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## BruceF (12 Feb 2016)

Just do it!  It isn't all that hard. Once a week just start a new bottle and replace the one you are using. All it takes is a cup of sugar.


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## heathen06 (12 Feb 2016)

I had good results with using two bottles of DIY CO2 with a splitter connecting them to one tube. 
Each bottle produced CO2 for about 2 weeks, but gave good results for a week then began to decline. So filling one one week and the other the following week gave me a fairly consistent supply.

I found that adding a dark sugar or molasses seemed to give prolong the production of CO2 noticeably. 

I never had any real problems with it, but use a check-valve.


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## aaron.c (12 Feb 2016)

The best thing to do is to run 2 bottles off a t connector. Then you alternate the bottle refills. So 1 week you do one bottle, the next week you change the other bottle - this keeps the supply more consistent and stable. P.s a week is only for illustration purposes... You might need to change them more or less often 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Ovidiu (22 Feb 2016)

Hello everyone and thank you for the advices.

I just started my co2 generator but I think im not doing something right because after i put everything together i got bubbles coming out after around 10 hours. Im talking about the actual bubbles in the soda bottle.
My recipe is a standard one: 2 liter bottle, 1.5 cups of sugar, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp bakers yeast. I am activating the yeast in a small coffee cup with lukewarm water and a pinch of sugar, i mix it till bubbles come out and let it there for about 10 mins while i mix the sugar and the baking soda in the bottle.

So why is it taking so long to produce any bubbles inside the bottle? I just started a new bottle with a new yeast 5 hours ago and still nothing happened. Am i doing something wrong? It feels to me that something is killing the yeast and i dont know what it is.


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## BruceF (22 Feb 2016)

Just takes a bit of time.  No need to activate the yeast in another container. I use 1 cup of sugar and 1 tsp of yeast.


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## Ovidiu (23 Feb 2016)

@BruceF
Thank you for the quick reply. So i took your advice and i started a new bottle. The only problem is that when i put the yeast inside the bottle like this it goes to the bottom and it doesnt dissolve. What i did was to shake the bottle a little and now after 4 hours i already see foam on the surface which i didnt see on the previous bottles where i activated the yeast and used baking soda. At this point i have no idea if its good or not but im waiting more to see some bubbles in the aquarium.


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## BruceF (23 Feb 2016)

The yeast will activate faster at about 110 degrees F.  Filling the bottle about 3/4 full helps to reduce the airspace also.  Still pretty much t takes a day to get going well. So I always start abottle the day before I use it.


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## Ovidiu (23 Feb 2016)

@BruceF 
For about 2 hours now i have a nice stream of tiny bubbles dancing inside the aquarium so thanks again for your advice .  I cannot explain how i got the bubbles so fast but at this point im just happy i have co2 in my nano. The only thing i changed was that i didnt add the baking soda in the composition so maybe this is the reason.
Based on the info i got from around the internet if i put only 1/2 tsp of yeast it would last me for about 2 weeks in a 30L aquarium. Do you think i can get away with only half tsp of yeast cosidering it will work non stop? Im asking this because i dont want to gas the fish and i also dont have an air pump running during the night.


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