# Co2 and bubble counter



## chris521957 (9 Oct 2010)

Thought i would have a go at a DIY Co2 system with a bubble counter. I took a few pics to show how i did it.




I used a 2ltr juice bottle, some silicone tubing, a check valve, Silicone sealer and a small plastic tub.



First i drilled 3x5mm holes, 1 in the juice bottle lid, 2 in the tub lid.



I then forced the 6mm silicone tubing through the juice bottle lid by about 15mm.



 I then pushed the other end through 1 hole in the tub lid so that it would reach almost to the bottom of the tub when the lid was screwed on.



I then pushed some more tubing through the 2nd hole in the tub lid by about 15mm(this will be the outlet from the bubble counter.






I then siliconed the tubes into the lids, just for extra assurance that there will be no leaks. The bubble counter will be half filled with water to check that i am getting a bubble a second through this. There is a small check valve after the bubble counter, but i can remove this if there are any issues with it. Please feel free to comment on this as i am new to all this and would like to hear any constructive critisism. Thanks Chris.
This project took me about 15mins and cost Â£9 to do.


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## AverageWhiteBloke (29 Oct 2010)

Valiant effort m8 should work a treat, I like pottering around trying make things more out of interest than to save money but when there's stuff like this http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Aquarium-Diffuser ... 53e41b329c sometimes it makes you wonder if it's worth the while.


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## chris521957 (1 Nov 2010)

Thanks for the reply. This is my 1st attempt at a planted aquarium and i am still feeling my way around. I bought a rio180 at the weekend and set it up with sand and water and my filter(Haillea 1300lph ext). Just waiting for everything to settle at the moment. Been running for 1 day now and water is crystal apart from lots of bubbles that seem to be suspended in the water. At first i thought they were coming from the spraybar of the filter, but now i am not so sure. Do you have any ideas on how to get rid of them? Could there be some air trapped in the filter somewhere?. The flow is pretty strong from the spraybar, so i know it is working a treat. Maybe if i put more filterwool in the filter?. 
Thanks for any info on this problem. Chris.


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## AverageWhiteBloke (2 Nov 2010)

Where are the bubbles m8 just hanging about on surfaces or actually coming out of the spray bar? When the tank is first set up it's usually super saturated with oxygen which bubbles off as the temp increases, a bit like when you leave a glass of water out in the house you can see little bubbles in the glass.
Just knock them off the surfaces they'll stop coming back eventually, are you using the built in filter that comes with a juwel? Just check air is not getting sucked in through any of the spray bar pipes or I think them juwels have a connector or for an airline if you want air pumped into the outlet so also check that this isn't open or above the water surface, that can suck in air as well.

Neil


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## LondonDragon (2 Nov 2010)

in most cases a bubble counter is pretty much useless in measuring CO2 levels, you need a drop checker in order to determine that, bubble counters are just useful to check if the CO2 is still running and specially in the case of DIY yeast solutions, you can tell when the solution is becoming weak and also it provides a place for escaping solution from the bottle to settle and not go into the tank.

making your own stuff is always good, and that's what the hobby is all about.


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## AverageWhiteBloke (2 Nov 2010)

> making your own stuff is always good, and that's what the hobby is all about.



I even make stuff even when it isn't worth it just for something to do   I had a crack at the same thing as the OP to run a glass ceramic diffuser with. It worked great on a spiral type diffuser because there was no back pressure to contend with but it never worked so good with the ceramic. I found that after a while of use the tubing would lose seal around the hole. It was ok to start with as it was forced in but eventually it the soft tubing would not have a tight enough seal to hold back the pressure. Maybe I should have drilled some smaller holes.

When you have three holes to contend with like in the case of the DIY bubble counter if the co2 doesn't start diffusing you end up chasing your tail on which one is leaking or whether the ferment is stuck. The more connections there are the greater the chance of getting a leak. I had a nano co2 set from back in the day which used sparklet type bulbs from home brew kits, unfortunately I cross threaded the bulb holder which was plastic and it wouldn't seal so I used the pipe connector off this and don't get the problem of sealing at anymore.

Would be proper handy if someone knew where to get the tube connectors from it would save some pile of hassle. I've often thought about using car break bleeding nipples as an option, it should work.


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## chris521957 (2 Nov 2010)

The bubbles were just floating in the water, but have now disappeared, so no problem there anymore. Dont know if i will be using the co2 as i am planning on a sparsly planted tank, more rockwork and swimming space than plants, if you see what i mean. I have already taken the juwel filter out. I always do with any juwel tank. I am using an Haillea 1300lph external on this tank. I havee some plants arriving this week, would it be ok to cycle with the plants in. I have heard differing advice on this. The tank was only set up on Sunday, so i am not looking at stocking it with fish for about 6/7 weeks, may even get after xmas. Looking at a few torpedo barbs, filament barbs and a few cories, but not decided on exact numbers yet. I know the torpedos and filaments will eventually grow too large for this tank, but i will be exchanging them when that happens( i have a good relationship with my lfs). Thanks Chris.


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## AverageWhiteBloke (2 Nov 2010)

The bubbles sound like it was just the o2 gassing off, I can't see any reason why you can't cycle the tank with plants in Chris, eventually dead leaves and stuff will decompose and start off the process I guess. I'm no specialist though   

On the subject of co2 though it's not as much as the amount of plants though it will be a factor and more to do with the amount of lighting above them. Some tanks can get away without the addition of either liquid carbon or co2 using just the background levels created by the filter and the fish but this is under quite low lighting. 

Have a look in the board for low tech tanks which use this principle, if you have medium/high lighting you may at some point need to consider some source of carbon and would be best to decide which path your going down before you get the plants in which will save you a whole world of hassle later.


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## chris521957 (3 Nov 2010)

Thanks for the replies. You have been very helpful and i will take a look at some other articles on here. Once again Thanks. Chris.


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