Old school co2 method.

[Maf 2500]

3 years later and Aquarium coop just released a new video of that same shop this week.

I saw that video too - the shop owner is an amazing guy, great to hear his history and how he came to San Fran and ended up starting the shop and making it work in what seems to be a less affluent part of the city.

Link to the new (Dec 2021) video

Edit: Also worth quoting the pinned comment from under the video:

Note from the editor : Sincerely, thank you for stopping by and watching this interview. Being an immigrant myself, I really wanted to display his wonderful story for you to see. Hope, it was worth the wait. Happy Holidays to you and your family and I’m sure I can speak for the crew at Aquarium Co-op when I say.. “Thank you for your many years of support, we appreciate every bit of it.” Edit : it’s only been 2 hours since this has been released and reading your comments brought tears to my eyes. This is really gonna make my week, let alone Justin’s day. Thanks again

 

[erwin123]

Great video and nice idea. Is this is how the idea works? I collect CO2 from my high tech tank diffuser, plug up the test tube, and bring it over to my low tech tank?

I need to rig something to allow the entire test tube to be submerged in the tank but this will do for now.

This is in my 16 litre low tech so even a small amount of CO2 should have some impact?

 

[ScareCrow]

Is this is how the idea works? I collect CO2 from my high tech tank diffuser, plug up the test tube, and bring it over to my low tech tank?

Yeah that'll work. The small diameter of the test tube will restrict the amount of diffusion you get though as there's only a small surface area between the CO² and the water.

 

[arcturus]

Yeah that'll work. The small diameter of the test tube will restrict the amount of diffusion you get though as there's only a small surface area between the CO² and the water

Aren't we reinventing the wheel here? You have built a basic reactor and the video shows nothing new. If the goal is to maximize CO2 dissolution and control the injection rate, then simply discard the diffuser and replace it with a proper CO2 reactor...

 

[AlecF]

View attachment 178519 View attachment 178520
Great video and nice idea. Is this is how the idea works? I collect CO2 from my high tech tank diffuser, plug up the test tube, and bring it over to my low tech tank?

I need to rig something to allow the entire test tube to be submerged in the tank but this will do for now.

This is in my 16 litre low tech so even a small amount of CO2 should have some impact?

I love to imagine a series of smaller tanks, and smaller receptacles, each receiving a smaller dose of CO2.

 

[ScareCrow]

Aren't we reinventing the wheel here? You have built a basic reactor and the video shows nothing new. If the goal is to maximize CO2 dissolution and control the injection rate, then simply discard the diffuser and replace it with a proper CO2 reactor...

Not so much reinventing the wheel as going back to before the wheel was invented. This was how it was done before all the diffusers reactors etc were available in the hobby. As you say it's far from the most efficient way of doing it. All I was getting at was that the idea of a bell diffuser is to dissolve the trapped CO² into the water. A test tube has a very small diameter and therefore the surface area between the trapped CO² and water is going to be very small, making it less efficient than it already is.
I believe he uses bell diffuser in the video out of cost/ease of setup. He doesn't have to have multiple manifolds/regs/cylinders/lines just a few bell diffusers and fill them up manually when he does other daily maintenance.
If @erwin123 wants to use a bell diffuser it's up to them.

 

[erwin123]

In the space of a few hours, it seems that most of the CO2 has been transferred to the tank, as shown by the water level in the test tube being higher than the water level of the tank?

 

[arcturus]

Not so much reinventing the wheel as going back to before the wheel was invented. This was how it was done before all the diffusers reactors etc were available in the hobby. As you say it's far from the most efficient way of doing it. All I was getting at was that the idea of a bell diffuser is to dissolve the trapped CO² into the water. A test tube has a very small diameter and therefore the surface area between the trapped CO² and water is going to be very small, making it less efficient than it already is.
I believe he uses bell diffuser in the video out of cost/ease of setup. He doesn't have to have multiple manifolds/regs/cylinders/lines just a few bell diffusers and fill them up manually when he does other daily maintenance.
If @erwin123 wants to use a bell diffuser it's up to them.

But in the video, the bell was used as a CO2 container. There was no CO2 injection at all. This is a old school way of providing CO2 to avoid all the CO2 equipment.

But in this case we are using a pressurized CO2 system that is continually injecting CO2 into the tube/bell. So, we are using the bell not as a CO2 container but as an (inefficient) reactor! And that is the part that does not make sense.. either you fill in the container with CO2 once in a while (like shown in the video) and skip the CO2 regulators, solenoids, etc., or you properly use pressurized CO2 injection...

 

[ScareCrow]

@arcturus I think you've missed the bit below. He's filling the tube and taking it to another tank. So not using it as a reactor.

I collect CO2 from my high tech tank diffuser, plug up the test tube, and bring it over to my low tech tank?

 

[arcturus]

@arcturus I think you've missed the bit below. He's filling the tube and taking it to another tank. So not using it as a reactor.

Yes, I did! Now the setup makes sense. Thanks for the correction.

 

[Platangel]

starting at 3 pm day before and this is 8 am next day

pH 7.7 and a nearly co2 empty bottle in 17 hours.
View attachment 116640

Seems a rather effective method, is it because of the vacuum? I expected it to last several days as stated in the video.Completely underestimated it..
Lets fill it up again..

How are you holding that bottle there in place?

 

[zozo]

How are you holding that bottle there in place?

Drilled 3 small holes @ 90°, 10mm under the bottle top rim and put in suction cups, then the bottle upside down in the corner... 🙂
The black ones as seen in the picture...