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DIY CO2



 Bjorn Straube wrote:

>One last thing.  I haven't been able to get my generator to run for more
>than two weeks, and in the hottest part of the summer, 1 week was about
>right

Bjorn:

Thanks for your recipe for DIY CO2, and to all who have written with
suggestions as to why my mixture doesn't seem to last as long as some of
the others who have experimented with DIY CO2.  

Other than saving a little money on yeast, I have not seen the advantage of
"reusing" the old yeast.  I have used similar recipes to the one you are
using but w/o the flour, so I might give that a try too.  BTW, you said
your mixture works for about one to two weeks. I have the same experience
with most batches lasting a week or less. 

Although there have been some replies to my original question about how to
prolong the mixture's life, I have not gotten any explanations that seem to
provide a real answer. I did get a lot of ways to check for leaks, but I
have never thought that was my problem - I tested for leaks extensively
before I ever got my first batch going. I am a homebrewer too, and have
some experience dealing with these mixtures and working with tubing.

BTW, someone asked late last week if I was using brewing yeast or baking
yeast. I have been using baking yeast, but could easily switch if there is
a body of experience out there that says that is the way to go. I am also
using regular refined sugar and not inverted sugar which I use for
carbonation in brewing.

One thing of general use that could possibly fall under the
I-am-always-the-last-to-know category:  when I started concentrating on a
planted aquarium, I added more wattage to my existing lighting system,
added duration of light, added mylar reflectors, used iron supplements,
trace elements, DIY CO2, etc., etc., with no reportable plant growth, but
loads of algae.  I was about to give up on the whole "plant scene" about
the same time I abandoned the notion I wanted to get into discus.  When I
ditched the discus idea, I added 8 plecos to the tank (I have 110g and the
plecos were small) to see if they would, at least, control the algae on the
glass. Lo and behold, two days later, not only was the algae on the glass
gone, but I had all of these new looking plants. When I had all but given
up the plants as dead, the plecos cleaned every little blade of them and I
had what seemed like all new plants - just short of a miracle. Now, I know
that most aquariums, even under "ideal" conditions, need a little help from
our friends. I just hope they don't go after the plants now that the algae
is gone.

I will continue experimenting with recipes for the DIY CO2 set up. So,I
would appreciate any other suggestions as too how to get the mixture to
last more than a week and a half to two weeks.  

Thanks,

Ken Guin
Kenguin at erols_com
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