Added CO2 and pH is now..........

[Lady Hobbs]

exactly the same.

I don't even need to turn on my bubbler at night and I was worried about this.

[SouthernGal0682]

You are doing DIY CO2 right?

What is your recipe?

[sergo]

really?
is it not getting dissolved in the water very well. you should see a drop in ph.

[Lady Hobbs]

It may have dropped from 7.6 to 7.5 1/2. LOL

2 cups sugar and 1/4 t. yeast

Bubbles are working well. Little bubbles climbing up that little ladder counter just one after another.

Only thing I can think of is this water is just too hard for even CO2 to have any effect on it but I'm not knowledgable about this much.

[sergo]

how hard is your water?

[Lady Hobbs]

Broke 3 bones when I spilled some on my foot!

Truthfully, all I have for testing hardness is the strips and I lost the color chart. But alkalinity was like 250 when I tested, pH is always 7.6, but I really have no way of giving total hardness with color chart missing. sorry

[sergo]

haha you're funny!:11:
the api test i use for hardness doesn't have a color chart. the solution changes colors when it gets to a certain point.
it's a 2 in one kit, it tests for gh and kh.

[Lady Hobbs]

OK. I hate to admit it but the color chart was inside the label but let's keep this between us.

Total hardness 180
Total alkalinity 300 highest on the scale

:(

[Chrona]

The hardness/kH is not an issue unless it is too low. If you don't see a pH drop of at least 0.5, you aren't getting enough CO2 into the tank. Is this for the 55g? Bubble counters are rated for like 20 gallons, and you need at least 3-4 2 liter soda bottles to run a 55g.

[Lady Hobbs]

This is my 30 gallon with one counter. I have two in the 55 gallon but heck, I barely have plants either.

This is the reason for me wanting to start adding peat. There are also liquid forms of softener products, as well, that contain humic, etc.

[Chrona]

How many bubbles per minute are you getting out of the air line tubing? (roughly) You want to aim for a pH drop of exactly 1.0, as this would indicate a CO2 concentration of 30ppm, the ideal. (Assuming you don't have any pH changing chemicals in the water)

[Lady Hobbs]

I am getting a bubble on the count of 8 in the 30 gallon and on a count of 5 in the larger tank with both bubblers. I know this isn't too scientific but the best I can describe. The 55 gallon is better, closer to 7.2 pH but they were running all night without the bubbler to drop that low.

I also have crappy lightening but better on the 55 because it gets direct light from outside (not direct sun) so that's helping.

[Chrona]

I am getting a bubble on the count of 8 in the 30 gallon and on a count of 5 in the larger tank with both bubblers. I know this isn't too scientific but the best I can describe. The 55 gallon is better, closer to 7.2 pH but they were running all night without the bubbler to drop that low.

I also have crappy lightening but better on the 55 because it gets direct light from outside (not direct sun) so that's helping.

You need additional soda bottles (or a gallon jug) with more yeast. You should be getting about a bubble every second on the 30g at the very least (probably need closer to 2) For the 55g, you need about 3 bubbles per second from each, with the higher lighting.

[Lady Hobbs]

Thanks Chrona. Setting more up right now.

[xoolooxunny]

Hobbs, you should double your recipe and use gallon containers for the 55 gallon. If you use two, you cant regulate the ph a lot easier. Since the co2 runs out in the bottle, the time it takes to make more and activate it can cause a ph swing (happened to me once when i used cold yeast) so i have 2 bottles set up on opposing bi-weekly changes, so that means one bottle gets a new brew every week. This keeps the co2 level more constant, keeping the fishies out of harms way and happy plants!

[Chrona]

Actually, I just noticed you only put 1/4 teaspoon of yeast in there. Try another 3/4 teaspoon. The mixture won't last as long (probably about 10-14 days) but it works.

[xoolooxunny]

Actually, I just noticed you only put 1/4 teaspoon of yeast in there. Try another 3/4 teaspoon. The mixture won't last as long (probably about 10-14 days) but it works.

does that excess yeast provide stronger output? my recipe goes as follows:

1/2 tsp. room temp yeast
6 cups of sugar dissolved in lukewarm water
top of container minus an inch or so.

[Chrona]

does that excess yeast provide stronger output? my recipe goes as follows:

1/2 tsp. room temp yeast
6 cups of sugar dissolved in lukewarm water
top of container minus an inch or so.

What size container is that in? More yeast = more output, doesn't last as long. More sugar = longer lasting (there is a limit though)

[xoolooxunny]

What size container is that in? More yeast = more output, doesn't last as long. More sugar = longer lasting (there is a limit though)

a gallon container, oceanspray cranberry to be exact. durable, and has a handle

[Lady Hobbs]

Why is nothing easy! So adding more yeast will make more bubbles? I read more yeast eats the sugar up faster so should I use also more sugar?

Maybe I should just stick with house plants! They sure are easier than tank plants.


I do have gallon water jugs I can use with screw tops. *she sighs*

[Chrona]

Why is nothing easy! So adding more yeast will make more bubbles? I read more yeast eats the sugar up faster so should I use also more sugar?

Maybe I should just stick with house plants! They sure are easier than tank plants.


I do have gallon water jugs I can use with screw tops. *she sighs*

Yes, more yeast = more bubbling and shorter duration. Adding more sugar past 2 cups per 2 liters of water won't do anything, as the limiting factor then becomes the amount of alcohol that gets built up and kills the yeast. When your soda bottle dies, this is the reason 99% of the time. Some people use wine yeast because it has a higher tolerance to alcohol for this reason. The obvious solution to this is to use a larger container, or multiple soda bottles.

[xoolooxunny]

I don't think that adding more and more to the batch will make it last longer. My educated theory is this: Since the majority of yeast cells conk out after 12-15% alcohol, whatever sugar is left after that, stays in the mix. Adding more sugar to a batch that has a lot of yeast in it should not, in my opinion last any significant amount of time longer.

BTW, everybody comes up with their own recipe after awhile. Play around with it and see what works best/easiest for you!:1:

[Lady Hobbs]

OK Thank you both. I did hook up two more lines of co2 and both are bubbling pretty good right now. Thanks a bunch.

[hungryhound]

Lady hobbs,

I was just wondering if your pH problem has cleared up?

I don't know if this could be your problem or not, but personally, I found that taking my biowheels off helped out tremendously. Just a thought if you still have not gotten the pH drop that you desired.

[Lady Hobbs]

I ran both added lines up the back of my bubbler so those bubbles also go up the ladder. It's working well and bubbling up a storm. pH hasn't changed much but it's probably just as well. At least if I forget to turn the air stone on at night, I won't be getting flunctions in the pH. It may also take more time for any change.

Plants in the 29 aren't dying but not doing much, either. Adding a new light next week will give it the boost it needs, I know. The onion plants in the 55 gallon are going nuts. They had to have grown 3 inches this week. They're catching the light so getting much more light than the small tank.

Thanks for asking. :)

[Chrona]

See if you can position the bubbler so that the bubbles get sucked into the intakes of the HOB's to get it to dissolve better. Bubble ladders really only put in a small amount of CO2 since they don't spread the bubbles out like an impeller chopping it up would. If your pH hasn't changed by at least 0.5 within 24 hours, then you know not enough Co2 is dissolving.

[Lady Hobbs]

What if I run the line into the back of the filter. There's no where to run a line into the uptake without taking the strainer off.


Back again.......ok. I ran it so it's right infront of the strainer and pulls it right up.

[xoolooxunny]

To add to what Chrona suggests, try taking notice of how much bubble makes it to the surface, in most cases with those ladders, a lot of co2 is wasted right away! That's C02 that YOU took time to make that's going right into the air, instead of where your plants need them.

[Chrona]

What if I run the line into the back of the filter. There's no where to run a line into the uptake without taking the strainer off.

What I ended up doing was poking a hole in the strainer and sticking the air tube right in, using some suction cup tubing holders to position it right and make sure it would never pop out. No hassles, no worries of the bubble stream getting out of alignment, Co2 going down, and pH going up like when I had an airstone under the HOB. Back of the filter won't do anything, since you need the impeller to chop up the bubbles or it just rises up and away.

CO2 production from a yeast solution is already pretty inconsistent as it is, so you definitely don't want any more factors.

[Lady Hobbs]

We were posting at the same time so you didn't notice I made an edit in my last post. I positioned the air line right infront of the uptake tube and it's getting sucked in nicely. Makes my filter burp, tho, but not so much I can't stand it.

[Chrona]

We were posting at the same time so you didn't notice I made an edit in my last post. I positioned the air line right infront of the uptake tube and it's getting sucked in nicely. Makes my filter burp, tho, but not so much I can't stand it.

Make sure it stays there. Mine kept moving on me (I think the angel moved it at night) so my pH would go up and down.

[Lady Hobbs]

With my burps from the filter, I can tell how much air is coming out and if it's moved or not. :)

I thought "awwwwww, my fish just love the plants" as they all stay on that one side of the tank. HA. The largest of the angels keeps them there. He's taken over 3/4 of the tank.