Bubbles don't work. What's plan B?

[Lady Hobbs]

I'm about to give these things up. They go like crazy for 4 days then barely crawl along again. I made a new solution the other day, it works for 4 days and now id done......flat. sheesh

[cocoa_pleco]

my stupid CO2 system said it'd work in 48H max, and 50H later, no bubbles

[Chrona]

2 liter bottle - 2 cups sugar, 3/4 teaspoon yeast (give or take), 1 teaspoon baking soda (optional), warm water?

Did you check everything for leaks? Submerge the whole thing and blow into the air tubing. My 20 bubble per minute solution lasted for 4 weeks. There's gotta be something wrong

EDIT: Btw, what do you mean by go crazy? How many bubbles per second? How warm is your house?

[Chrona]

my stupid CO2 system said it'd work in 48H max, and 50H later, no bubbles

The nutrafin is supposed to last 3-4 weeks, depending on the solution used :P

[cocoa_pleco]

yeah, but its supposed to start bubbling in 48H max. Nothin from it yet.

[Chrona]

yeah, but its supposed to start bubbling in 48H max. Nothin from it yet.

Oh. Did you mix the yeast in warm water first?

You added sugar right? (lol)

[cocoa_pleco]

yep.

First it said add sugar to the line- i did

add 1 yeast packet-did
add 1 other packet thingy- did
add lukewarm water to top line-did
screw on cap tightly-did



wait 24-48 hours. By then, you should start to see bubbles slowly coming. By 5 days, the machine will fully work.

^^ what the pack said

[Chrona]

Did you let it cool before putting the line in the water? Or is there a built in check valve? Any water currently in the tubing?

[cocoa_pleco]

it cooled and tubings right

[xoolooxunny]

cocoa, old yeast? Hobbs, keep varying the recipe, one's bound to work for you and your home, just keep playing around with the amount of sugar/yeast. Are you dechlorinating the water? If all else fails i guess you can try brewers yeast?

[Chrona]

I think Hobbs has too much yeast for her room temperature and the mixture is burning out. I add 3/4-1 teaspoon per 2 liters, but only because I keep a cold house.

[xoolooxunny]

I think Hobbs has too much yeast for her room temperature and the mixture is burning out. I add 3/4-1 teaspoon per 2 liters, but only because I keep a cold house.

Same here, my basement is 60 degrees in the winter, sometimes lower. my brews last me a whole month, usually longer, but the bubble rate is too slow after the fourth week.

[cocoa_pleco]

its not old yeast, and i dechlorinated the water

[Lady Hobbs]

cocoa, old yeast? Hobbs, keep varying the recipe, one's bound to work for you and your home, just keep playing around with the amount of sugar/yeast. Are you dechlorinating the water? If all else fails i guess you can try brewers yeast?

No, I did not dechlorinate the water.

I used the receipt I found everywhere online. 2 cups sugar to 1/4 yeast. That gave me not enough bubbles so I added another 1/4 t. Got some good action going finally but it only lasted about 4 days.

I could try more yeast but more eats up the sugar faster so my thought is that it would bubble for a lesser time.

I dumped my bottles last night, added another receipt (this time with 1/2 t) and within half an hour they were bubbling again but still not very fast.

This is the kicker. My 3 bottles in the 55 gallon are doing nicely. It's the 29 gallon that's given me the problem and it's the planted tank. I have checked for any air leaks and even ran new lines thinking old ones might be gunked up. Lines are also much shorter and this seems like it should move faster, not slower. The bottles to my 55 all have long airlines and are sitting behind the tank. The 29 gallon has airlines of only a foot.

My house is 70 degrees and tanks are 80 degrees.

cocoa_pleco.......my bubblers work within a very short time. This is what I do. I fill the bottle half full of the hottest water from my tap and add the sugar. Shake the heck out of it and let the bottle sit on the counter until the solution is clear. (clear means the sugar is all dissolved) Finish filling the bottle with cooler water so it's only lukewarm and add your yeast shaking just a bit again to mix it. Starts working right away.......well, in a very short time.

If your water is too warm, you will kill the yeast.

Getting it going is not a problem for me but keeping it going is where I run into my problems.

[Chrona]

About how many bubbles per second/minute before and after adding the addition yeast?

[Lady Hobbs]

It was very slow before, remember? I think I mentioned like the count of 8 prior to seeing another bubble. I added more yeast and then got a nice count of maybe 1 every second or so.

My only difference is the length of airline between these two tanks as far as I can see. I do notice my bubblers are larger with the higher solution.

[Chrona]

It was very slow before, remember? I think I mentioned like the count of 8 prior to seeing another bubble. I added more yeast and then got a nice count of maybe 1 every second or so.

My only difference is the length of airline between these two tanks as far as I can see. I do notice my bubblers are larger with the higher solution.

Is the yeast old or new? Do you still have some of the old solution? Take a whiff. Does it smell very alcoholic? If my 20 bpm solution lasted over 4 weeks, then a 60bpm solution like yours should last about 10 days at least.

Btw plan B is a pressurized CO2 system ;)

Or Flourish Excel, but it'll get mightily expensive for a larger tank.

[hungryhound]

I think hobbs and I will ram are heads through the wall trying to get this to work, long before we go out and buy a pressurized rig.

[xoolooxunny]

I think hobbs and I will ram are heads through the wall trying to get this to work, long before we go out and buy a pressurized rig.

If you do go for the pressurized rig, go to the beer distributer and ask for a 10lb cylinder for a beermeister. you have to pay a deposit on it but i think it only costs like 12 bucks to get it refilled, after the intial cost of about 60 bucks. But then you have to buy all that crazy stuff to go with it (yikes)

Or wait, would this reactor be compatable with one if i got the tubing and valve for the tank??

[Lady Hobbs]

Yes, and a small 5 lb tank is supposed to last a year. I will definately go better when I plant a larger tank. That is unless I've given up by I HAVE to plant another tank with all these swords. LOL

[xoolooxunny]

I have a Kleiner bar sword if you want it!! Find it on this list:

http://www.azgardens.com/new_limited_plants.php

[cocoa_pleco]

mine works now! i was looking at it thinking how pissed i was at it and its bubbling good now!