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Meant to say too, that ---- we don't drink soda or juice in big bottles in this house . We only keep it for company in smaller bottles. The 3.78 litre bottle is the best I've got without going out and buying something special .

On the ammonium sulfate - I still have no idea where to get this.



Last edited by Cory_Di at 04-Mar-2005 18:37

Anyone have a diagraph of a diy 2 litter bottle setup?

Thanks!

My Scapes

Well, that's pretty interesting. I didn't think about too much air left over. Although, with a bottle that size, couldn't I change the mixture to reflect say, a 3 litre bottle? This bottle would be less likely to tip. I could put it under my tank in between the cross bars and it would not be possible to tip over.

I'm getting yeast into my tank now with the Hagen. The ladder and outlet keep fuzzing up and disrupting the flow. But, I used 1/2 tsp of yeast and baking soda, and i've read others are only using 1/4 tsp of yeast.

Cory, I understand you want to be cautious with the co2, but I think that having so much air left is not such a great idea. With the rate of co2 production, it will take some time until all that much air is injected into the tank and co2 starts coming out... If you still want a safety measure in case the mix rises, you can build some kind of overflow.

How to do it? Simple! Take a small mineral water bottle (500ml would do, smaller could work as well as I don't think a lot of the yeast mix will end up getting into the tube) drill two holes on the top of the bottle, one on each side, insert the tubes and sill it (silicone or whatever you prefer using). One tube will go to the bottle with the co2 mix, the other into the tank. Then, if some of the mix will get into the tube, it will drip into that intermediate bottle and collect there. Then, you can get a valve on the tube that goes to the bottle with the co2 mix and shut it when you make a new batch, making sure that no co2 escapes. If you are short of space (which if I remember correctly you are) connect the overflow bottle to the co2 mix bottle with a very short tube and tape it to the co2 mix bottle.

Well, I hope it's clear. I thought about drawing a blueprint of that set up, but I have no drawing skills and I'm too shy to put something really bad around here.

Last edited by untitled at 04-Mar-2005 17:55

Hey, :%) - How about a picture or two of all that

I'm actually eyeballing some 1 gallon (3.785 litres) water bottles, with screw on lids. The one I have is premium (better plastic) and cost me several dollars when I got it from a bottled water company. I have so many of them, I can spare it for the yeast thing. I would still make the recipe for the 2L, but then would have lots of air left.

Last edited by Cory_Di at 04-Mar-2005 17:20

Last edited by Cory_Di at 04-Mar-2005 19:44

Here's my bottle making recipe:

Go to Lowes Hardware, and look for drawers of plumbing stuff - find the A-86 PB226 (WATTS brand) 1/8" x 1/4" I.D. HOSE BARB to FIP ADAPTER. I'm sure other brands/types will do, but that's the one I'm familiar with and use. Anyway, it is brass, I believe. Buy a handful, as they are pretty cheap and great to have around. Then, get your juice bottle cap, and drill a hole smaller than the barb of the hose barb adapter, then shove the hose barb adapter through the bottle cap from the underside, so the barbed end goes through. Make sure to press hard so it is flush. The big base of the adapter will prevent leaks and the pressure of the Co2 will keep it pushed up and flush (but you may want to remove the bottle cap to attach airline so as not to push it down). Bingo! you are ALL done! finito! No silicone, no 24 hours to dry, nothing! Ready to use!


I also use T barbs to connect two bottles together. This produces A LOT of Co2. I have found, however, that it is best to change them both at the same time when you renew.

(quoting Tarah Nyberg)

She says that Ethanol (produced in the yeast) and SUGAR are increasingly toxic to yeast at greater than 10% concentrations. Therefore 2 cups of sugar in 2L are unhealthy for the yeast as well as a waste of sugar. 10% of sugar will yield roughly 10 Ethanol at which point yeast stop growing anyway. She suggests less sugar and more nutrients also whereby you can just pour some out, add some more sugar, and continue with the batch that was already in the bottle instead of adding more yeast.

Tarah's recipe (very flexible)

*Use 1 cup sugar per 2 liters of water (aquarium water, or declorinated tap water).
*1-2 tsps of protein drink mix (or soy or bean flour).
*optional -- add 1 tsp of Ammonium Sulfate, or use 1 Tbs of molasses or both).
*1 tsp of baking soda is nice to help keep the ph from crashing (they like ph above 3 to 4).
*Yeast - about 1/4 tsp is plenty. The yeast grow pretty fast to a maximum density for any given flask, so you end up with the same amount of yeast no matter how much you start with. If you only add a teensy amount, it might take 3 days or so for full CO2 production.

Leave yeast from previous mix in the bottom if it still smells like yeast, beer, bread, etc. If it smells like mold or something else, consider starting a new culture. I (Tarah) usually only need to refresh it every month or so -- 3 weeks is probably better.
_________________

Any brand will do for the protein powder. I found best success with Spiruteen, but I'm using a 'cheap' Adkins diet kind I found at the grocery store because Spiruteen is pretty expensive. Even better, it went on closeout, so I got a huge cartoon for $4.00. I already had one cartoon, so I have a lifetime supply!

I also suggest you use the big juice bottles instead of soda bottles, and leave a good supply of air at the top for bubbling. I also have a way of making the bottles that doesn't include silicone (silicone, in my personal experience, always leaks after a time or two). I'll have to dig up the part names I get at Lowe's. Makes it really easy.

The important part of they Nyberg recipe is that you don't make a complete new batch each time -- you 'renew' instead. Pour all the mix out except the yeast -- which stays at the bottom of the bottle, then add sugar, yeast nutrient, all the rest, etc. and start again. When I do this at night, it is bubbling like crazy by lights on. Works extremely well. After a few renews, you can do the whole recipe again. Every once in awhile, I'll add some cranberry juice to the recipe too -- it makes the end result smell much better. More like wine than beer!

Last edited by Piscesgirl at 04-Mar-2005 14:39

Brand names or @least active ingredients would be nice, I was actually going to get some this weekend (I'd looked a few weekends before and found one with spirulina in it ) for myself anyway.
Side note, I never fully thought out the adding water process, of course you should use dechlor water ....although my mix never outright died from not using dechlor .

^_^[hr width='40%']"There’s an emptiness inside her. And she’d do anything to fill it in.
And though it’s red blood bleeding from her now. It's more like cold blue ice in her heart.
She feels like kicking out all the windows. And setting fire to this life."[/font]

OK - post your recipe for me one more time.

I have a Hagen device, which is much smaller than a 2L bottle, so I'll have to scale down. In fact, I may go ahead and get a 2 liter bottle and try that.

Where do you get the ammonium sulfate

And, can you give me a brand name on the protein mix or some general ideas?

Thanks .

I do use protein mix, and molasses (at times), and Ammonium sulfate (yeast nutrient). I've posted it so many times people started calling it 'my recipe.' Of course it's not, but I'll not do a DIY co2 mix without it again. I think that they work incredibly well, but be sure not to put too much protein mix in (the mix can go balistic -- and bubble into the great blob).