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I've been reading up on constructing a DIY CO2 system, all pieces are easily aquired, doesn't seem hard to put together and is cheap! Or make take a 5 minute drive to the LFS pay the $40, come home, set it up and I've got CO2 right away.

I'm torn between a DIY, or purchasing the Hagen system. Could anyone offer me any opinions between the 2, like pros and cons? first-hand experience with the Hagen system? would I be able to create/add my own yeast/sugar/water mixture for the retail system?

The CO2 system would be for a planted 20 gal., with 2.75 WPG (on 12 hours off 12 hours), pH 8.0/KH 3.36dKH.

Thanks

if you have $40 you can spend on it, and want something professionally made, then by all means spend your money on the hagen. as i understand it, you can make your own mix to put in there, so it's really about whether or not you want to spend the money on the original setup or make your own

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"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

The Hagen bubble ladder is well made, fwiw. I use it with a DIY canister - total cost ~$15 ($10 for bubble ladder, rest >1yr supply of yeast and sugar). A 2L might be better than Hagen's smaller canister for your 20g.

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http://justanothertank.com

i personally dont trust my own DIY capabilities if they might risk a life (no matter how small or big ) so im going with a hagen for my fishtank.

will probably use my own mix tho..

Thanks for the input so far I'll be going with the Hagen system for sure, maybe if I have the chance to get out to buy it today.

I've never tried CO2 to date, but would like to give it an honest try to get the most out of my plants. I enjoy the look of my plants so far, but feel they could be doing better with a faster/fuller growth rate. With my lighting do I really need it?... 2.75 WPG of compact flourescent strip lighting (9325 Kelvin lamp)

What I'm worried about with using CO2 is having a big pH crash, algae breakout, etc, etc, or worse case scenario... fish death. Can anyone enlighten me as to what I can look forward to when using CO2, and what could happen in a negative manner?


bala shark

with over 2wpg you should be using co2, otherwise your plants won't grow as well.

first, before you even set anything up you must know your kh and ph of your tank. once you know exactly what the kh of your tank is, you can use [link=this chart]http://www.sfbaaps.com/reference/table_01.shtml" style="COLOR: #ff0044[/link] to figure out your target co2 concentration. so if your kh was 3.0, you would want a ph somewhere between 6.4 and 6.8 for the best concentration of co2 in your water. if you have a higher kh, you will have less chance of wild fluctuations, but you will also need to put more co2 into the water to drop the ph at all.

know your ph before you set everything up, then once it's running keep checking your ph every hour or 2 to make sure it's doing its job. it should stabilize within about half a day if you have a high enough kh. then just keep checking on it every few hours and make sure your fish aren't gasping for air or hanging out near the surface trying to breathe. this is a sign that there is too much co2 in your tank

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"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

moondog,

I just did water tests for pH and KH. KH is 3.36dH, and pH is 8.0. Not even 1ppm of CO2! Would I be aiming for at least 20ppm of CO2?

My KH test kit is a Nutrafin/Hagen Carbonate and General Hardness test kit. Does anyone else use this kit?

I'm wondering though about the instructions. In short they are:

1) Add water to the 5 mL line
2) Add 1 drop of KH Reagent into the test tube. Insert cap. Insert cap, shake well. A blue color should result (and it does). If the color of the mixture changes to yellow after adding the drop, the KH measure is below 10 mg/L (ppm) as CaCO3.
3) Continue to add a drop at a time and shake after each addition. Count drops and stop adding drops when color changes from blue to a yellow/lime color.
4) Multiply the total number of drops by 10 to determine the general hardness in mg/L (ppm) as calcium carbonate (CaCO3).

Ok! Would the first drop made in step 2 be added towards the total that I count in step 3? (6 drops). That would give me a higher KH of 3.92dH with 7 drops.

The conversion table they use to figure out dH is:

Multiply GH or KH (mg/L CaCO3) by x0.056 = dH

So 60 mg/L (ppm) of KH x 0.056 = 3.36 dKH

bala shark

Last edited by bala shark at 12-Feb-2005 14:01

yes, i have the same kit, and every drop counts towards the total kh. there should be a 10mL line, which is a more accurate test, but the 5mL line is pretty close. based on your kh, i think your target ph should be around 6.6. you should be able to reach that pretty easily if everything is working correctly. you can even go under that, but make sure your fish can handle it if your ph drops much below about 6.4

Last edited by moondog at 12-Feb-2005 14:54

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"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

Well got home not to long ago and setup the Hagen CO2 system. Filled it like suggested, and now it's just a matter of waiting the 2-10 hours for the bubbles to start coming out.

Just wondering, but do I have to mix the ingredients once their in the fermentation canister? Thanks

bala shark

Last edited by bala shark at 12-Feb-2005 19:28

it would be a good idea to mix them at some point, yes

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"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

Mmm hmmmmm... that may be why I'm not getting any bubbles (none that I've noticed). The mix has been sitting in the canister for about 17 hrs. Just stired it, guess I'll wait and see what happens! Should I just make a fresh batch instead?

bala shark

if nothing happens for 24 hours or so after you've mixed it then just make a new batch.

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"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman