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Yes. I have bottles of aged water that are dechlorinated and at room temp. Next time, I'm going to activate the yeast before pouring it in and I'm going to warm the water a little. .

Thanks for letting me know.

You should be using at least 2 of those Hagen's on a 46 gallon.

Hey!!!!!!!!!!!! I think I figured it out

The store I bought the unit from has a habit of having stuff in stock a long time. They still have medicated food from when tetra made it many years ago. That hasn't been in production for several years. The unit I picked off the shelf was quite dusty (the box). I'll bet the yeast is old.

I'm going to cook up a new batch of yeast as soon as I can get some with a good date.

My is on old yeast.

Last edited by Cory_Di at 18-Feb-2005 15:09

Although I'm getting good bubble production I have the system on a 46gallon so I'm not sure how much it will help.

But I think I see an improvement in my Wisteria.
I might add a DIY to supplement the hagen system.



My Scapes

It's likely my 67-68F basement .

I don't have any extra outlets and I'm already using strips in those outlets that are maxed out. So, I can't use the heater in a bucket of water method.

This may sound strange, but as slow as it is running, I am seeing a sudden burst of growth out of some Java Fern that started out as little tiny babies. They were growing slowly forever and then it seems almost overnight they have burst in growth.

I did a pH reading on my tank early in the AM when the lights first went on out of total darkness. It wasn't as light as 7.2, but not as dark as 7.6. It looked close to the 7.2 so I'll estimate 7.3. Towards evening, right before I shut off the tank light, it was the opposite and I'll estimate it to be approx 7.5, not quite as dark as 7.6 but darker than earlier.

I suppose this means I'm getting some co2. I have very little hornwort or other fast growing plants. Only a small, sickly sprig of tiger val, java fern (1 and some babies), java moss, banana plants (3), and some najas guadalupara (sp?). That is down to just two sprigs. I thinned it out as it was full of algae.

I have also noticed that the green velvet algae on my wood is turning more brown.

Time will tell.

Cory_Di,

The room tempeture is currently 73F. I have the cansister sitting next to the tank. When I put it on top of the canopy it does speed up alittle more. It's only the 4th day I've been using it, so I'll see how long it last. I'm using the mix that the system came with.



My Scapes

Tetra - what is the current room temp where the tank is at?

I would be so grateful for 1 bubble every 7 seconds.

Yes, I used water that was within the specified range, if not warmer. Next time, I will kick start the yeast before putting it in the way I use to when I made bread years ago.

I'm getting one bubble every 23 seconds after about 2 weeks now. I got up to 1 bubble every 12-15 seconds by setting it on top of the light fixture, but I don't like leaving it up there as it is unsteady.

Right now I'm getting about 5 bubbles at a time working their way thru the diffuser. Is that good? It's about one every 7 seconds.

My Scapes

1. There's no need to shake the canister under normal conditions.

2. It comes with a fitting to hang the canister on the back of the tank. If you can do it, I would suggest this is a good idea because it's likely to reduce the risk of back-syphoning and it keeps the canister at a steadier temperature (because the tank is always warm).

Di, when you put your water in the canister the first time, you described it as 'room temperature'. I believe Hagen recommends water of 20 - 30 deg C (68 - 86 deg F) to get the process started. Perhaps your water was a bit too cool?

I have one last suggestion, although it will probably just look too ugly to bother with. How about turning the canister around so it is suspended inside your tank instead of outside? Then the yeast mix will always be the temperature of your tank water. :88)

i dont think you should shake it, cause some of the mix might get into the air tube, just mix it.

EDIT: forgot to answer #2, at first it probably would because its the first bubble, but i think later on, it wouldnt matter.

Last edited by Azn_Devil at 15-Feb-2005 21:20

Just bought the Hagen co2 system last nite. Couple of quesitons that Hagen didn't address.

1. When you first set it up do you need to shake the cansister

2. If you put the cansister under your cabinet and it has to travel all the way up to the tank will that affect bubble production.

Thanks!

My Scapes

shannen, its the same thing as a DIY system but professionally made... just replace the 2 liter bottle with the canister, and the diffuser with this bubble counter.

i ordered mine last night still hasnt shipped tho...

i want plants :#(

I'm going to just give it more time and see if it speeds up.

I agree, the setup is nice. The cannister is nice too, but doesn't allow you to put as much in as a big DIY bottle.

i was running Diy co2 for a while before i when witht the pressurized system.. ive seen but am unfamilur witht he hagen system.. but my understanding of the yeast/suger mixture is the more yeast vs. suger the faster the bubble count... the more suger vs. yeast the longer the reaction lasts. again im not familar with the system your using but if its possilbe use more yeast and that should help a bit.

Good luck
-CJ

Di one of the reasons I had you link me to the product you are useing is because I thought I knew what it was.

I have seen this setup and have wondered myself how well it actually works.

If it doesn't turn out for you, I still might buy it, I like the defuser/buble counter thing, and heck that alone is worth the cost of the set up.

What ever you do, do not trash the set up. Hook the defuser to a DYI CO2 system.

After several days the Hagen co2 device is only running about 1 bubble every few minutes. I took someone's suggestion of putting the cannister in a bucket of warm water. That got things going to about 1 bubble every 15 seconds, but I didn't get the temp of the bucket water. I was hoping it would boost things and keep them going, hopefully to 1 bubble/s. Not! When the water cooled to room temp, the bubbles returned to their previous rate.

I then placed it on top of the light fixture - another suggestion. That has things running about 1 bubble every 1 to 1.5 minutes. Shaking the cannister gets lots of bubbles per second, but I just can't stand there shaking the darn thing.

I used the packaged activator (yeast) and stabilizer (supposedly baking soda). The basement is cold and likely less than 68F, which I believe is the problem. I can't warm it.

Does this mean DIY style co2 is not for my 20 long

Hello. I have this system too. I set it up on Feb. 2. The temp. in the room is 69 degress. Dont expect to see any good results for about 7-8 days. Mine is producing 1 buble every 5 seconds. I know it says one unit for every 20 gallons, but it seems like my plants are really starting to like it. Did you use dechlorinated whater when you put the water in the Canister? I did.

i just buy the small jars of active yeast and keep it in the fridge. they are about $5 and since i'm only using about 1/2 tsp every few weeks, i don't expect to need to get anymore for quite some time (since i don't do much baking with yeast )

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

At least here, fresh are being sold by the gram, while the dry yeasts are being sold prepacked, prebranded and posteffectvie.

the dry yeast is usually in the litle packages(or jars) and the fresh is in little blocks, both are ususally in the dairy section in the store. The fresh is normally pretty perishable and good for about 2 weeks after opening and can be frozen.

Steph~ who knows nothing about DIY C02 but tons about bread making

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I used to be Snow White, but I drifted.
~ Mae West

How do I tell the difference? What should I look for at the store?