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I printed out the article about how to make your own CO2 system, it was a great article. The question is this: Why only 2 cups of liquid in a 2 litre bottle? My Hagen system fills the whole canister and I was wodering if the empty space is needed for some reason that's all. I am about to embark on a new quest for a larger CO2 canister, this time I'm going the traditional pop bottle, tubing sealed to the lid type of canister and that question occured to me as I was putting it together.
Another silly question; where do you put the bottle while it's hooked up? My Hagen bottle has it's own little way of hanging on the tank, do I have to rig up a hanger for the 2L bottle, when I had the wine bottle attached and sitting on a table beside the tank, some of the tank water siphoned into the bottle, apparantly this is not a desirable thing to have happen, so I am wondering how to prevent it for when my new set-up is ready, the sealant is curing right now and it should be ready tomorrow afternoon.
I have acquired some Nottingham brewer's yeast free of charge from a beer making supply shop, soon my house will fill with the yeasty smell of my CO2 production, I'm sure my craving for beer will increase tenfold as the aroma begins to permeate the house, what a hardship! Happy St Paddy's Day everyone!

"If you're afraid you'll make a mistake, you won't make anything."
-Family Circus

I thought the mixture bubbled up alot and if you don't leave the extra space it would overflow into the tank. I wonder why the hagen system doesn't have that problem.
If you set the bottle on the lights the heat from the lights will increase the co2 production while on and decrease while off. Mildly of course but it can be useful especially if your house is kept cool. Above the tank also means water won't flow back into your co2 bottle should something happen but a higher chance of yeast mixture bubbling over into the tank. When set below the tank you want to use a check valve. Otherwise just set it anywhere it won't get knocked over.

The light fixture is a Coralife Aquaplant fixture on plastic legs, it doesn't have a flat top either, so I don't think that would work. Plus the tank is in my living room and I would like to hide as much equipment as possible. I think I'll try to figure out how to hang it beside the other bottle. I'm going to try having both of them going together to increase the CO2 as much as possible. I just put a check valve on the Hagen bottle and the CO2 stopped bubbling, I'll give it overnight to see if it gets going again. The new set-up already has a check valve and the mixture is made, hopefully by this time tomorrow I'll have bubbles coming out like crazy.

"If you're afraid you'll make a mistake, you won't make anything."
-Family Circus

"Why only 2 cups of liquid in a 2 litre bottle?"

I'm not sure you have the right directions with that mix. The one I've used forever is 2 cups warm liquid then add another 4, making 6 cups total.

Make sure you use a check valve to keep the tank from back siphioning.

^_^

Thanks Babelfish! Wingsdlc gave me his recipe for DIY CO2 and it calls for cups of liquid in total, it seems to be doing fine now, I have 2 2L bottles running on the 25 gallon tank now.

Icky ooze(whiteis and thick) is coming out of or is growing on the ladder where the CO2 comes out in my 10 gallon. I have taken it out of the tank, rinsed and srubbed it but it is still there, it is not present in the 25 gallon ladder. What is it and how do I get rid of it? The fish don't seemed bothered by it at all, I just don't like it and think it needs to be gone.

"If you're afraid you'll make a mistake, you won't make anything."
-Family Circus