DIY CO2 does not start

[Nemo]

Second time I've tried this now with no luck.

- 1 well rinsed 2L Pepsi bottle
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cups of warm-hot water to dissolve the sugar
- 4 cups of cold water : result is 6 cups luke warm sugar water
- 1 tsp baker's yeast (stored in the fridge)
- half a dozen shakes

I have a check valve in the line to prevent the tank water from siphoning
back into the bottle.

I get foam at the mix's surface but no sustained CO2 after 24 hrs. It seems
as if the culture just dies off after it gets started

Tap water parameters are:

pH ~ 8.0
gH ~ 3
kH ~ 2-3

In the second attempt, I used chlorine-chloramines remover in the water to
no avail.
The temperature in the house goes down to 16-17 oC during the day this time
of year. Could this be the problem? Do I need to insulate?

[RedForeman ©®]

my first, last and only attempt at a DIY CO2 setup, gave me the same
problems... I soon learned I had the check valve facing the wrong
direction....

--
RedForeman ©®
... not being happy today....


"Nemo" > wrote in message
...
> Second time I've tried this now with no luck.
>
> - 1 well rinsed 2L Pepsi bottle
> - 1 cup sugar
> - 2 cups of warm-hot water to dissolve the sugar
> - 4 cups of cold water : result is 6 cups luke warm sugar water
> - 1 tsp baker's yeast (stored in the fridge)
> - half a dozen shakes
>
> I have a check valve in the line to prevent the tank water from siphoning
> back into the bottle.
>
> I get foam at the mix's surface but no sustained CO2 after 24 hrs. It
seems
> as if the culture just dies off after it gets started
>
> Tap water parameters are:
>
> pH ~ 8.0
> gH ~ 3
> kH ~ 2-3
>
> In the second attempt, I used chlorine-chloramines remover in the water to
> no avail.
> The temperature in the house goes down to 16-17 oC during the day this
time
> of year. Could this be the problem? Do I need to insulate?
>
>

[Nemo]

"RedForeman ©®" > wrote in message
...
> my first, last and only attempt at a DIY CO2 setup, gave me the same
> problems... I soon learned I had the check valve facing the wrong
> direction....

LOL! You got me going there for a second. :).

[Dunter Powries]

Nemo > wrote in message
...
> Second time I've tried this now with no luck.
>
> - 1 well rinsed 2L Pepsi bottle
> - 1 cup sugar
> - 2 cups of warm-hot water to dissolve the sugar
> - 4 cups of cold water : result is 6 cups luke warm sugar water
> - 1 tsp baker's yeast (stored in the fridge)
> - half a dozen shakes
>
> I have a check valve in the line to prevent the tank water from siphoning
> back into the bottle.
>
> I get foam at the mix's surface but no sustained CO2 after 24 hrs. It
seems
> as if the culture just dies off after it gets started
>
> Tap water parameters are:
>
> pH ~ 8.0
> gH ~ 3
> kH ~ 2-3
>
> In the second attempt, I used chlorine-chloramines remover in the water to
> no avail.
> The temperature in the house goes down to 16-17 oC during the day this
time
> of year. Could this be the problem? Do I need to insulate?

Don't worry about air temperature. It may slow down CO2 production but will
not halt it altogether and will certainly not kill the yeasties. Assuming
the water is not too hot - over 110º - when you add the yeast, you have a
leak somewhere in the system.

I'll bet you a quarter it's leaking where the airline fits to the check
valve - sniff there and see if you can smell it.. I never use check valves
anymore. I just put the bottles up on the back of the tank (where they are
warmed by the lights) with the shortest possible line straight-shot into the
tank - one end siliconed into the DIY bottle, the other under water, nothing
in between.

If not at the check valve, sniff at the cap itself to see if it's leaking
out the screw-on bottle cap threads.

Remember, the CO2 gas has to build up enough chamber pressure to overcome
the pressure of the water it is entering. Even the most miniscule leaking
in the line is enough to lose most of your gas. I have had any number of
bottle rigs leak over the years. Some just never were any good and I never
figured out where they were leaking from but just had to replace anyway.
Quite often I have to reseal an airline into the bottle cap because the
pressure of repeated twisting has loosened the seal.

Good luck.

[Dacaprice]

"Nemo" > wrote in message >...
> Second time I've tried this now with no luck.
>
> - 1 well rinsed 2L Pepsi bottle
> - 1 cup sugar
> - 2 cups of warm-hot water to dissolve the sugar
> - 4 cups of cold water : result is 6 cups luke warm sugar water
> - 1 tsp baker's yeast (stored in the fridge)
> - half a dozen shakes
>
> I have a check valve in the line to prevent the tank water from siphoning
> back into the bottle.
>
> I get foam at the mix's surface but no sustained CO2 after 24 hrs. It seems
> as if the culture just dies off after it gets started
>
> Tap water parameters are:
>
> pH ~ 8.0
> gH ~ 3
> kH ~ 2-3
>
> In the second attempt, I used chlorine-chloramines remover in the water to
> no avail.
> The temperature in the house goes down to 16-17 oC during the day this time
> of year. Could this be the problem? Do I need to insulate?

First I want to say I feel your pain. I had trouble getting mine
started too. The temp in the house can very well be affecting your
culture. The colder the temp the more slowly the yeast produces.
Also, you might want to use 2 cups of sugar, as opposed to 1, and add
a tsp of baking soda that will help prolong the CO2 producing time of
the yeast. That's what works for me. Be wary that you can kill the
yeast if your water is too hot. Good Luck.

Chris

[Paulo]

Just to confuse a little more this is my recipe . Mine is working fine for a
week now.
My recipe:
6 cups of warm water
3/4 cup of sugar ( i used brown, dont have other one)
1 tsp of yeast
1/2 tsp baking soda

Still working....

--
Paulo
"Dacaprice" > wrote in message
om...
> "Nemo" > wrote in message
>...
> > Second time I've tried this now with no luck.
> >
> > - 1 well rinsed 2L Pepsi bottle
> > - 1 cup sugar
> > - 2 cups of warm-hot water to dissolve the sugar
> > - 4 cups of cold water : result is 6 cups luke warm sugar water
> > - 1 tsp baker's yeast (stored in the fridge)
> > - half a dozen shakes
> >
> > I have a check valve in the line to prevent the tank water from
siphoning
> > back into the bottle.
> >
> > I get foam at the mix's surface but no sustained CO2 after 24 hrs. It
seems
> > as if the culture just dies off after it gets started
> >
> > Tap water parameters are:
> >
> > pH ~ 8.0
> > gH ~ 3
> > kH ~ 2-3
> >
> > In the second attempt, I used chlorine-chloramines remover in the water
to
> > no avail.
> > The temperature in the house goes down to 16-17 oC during the day this
time
> > of year. Could this be the problem? Do I need to insulate?
>
> First I want to say I feel your pain. I had trouble getting mine
> started too. The temp in the house can very well be affecting your
> culture. The colder the temp the more slowly the yeast produces.
> Also, you might want to use 2 cups of sugar, as opposed to 1, and add
> a tsp of baking soda that will help prolong the CO2 producing time of
> the yeast. That's what works for me. Be wary that you can kill the
> yeast if your water is too hot. Good Luck.
>
> Chris

[Bitey]

If it's foaming at the surface then the culture is working but the CO2
is leaking. The most likely location is the tubing/bottle cap
junction. I used aquarium silicon but it just wouldn't stick well to
the plastic bottle cap. I used ShoeGoo and got an extremely solid
connection and upwards of 2 months' production.

[Peps]

Nemo wrote:
> Second time I've tried this now with no luck.
>
> - 1 well rinsed 2L Pepsi bottle
> - 1 cup sugar
> - 2 cups of warm-hot water to dissolve the sugar
> - 4 cups of cold water : result is 6 cups luke warm sugar water
> - 1 tsp baker's yeast (stored in the fridge)
> - half a dozen shakes
>
> I have a check valve in the line to prevent the tank water from siphoning
> back into the bottle.
>
> I get foam at the mix's surface but no sustained CO2 after 24 hrs. It seems
> as if the culture just dies off after it gets started
>
> Tap water parameters are:
>
> pH ~ 8.0
> gH ~ 3
> kH ~ 2-3
>
> In the second attempt, I used chlorine-chloramines remover in the water to
> no avail.
> The temperature in the house goes down to 16-17 oC during the day this time
> of year. Could this be the problem? Do I need to insulate?
>
>
The simple and sure fire way to tell if it is working and maybe leaking,
as opposed to not working, is to put your ear up to the bottle. If it is
working you will hear the fizzing noise.

[Nemo]

It was a leak at the contact between the line and the cap. Fixed it with
contact cement and bulldog liquid nails. Still suffering from intermittent
bubble production, though :(. I get a burst of bubbles through the airstone
when I shake the bottle, but then it goes ... nothing after a minute or so.

Thanks for all the replies!

[Dunter Powries]

Nemo > wrote in message
...
> It was a leak at the contact between the line and the cap. Fixed it with
> contact cement and bulldog liquid nails. Still suffering from
intermittent
> bubble production, though :(. I get a burst of bubbles through the
airstone
> when I shake the bottle, but then it goes ... nothing after a minute or
so.
>
> Thanks for all the replies!

I owe you a quarter.

Incidentally, I don't use an airstone anymore. It's just that much more
pressure for the gas to overcome, that much more likely for the CO2 to find
an unintended escape route. I've heard that the stone can get yucked-up
with goo (terms of art) although I confess I've never seen it.

Watch that seal at the line and cap. I've found that putting repeated
pressure on the connection what with screwing the cap on and off week after
week will often cause the seal to fail eventually.

[nemo]

"Dunter Powries" <fech.redcap@spedlin> wrote in message
...
>
> I owe you a quarter.
>
> Incidentally, I don't use an airstone anymore. It's just that much more
> pressure for the gas to overcome, that much more likely for the CO2 to
find
> an unintended escape route. I've heard that the stone can get yucked-up
> with goo (terms of art) although I confess I've never seen it.
>
> Watch that seal at the line and cap. I've found that putting repeated
> pressure on the connection what with screwing the cap on and off week
after
> week will often cause the seal to fail eventually.

It is more like me owing you the quarter :). I'll be getting rid of the
airstone soon and replace it with hagen's bubble counter/diffuser. It is
only about $20 at SuperPet here and will be worth it.

What I did to overcome slow bubble production is use two generator bottles
in parallel using a T connector. It works great, but I still can get to 10
ppm. I think I'll have to replace my Dynaflo power filter with a canister
type + spray bar arrangement. I have too much turbulence/aeration in the
tank water now.