RM...........here are some links to some good sites that have the proper bulbs

g_in_k_o said the following on 12/31/2007 3:23 PM:

snip

You can bubble your own CO2 with yeast, sugar and water in a 2 liter soda
bottle. It's a pain to keep feeding the yeast, but it's pretty cheap and
does a good job for many plants. Google "DIY CO2" should get some info to you.

URL: http://thereeftank.com/forums/showthread.php?t=90039&page=23

About half way down that page is a section where the guy posted pictures
and instructions on how to make a DIY CO2 generator. I found that
article while researching for a reef tank. I made one two nights ago and
it works good. Too good in fact. I double dosed the yeast trying to jump
start my plant tank and ran into a problem worse than recharging the
yeast. Trying to regulate the CO2. Instead of bending a stiff piece of
tubing, I simply used flex tubing and ran it through the bottom of the
strainer (after drilling a hole for it). The problem is that it produces
so much CO2 that the bubbles actually build up and cause my filter to
"dry run" for about a half a second every minute or so. I am going to
have to put a T in it and split it up. Impossible to regulate.

--
Randy
Chance Favors The Prepared Mind

AquariumFatasies said the following on 12/31/2007 8:58 PM:
On Dec 31, 7:40 pm, Randy Webb wrote:

snip

URL:http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/hikksnotathome/fishtank/index.html

If, for some reason, the pictures don't load, let me know and I can
email them directly to you. The very last picture the power head is not
attached with tie strips because I bought a kit to mount the power head
on the back of the tank with suction cups and found the filters for
power heads. They were simply put on in an X pattern so that they didn't
lock the filter into the rock.

For yours, if it doesn't have an intake tube, and only has an inlet
area, you can use a piece of air conditioner filter for a window unit,
wrap your pump in it, and use rubber bands to hold it on.

snip

I am not knocking youir filter, but to be h onest I sure wuld not
want all that in the tank.

OK, so you wouldn't want a rock, a power head and a filter in a tank.
Novel idea. JFTR, it is in a 55 gallon tank and it is actually small for
that size tank.

IMHO its just as easy to stick a strainer piece into the powerheads
inlet tube and if needed then slip on a foam / sponge filter sleeve
that tyupically comes with a Pondmaster or Danner Mag 3 or 5 sized
piump or use the foam sponge filters that are made for the Maxi Jet
like of pumps.............

Hmmm. Have you read the entire thread? Perhaps you should and you will
come to realize why I used what I did. I used it for more reasons than
just the filter.

An even easier solution would have been to get a strainer for the power
head and then put a sponge filter on it. Not near as much satisfaction
in it though.

The "rock" appears to be a portion of concrete that was evidenlty poured
around a 4 x 4 post or so and it appears to be almost as big around as
the bottom of that bucket............

Nice to see you agree with my description of it. And yes, it is almost
as big around as the five gallon bucket I had it sitting on.

just way too much "material" for a little 4 x 4 area of foam to be
exposed and do the work.

Actually, there is twice that much area of filter exposed (It isn't
actually foam, it is a plastic media for wet/dry filters). The exposed
area of the filter is also on the bottom of it. And, testing it with a
flow meter from the local reef store shows that I do not have restricted
flow. The output is the same with and without the filter on the power
head. The advantage I have is more area for biological filtration. I
wouldn't even begin to guess at the surface area of the filter itself.

A typical foam filter sleeve has approx the same square inches of
fitler surface and needs no "rock"

I can't find filter sleeves where I live. I don't order from the
Internet for personal reasons. I prefer to see what I am buying before I
buy it so I can make sure it is going to work. The only filter sleeves
you can find here are if you buy another power head to go with it. I
need another power head about as much as Methuselah needs another does
of ugliness.

Second problem is that without the rock, the filter I have has enough
buoyancy that it will actually float my power head in the tank. I could
buy a suction cup setup to mount it to the side of the tank but I chose
not to. I actually like the rock.

In the end, it is nothing more than a way to show people how they can
come up with ideas/solutions of there own. Whether it is by choice or by
need.

--
Randy
Chance Favors The Prepared Mind

On Jan 1, 10:02*am, Randy Webb wrote:
AquariumFatasies said the following on 12/31/2007 8:58 PM:

On Dec 31, 7:40 pm, Randy Webb wrote:

snip

URL:http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/hikksnotathome/fishtank/index.html

If, for some reason, the pictures don't load, let me know and I can
email them directly to you. The very last picture the power head is not
attached with tie strips because I bought a kit to mount the power head
on the back of the tank with suction cups and found the filters for
power heads. They were simply put on in an X pattern so that they didn't
lock the filter into the rock.

For yours, if it doesn't have an intake tube, and only has an inlet
area, you can use a piece of air conditioner filter for a window unit,
wrap your pump in it, and use rubber bands to hold it on.

snip

I am not knocking youir filter, but to *be h onest I sure wuld not
want all that in the tank.

OK, so you wouldn't want a rock, a power head and a filter in a tank.
Novel idea. JFTR, it is in a 55 gallon tank and it is actually small for
that size tank.

IMHO its just as easy to stick a strainer piece into the powerheads
inlet tube and if needed then slip on a foam / sponge filter sleeve
that tyupically comes with a Pondmaster or Danner Mag 3 or 5 sized
piump or use the foam sponge filters that are made for the Maxi Jet
like of pumps.............

Hmmm. Have you read the entire thread? Perhaps you should and you will
come to realize why I used what I did. I used it for more reasons than
just the filter.

An even easier solution would have been to get a strainer for the power
head and then put a sponge filter on it. Not near as much satisfaction
in it though.

The "rock" appears to be a portion of concrete that was evidenlty poured
around a 4 x 4 post or so and it appears to be almost as big around as
the bottom of that bucket............

Nice to see you agree with my description of it. And yes, it is almost
as big around as the five gallon bucket I had it sitting on.

just way too much "material" *for a little 4 x 4 area of foam to be
exposed and do the work.

Actually, there is twice that much area of filter exposed (It isn't
actually foam, it is a plastic media for wet/dry filters). The exposed
area of the filter is also on the bottom of it. And, testing it with a
flow meter from the local reef store shows that I do not have restricted
flow. The output is the same with and without the filter on the power
head. The advantage I have is more area for biological filtration. I
wouldn't even begin to guess at the surface area of the filter itself.

A typical foam filter sleeve has approx the same square inches of
fitler surface and needs no "rock"

I can't find filter sleeves where I live. I don't order from the
Internet for personal reasons. I prefer to see what I am buying before I
buy it so I can make sure it is going to work. The only filter sleeves
you can find here are if you buy another power head to go with it. I
need another power head about as much as Methuselah needs another does
of ugliness.

Second problem is that without the rock, the filter I have has enough
buoyancy that it will actually float my power head in the tank. I could
buy a suction cup setup to mount it to the side of the tank but I chose
not to. I actually like the rock.

In the end, it is nothing more than a way to show people how they can
come up with ideas/solutions of there own. Whether it is by choice or by
need.

--
Randy
Chance Favors The Prepared Mind

Well I sure am not knocking it so don't think that I am. I use lots of
powerheads in my tanks both salt and fresh, and stay as far away form
suction cups as I can as I am not fond of sand storms of holes blown
in the substrate no matter if its gravel or sand, when a suction cup
lets loose. Been ther done that too many times. I make brackets to
hang from the top and fix my powerheads to them at the disired depth
and angles.......or I use the typical mag float tank cleaners and
attach the powerhead to the magnet that goes inside the tank. I use
Weldon SOlvent to glue the pump and mount tothe magnet clenaer and
have yet to have one ever come loose on me and create a sandstorm
since I started using it this way in many many years.........I
happened tofind a bunch of mag cleaners on super clearance sale one
time and took advantage of them this way......To clean them its easy
to slide the powerhead up from outside the tank and then just pop the
mag cleaner halfs apart just like the typical mag cleaner is
used.......

The blue foam is typical of what they sell for filter media in many
many LFS and its what is used in the Oceanic Bio cubes......what I am
getting at is the amount of area exposed is still only abojut the size
of my tyupical sleeve filters, unless you have that chunk of concrete
(rock) on its side like a wheel in which course then it would have the
bottom portion also to act as a filter. But once the filter material
gets some junk pulled in its not any different in action than the
typical foam filters like in the aqua clear HOB filters,. It starts to
restrict flow and becomes blocked and pump works against more suction
and produces less outflow. its only natural for less intake and
outflow to occur when filter media of any kind gets detrius sucked in
to it.

On Dec 29 2007, 12:27*pm, g_i_n_k_o wrote:
In rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants Reel McKoi wrote:
:
: I'm starting to think it's the nitrates and phosphates that come right from
: my tap! *And the rain water I'm using is catching dust and providing more
: algae nutrients........ *a losing battle unless I go for some expensive pads
: to remove these nutrients.

As a rule to conserve money, I try to avoid all things that have expensive
replacement pads, cartridges and other such items. *I don't believe in most
of them as to actually working as advertised. *

One exception is a good Reverse Osmosis unit. *It needs replacement cartridges
about once a year. *The RO water is pretty pure and I add back the desired
hardness with baking soda and something called GH Booster that I get really
cheap from aquariumfertilizer.com. * The waste water comes after the carbon
block filter, so I use this for hard water tanks (i.e. goldfish and most
live bearers). *So the money I would have spent on de-chlor chemicals instead
goes into replacement RO system filter cartridges.

Another exception is a CO2 tank with regulator. *This really helps and once
you have the system, it only costs around $20.00 for a refill that lasts more
than 6 months. *I wouldn't even try growing plants in a high light setup without
adding CO2.

Then you need to follow a fertilizer dosing schedule. *I use something called
the "Estimative Index". *Do a google search on "Tom Barr" "Estimative Index"
to get the details. *I get raw chemicals for nutrients at aquariumfertilizer.com
and follow the plan with the 50 percent weekly water change. *There are other
plans out there, but EI works well for me.

Most of my hight light tank problems went away when I started doing the above
three things. *There are other ways to do this, but it works for me and is
relatively inexpensive (long-term) compared to other ways.

For medium light tanks with fish, you don' need to do much of this. *I have
good success by using hard or RO softened water and just adding trace elements
once a week or so. *The fish poop provides enough macro nutrients for a
medium light tank. *It's much simpler, so that's why I suggest people start
out with something easier before doing the high light, high maintenance tank.

Hope this is helpful. *There are many ways to do this. *I think this is one
of the easiest and least expensive ways.

In all reality if your using tap water and doing nothing to it but
adding dechlor or just letting it age or using rain water odds are
your dumping phosphates and nitrates into the tank with each water
change. Its the primary reason folks like to use RO or RODI water as
it eliminates a loot of potential for this sort of problem. You can
get a fairly decent and suitable rodi unit for about a hundred bucks
on Ebay or from Filtersdirect.com, and then it will cost perhaps
$25-30 a year or two to replace carbon and spun fiber filters and DI
resin,.......but you will not need to be concerned with declorinating
water any more for a fish tank and your water will be essentially free
of elements that create problems in due time. Yes, in Freshwater you
will have to re-add certain elements, but a contianer of those
compounds will last a long long time and they are not expensive
anyhow. RO or RODI water and proper lights makes for a lot less
work and a lot more viewing and enjoyment of a fish tank. I have
three RODI units in operation as I do use a lot of water each week in
all my tanks. I have one in the barn feed room which is essentially a
fish room, I have one in the laundry room and one in the hall bath
with has been converted to the "centralized" fish keeping room as
well................The laundry room RODI is hooke dup mainly for auto
top off of my sal****er system and is used to make sal****er for water
changes if I run out of natural salt water. The other two are
primarily used for the coffee maker (ro water only) or rodi for the
freshwater tanks etc. All waste water produced (about 3:1 or so)
during use in making rodi water from these units is also used for
watering plants indoors or out so its not wasted.

LIke I stated previously, I add no additional supplements for plants
of any kind, and I can maintain water lillies (miniature Helvola
Chromia's ) in bloom for most of a full year........The naturally
occuring nutrients also provide sufficient food for my "marginal" type
plants that I have growing in my custom water filled hood that also
provides a place to mount the lights for the tank itself, and provides
a huge flow through bio filter on top of the tank where I can also
grow marginal plants l like frog bit, iris, small taro, water celery,
Hosta, Chameleon etc etc with just a simple hanging plant light above
it all specifically just for the marginal plants and it plays no part
in keeping the tanks submerged plants in shape...........Plus that
hood has added an additonal 12 gal of water on a 29 gal tank but in
the process it eliminated a hang on back fitler , and only added a
decent powerhead capable of pumping water up intothe hood itslef (I
use a MaxiJet 1200 powerhead for this purpose) so there is relatively
little filtration equipment etc inside my hydronic hood
tank...........................

AquariumFatasies said the following on 1/1/2008 1:45 PM:

snip

For someone who proclaims to have a "real Usenet" account and a "real
posting agent", I would think you would know how to snip and interleave
responses properly. If nothing else, it makes it a lot easier to follow
what you are saying.

Well I sure am not knocking it so don't think that I am.

After reading it 10 times or so, that is still the indication I get from
reading your reply.

I use lots of powerheads in my tanks both salt and fresh, and stay as
far away form suction cups as I can as I am not fond of sand storms
of holes blown in the substrate no matter if its gravel or sand, when
a suction cup lets loose. Been ther done that too many times.

I use them in my 90 gallon tank but they aren't there as much to hold
the power head up as they are too keep them from leaning over. The power
heads sit on top of uplift tubes from an UGF and the suction cups are
there solely to keep them from wanting to "push" on the tubes.

I make brackets to hang from the top and fix my powerheads to them
at the disired depth and angles.......

Do I dare ask what you make those brackets from?

or I use the typical mag float tank cleaners and attach the
powerhead to the magnet that goes inside the tank. I use Weldon
SOlvent to glue the pump and mount to the magnet clenaer and have
yet to have one ever come loose on me and create a sandstorm
since I started using it this way in many many years.........

Does Google Groups have a spell checker?

I happened tofind a bunch of mag cleaners on super clearance sale one
time and took advantage of them this way......To clean them its easy
to slide the powerhead up from outside the tank and then just pop the
mag cleaner halfs apart just like the typical mag cleaner is
used.......

I don't care for the magnets personally. Nothing more than a gimmick so
that people don't have to maintain a tank properly. I guess that is one
decent use for them as they aren't good for anything else to me. As long
as you have power heads that are weak enough that they can't turn the
magnets on the glass. And, as long as you are satisfied with the flow
you get from having all your pumps on the edges and none in the middle.

The blue foam is typical of what they sell for filter media in many
many LFS and its what is used in the Oceanic Bio cubes......

That is precisely what it is (I even said that earlier in this thread).

what I am getting at is the amount of area exposed is still only
abojut the size of my tyupical sleeve filters, unless you have that
chunk of concrete (rock) on its side like a wheel in which course
then it would have the bottom portion also to act as a filter.

I would look up where I said it but I don't feel like it. The rock is
not turned on its side, it is raised up off the bottom of the tank so
that water actually flows through the bottom as much as it does the top.
As for cleaning it, I simply turn the power head off and vacuum under
it. Trivial stuff.

But once the filter material gets some junk pulled in its not any
different in action than the typical foam filters like in the aqua
clear HOB filters,.

That is true. But, I can clean mine without ever getting wet. I don't
even have to reach in the water. That can't be said for the foam filters.

Either way, people can do it however they want. There is not a solid
rule on how you do it. Be innovative. Be creative. Otherwise, your tank
just looks like something anybody could go in Walmart/Petsmart/Petco and
put together.

It starts to restrict flow and becomes blocked and pump works against
more suction and produces less outflow. its only natural for less intake and
outflow to occur when filter media of any kind gets detrius sucked in
to it.

I fool with my tank nearly every day right now because I still don't
have it set up the way I want. The filter gets cleaned off every day. It
is part of the maintenance process. If a filter is left so long that it
starts to get clogged then the tank has more problems than a clogged filter.

--
Randy
Chance Favors The Prepared Mind

On Jan 2, 3:20*pm, Randy Webb wrote:
AquariumFatasies said the following on 1/1/2008 1:45 PM:

snip

For someone who proclaims to have a "real Usenet" account and a "real
posting agent", I would think you would know how to snip and interleave
responses properly. If nothing else, it makes it a lot easier to follow
what you are saying.

Well then Rand **** you and the horse you rode in on.

Well I sure am not knocking it so don't think that I am.

After reading it 10 times or so, that is still the indication I get from
reading your reply.

Well you have to admit irt doe slook like a freaking kindergarden kid
had a home project to do......or maybe one of the "disabled" types at
Goodwill! Your welcome to read what you want into it now, since yyou
still though I was knocking it, so now you can pretty dam well bet I
am knocking that pityfull what-the-**** it ever is.

I use lots of powerheads in my tanks both salt and fresh, and stay as
far away form suction cups as I can as I am not fond of sand storms
of holes blown in the substrate no matter if its gravel or sand, when
a suction cup lets loose. Been ther done that too many times.

I use them in my 90 gallon tank but they aren't there as much to hold
the power head up as they are too keep them from leaning over. The power
heads sit on top of uplift tubes from an UGF and the suction cups are
there solely to keep them from wanting to "push" on the tubes.

Simple things for simple folks.......your filter whatever attests to
that!

I make brackets to hang from the top and fix my powerheads to them
at the disired depth and angles.......

Do I dare ask what you make those brackets from?
Dam right, its classified. I may have even sent you some material but
you just had to start to be a horses er ah make that TYNKs ass and
assume ****! Do without, you would onoly make it look like a disabled
persons project anyhow.and it would be a waste of good
materials..............

or I use the typical mag float tank cleaners and attach the
powerhead to the magnet that goes inside the tank. I use Weldon
SOlvent to glue the pump and mount to the magnet clenaer and have
yet to have one ever come loose on me and create a sandstorm
since I started using it this way in many many years.........

Does Google Groups have a spell checker?

**** no and eveni f it did, I do not see a need to use it for the
likes of assholes like you or the majority that infest these groups...

I happened tofind a bunch of mag cleaners on super clearance sale one
time and took advantage of them this way......To clean them its easy
to slide the powerhead up from outside the tank and then just pop the
mag cleaner halfs apart just like the typical mag cleaner is
used.......

I don't care for the magnets personally. Nothing more than a gimmick so
that people don't have to maintain a tank properly. I guess that is one
decent use for them as they aren't good for anything else to me. As long
as you have power heads that are weak enough that they can't turn the
magnets on the glass. And, as long as you are satisfied with the flow
you get from having all your pumps on the edges and none in the middle.

Your certainly a ****ed up paranoid idiot Randy.gimmicks my ass,. Your
just cheap and stupid and your filter and power head **** proves that
point 110%

The blue foam is typical of what they sell for filter media in many
many LFS and its what is used in the Oceanic Bio cubes......

That is precisely what it is (I even said that earlier in this thread).

So whjy are you trying to say in the prvious posty its some high
fancey shamancey material,. why not just simply say its filter media
foam.duh, your a real dumbass Randy

what I am getting at is the amount of area exposed is still only
abojut the size of my tyupical sleeve filters, unless *you have that
chunk of concrete (rock) on its side like a wheel in which course
then it would have the bottom portion also to act as a filter. *

I would look up where I said it but I don't feel like it. The rock is
not turned on its side, it is raised up off the bottom of the tank so
that water actually flows through the bottom as much as it does the top.
As for cleaning it, I simply turn the power head off and vacuum under
it. Trivial stuff.

Your whole life is trivial Randy, and your lazy to boot. Too lazy to
go look up what you may or may not have posted ..Laziness shows in
yur powerhead / filter thingy whjat ever you want to call
it........but the term Crap or mess fits it perfectly.

But once the filter material gets some junk pulled in its not any
different in action than the typical foam filters like in the aqua
clear HOB filters,.

That is true. But, I can clean mine without ever getting wet. I don't
even have to reach in the water. That can't be said for the foam filters.

Says who, the maker of such a beautiful assinine piece of crap. It
belongs on the bottomof a lake or a landfill Randy............it
sucks...........but then it probably adds a touch of class to your
trailer.

Either way, people can do it however they want. There is not a solid
rule on how you do it. Be innovative. Be creative. Otherwise, your tank
just looks like something anybody could go in Walmart/Petsmart/Petco and
put together.

Yea, inovative ..hahhahahahahaha and crude too!

It starts to restrict flow and becomes blocked and pump works against
more suction and produces less outflow. its only natural for less intake and
outflow to occur when *filter media of any kind gets detrius sucked in
to it.

I fool with my tank nearly every day right now because I still don't
have it set up the way I want. The filter gets cleaned off every day. It
is part of the maintenance process. If a filter is left so long that it
starts to get clogged then the tank has more problems than a clogged filter.

AquariumFatasies said the following on 1/2/2008 5:07 PM:
On Jan 2, 3:20 pm, Randy Webb wrote:
AquariumFatasies said the following on 1/1/2008 1:45 PM:

snip

For someone who proclaims to have a "real Usenet" account and a "real
posting agent", I would think you would know how to snip and interleave
responses properly. If nothing else, it makes it a lot easier to follow
what you are saying.

Well then Rand **** you and the horse you rode in on.

A little thin skinned are we? I tried to give you the benefit of the
doubt and you have shown your true colors. Thankfully, it didn't take
long for you to do it either.

As for your lame attempt at flaming me, I have been flamed far worse by
far better than you so try again son, you failed.

--
Randy
Chance Favors The Prepared Mind

"Larry Blanchard" wrote in message
news
On Tue, 25 Dec 2007 07:40:31 -0800, AquariumFatasies wrote:

I'll bet you a coffee that proper bulbs (no
more than 2x40Watters of the correct kelvin temps and "PROPER"
reflectors will be more than enough light for "ANY" Freshwater plants
you can possibly grow in a 55 gal tank.

I'm not so sure about that. They may be sufficient at first, but light
output seems to drop off fairly quickly. I've had good luck with the
proverbial 2 watts per gallon in tanks of normal depth.

Even then I'd use the Tropica website and stay away from any plants they
describe as needing high light.

As far as a homemade reflector, I used aluminum flashing in a couple of
homemade hoods. Certainly no work of art, but seems to work. Just make
sure the flashing you buy is polished on at least one side.
============================================
For now I'm leaving the lights as is on my tanks. I've cut back feeding to
twice a day and cut back the lighting to 10 hours a day. I stopped adding
Flourish Excel and see a small improvement. :-)
--

RM....
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(ö

"g_in_k_o" wrote in message
...
In rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants Reel McKoi
wrote:
:
: Where does the water in nature get the CO2 from?
:
High tech, high light planted aquariums are not at all natural, they only
appear to be so :-)

In nature, a relatively small amount of CO2 dissolves into water. If you
super-saturate the water with CO2, plants that can barely survive at best
under water become showcase specimens. This is because CO2 is a primary
limiting factor in underwater plants.

It should then also enter aquarium water and be added by the fish as they
breathe.

Even in medium light, supplementing with CO2 doubles the growth of plants.
This tends to help the plants more than the algae, so it gives more
return for your effort than other costly things to try.

You can bubble your own CO2 with yeast, sugar and water in a 2 liter soda
bottle. It's a pain to keep feeding the yeast, but it's pretty cheap and
does a good job for many plants. Google "DIY CO2" should get some info to
you.

: How much are you spending yearly for the fertilizers, the RO unit, the
: electricity to run it etc?

Dry fertilizers are cheap, shipping is not. Order several years worth
with a few people and your annual cost will probably drop to less than
$20 a year.

I have no one to share an order with. No one I know grows aquarium plants
although they keep fish.

RO and CO2 units cost several hundred dollars up front, but annual
maintenance after that is pretty low.

All my costs get dwarfed by the electricity bill. Lights with efficient
reflectors lets you run the fixture for fewer hours and use less tubes.
Still I have more than a dozen fixtures, only a few have optimal
reflectors:

4 tube * 54 watt T5 HO tek Light, 8 hours/day
4 tube * 24 watt T5 HO tek Light, 8 hours/day
2 tube * 32 watt T8, 12 hours/day
2 tube * 32 watt T8 overdriven, 12 hours/day
2 tube * 28 watt T5 strip light * 4 strips, 12 hours/day
2 tube * 14 watt T5 strip light * 4 strips, 12 hours/day
1 tube * 32 watt T8 modified strip light with good reflector
1 120 watt PC hydroponic fixture over large cube tank 8 hours/day
1 96 watt PC "quad tube", 12 hours/day, to be replaced.

Add up the kilowatt hours and plug into your local rate :-)

Electricity where I live isn't very expensive.
--

RM....
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(ö

"Randy Webb" wrote in message
...
g_in_k_o said the following on 12/31/2007 3:23 PM:

snip

You can bubble your own CO2 with yeast, sugar and water in a 2 liter soda
bottle. It's a pain to keep feeding the yeast, but it's pretty cheap and
does a good job for many plants. Google "DIY CO2" should get some info
to you.

URL: http://thereeftank.com/forums/showthread.php?t=90039&page=23

About half way down that page is a section where the guy posted pictures
and instructions on how to make a DIY CO2 generator. I found that article
while researching for a reef tank. I made one two nights ago and it works
good. Too good in fact. I double dosed the yeast trying to jump start my
plant tank and ran into a problem worse than recharging the yeast. Trying
to regulate the CO2. Instead of bending a stiff piece of tubing, I simply
used flex tubing and ran it through the bottom of the strainer (after
drilling a hole for it). The problem is that it produces so much CO2 that
the bubbles actually build up and cause my filter to "dry run" for about a
half a second every minute or so. I am going to have to put a T in it and
split it up. Impossible to regulate.
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Thanks Randy but I really don't have the time to mess with something like
that. I can kill all my fish if I make a mistake.
--

RM....
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
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