fish tanks and co2

[Growler]

Okay this is going to sound a bit strange but!!!!

My wife has decided that she wants a planted fish tank which will need a supply of CO2

having read about it I'm put off by several things

the cost of a set up using a gas cylinder

the fact that as the cylinder empties it can dump excess gas into the tank and kill all the fish!

so I found a site which tells you how to make a DIY system and yes you've guessed it uses yeast cultures

What I want to pick your brains for is which yeast would give me a slow ferment at room temp( no big dips in temp) and which would ferment the most out of a suger solution :thumb:

 

[Mark1964]

Have a gander at white labs web site the attenuation and make up of most of the yeasts are on there :thumb:

 

[graysalchemy]

CO2 and Fish :nono: . I am confused surely the fish would produce enough CO2 for the plants and the plants provide o2. We used to use co2 to stun salmon on the fish farm I worked on in scotland prior to bleeding them.

 

[Aleman]

Actually they don't

Given a proper set up using a 6.35Kg cylinder is one of the most effective ways of supplying CO2 for a planted tank. Ideally you are looking to increase the CO2 level up to about 10ppm, which in my tank (54 by 22 by 18) requires 4 bubbles per minute through the diffuser (During the daylight period, during the nigh photo period a solenoid shuts the CO2 supply off).

Look at the Dennerle and Bioplast systems they have done tests that show even at levels of 250ppm CO2 tetras do not exhibit any signs of stress, plus in a warm Tropical environment getting 250ppm of CO2 in the water is incredibly difficult . . .and would probably require something like 1L per minute of CO2 to get enough to remain in solution . . . that would empty a cylinder in very short order.

I have a Bioplast system on my planted tank, and it functions flawlessly . . . Dennerle is another well respected manufacturer (with price tags to match) but eBay via China is a way of buying a clone of these systems at a very good price.

If the system you buy is like mine the main regulator bolts onto a standard CO2 cylinder (and A fire extinguisher ) then cost of CO2 cylinders is not that much. There are some though (from aquatic suppliers/manufactures) that have a much smaller fitting, and the cost the earth to refill. A 6.35 Kg cylinder lasts me something like 2.5 to 3 years.

 

[Growler]

have you ever had a problem with excess gas being dumped into the tank as the cylinder empties?

 

[graysalchemy]

Not such a daft idea after all. We must have been putting in a hell of a lot of co2 to stun 20 tonne of salmon a day :lol: :lol:

 

[Aleman]

have you ever had a problem with excess gas being dumped into the tank as the cylinder empties?

:hmm: Not in the last 15 Years. Trying to work out how it would happen as it's fed by a primary reducing regulator then into a needle valve to control the flow (Bubble) rate :wha: The time there would be excess gas would be when a 'New' Cylinder was connected.