DIY CO2 Idea? Good or bad?

[Freaksa]

Okay so ive got this idea in my head that i think might work? I need some imput though!

Most DIY Co2 involve the preasure being bult up in the bottle of sugar water and yeast! This mixture needs oxygen otherwise the yeast start to produce alcohol! Alcohol kills the yeast off slowely but surely? This is how i understand the yeast process.

Now heres my idea,

http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/attachment.php?attachmentid=2001&stc=1&d=1268670345

Would this work? I know you have the problem of not knowing when the Co2 runs out but i think for 1 it should last longer than usual(u should know how often you currently replace ur mixture!) Also this would help with the bubbles slowing down towards the end because of not enough preasure!

What you people think?
Any input :P

Freaksta

[Zoom]

The idea is good... I think the CO2 might get depleated a lot faster tho. Whenever the DIY yeast reactor slows down, they say you much shake up the bottle a bit... I think with the airstone in the bottle, this would constantly be churning up the mixture and might depleat the CO2 within a few days... I think.

The other concern is that with the rapid introduction of the CO2, the pH swing of the tank will be huge too.

[Algae Wizard]

I like to see that you are inventing ,but I see a few issues.

you will not know your Co2 output,because you are adding air into the system.

It will not show you when your fermenting has completed,but I guess you could use a drop checker in the tank.

test it in a bucket and see what happens.

[Ferryman]

i know this may be obvious, but gotta ask, wont the air curtain completely dispel the CO2 injection in the tank?

[Zoom]

It Might actually cause the CO2 to dissolve faster in the water. because the CO2 is being dispersed accross the entire tank. Dunnu? Maybe?

[Khalid]

Speculative: wont the CO2 reaction with the water eventually clog up the airstone in the tank and kaaboom yeast & sugar everywhere

[Zoom]

It will after a VERY long time... but if you clean out the airstone once every 4 months or so you should be fine.

[ewertb]

You have a good idea. As mentioned in my own post on a DIY CO2 experiment (http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/showthread.php?t=3164), the yeast method is inherently safe. Without O2, no CO2 can be produced and the process stops. From my experiments this naturally seems to happen somewhere below 0.5bar which isn't very high so really little chance of explosion. My air pump (Elite 802) delivers at around 1.7PSI/0.12bar pressure so feeding that into a yeast container will only add a negligible rise in pressure.

Taking the above into account, I've made some changes to your design that might improve the controlability of the system. By adding in a bypass line, check valve and shut-off valve as I indicate in red on your attached schematic, you'll be able to control the amount of CO2 entering your tank by redirecting the amount of air passing through the yeast container. More air, more CO2 produced and entering your tank and vice versa. Like Algae Wizard said however you will not be able to tell how many bubbles you put into your tank but that really doesn't matter as it's only an indication. Even with using a bubble counter the pressurized system guys still need to drop check the CO2 level in the tank.

Hope this helps?