Aquarium DIY CO2

This has been done to death but I had to post my first, albeit very simple DIY project.

OK, I have a 10G planted tank and I wanted to give my plants a boost so I decided to set up a simple DIY CO2 system.

I started with the following:

1.75lt Bottle
Jam Jar
Suction Cups
Sugar
Baking Yeast
Diffuser
2m Airline 6mm tubing
In-Line Valve
Non-Return Valve
Drill (Drill bit a fraction smaller than the airline)
Baking Soda / Bicarb of Soda (Not in the picture)

I started by drilling 1 hole into the lid of the 1.75lt bottle and threading the airline tubing about an inch into it. Notice I have cut the airline at an angle, this made threading a LOT easier!



Next I drilled 2 holes into the jam jar lid, this is going to act as my bubble counter. Measure out the length of airline going from the 1.75lt to the jar, please make sure that you measure to the bottom of the jar and not just to the lid as this length of tubing will need to be under the water. Once you are happy with the length cut the tubing at an angle and thread through the jar lid, until you get close to the bottom of the jar.



Next I cut the length of airline going from the bottle to the jar in half and installed the in-line valve. I added this because I wanted control over the amount of CO2 coming from the yeast, I will start off slow around 1 bubble per 2 - 3 seconds in the bubble counter and move up from there depending on how the plants and water react. 
NOTE - Please make sure the In-Line valve is not shut when the CO2 starts, you could end up clearing up a nasty yeast mixture.



Thread about an inch of airline tubing into the second hole of the jam jar lid, making sure it will be above the water level (jar will be about a 3rd full). Cut the airline, about 6 - 12inches above the lid and install the non-return valve, this will make sure you don't siphon your tank by mistake. What I did now, was to install everything and measure out the airline tubing going from the non-return valve to the bottom of the tank or where you want your diffuser to sit and then add another 6 inches for slack. When I was happy with that I cut the tubing and added the Diffuser.



Now for the Yeast mix, there are so many different options around so just pick one that is easier for you to get hold of.
I used 2 cups of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of baking yeast and 1/4 teaspoon of Bicarb of soda, mix all this together and use a funnel to get it all into the 1.75lt bottle. Now for the water, you need to get a very warm but not boiling mix (too hot will kill the yeast) and fill the bottle about a 3rd of the way, this is normally just before the curve starts or just above the label. Give the bottle and good shake and set aside, now fill the jam jar with water (temp does not matter) about a 3rd. Put the jar into the position and secure the lid. 
Now get the yeast mix and place into position and secure the lid, after an hour or so you will see it start to froth at the top of the water and then you will get a good CO2 stream about 12 - 24 hrs.

My finished product



I hoped you liked my first DIY project and you were able to make sense of everything.

Once it has been up and running for a day or two I will put a video together.

Aquarium Pest - Hydra

I recently discovered a strange organism growing in my tank, which could only be described as a strange micro tree!  It was about 3 - 5 millimetres in length and had anchored itself to my glass and driftwood, it had a thin body and around 4 branch like arms at the end (see picture).

Genus Hydra

After a few hours of searching on the net I came up empty handed and decided to post a picture on the forum of which I belong (DIYFK), after a few hours the culprit had been identified as Genus Hydra or just Hydra.

I have now read through as much as I can find out about Hydra and have noted some interesting facts about it:

• It is a freshwater polyp
• Can grow up to an inch or so, if left untreated
• The tentacles can sting and capture small prey and can kill small fry
• They can detach and reattach around the tank to find the best spot for food
• Produce buds which detach and form new Hydra
• More likely introduced from an external source

I watched these little critters over a 24hr period whilst I worked out exactly what they were and from what I have notice they reproduce at a high rate and tend to anchor themselves at low to medium flow rate areas. 

There are a lot of suggestions on how to rid yourselves of Hydra, ranging from chemical / bleaching treatments to Snails. I will be trying a few over the next week or so and I will be sharing my results, so check back for updates.

P.S.  I will not be trying any chemical / bleaching treatments as I do not have a spare tank to place my current stock in and I do not wish to endanger them.