Vinnie Posted September 19, 2009 Report Share Posted September 19, 2009 I've always used just a standard mix of yeast and sugar in a 2.25L coke bottle but was wondering what mix's people are using or if any one has found anything extra to add to help make it work better Just keen to see how different some of the ways out there are, plus keen to try something different Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted September 19, 2009 Report Share Posted September 19, 2009 I think my current mix, which has been going for ages and still going strong, is 2 cups of castor sugar, a teaspoon of yeast and the rest filled with warm water in a 1.25L homebrand soda bottle. Just drilled a hole in the cap, put the airline in the hole and glued it up tight. Running the line straight onto the outlet pipe of my internal filter. Works well, heaps of O2 bubbles when lights are on. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquila Posted September 19, 2009 Report Share Posted September 19, 2009 I haven't made one yet, but during my research I read that changing the ratios of your ingredients will give you different results. If you add more sugar, the bubbling should last long, if you add more yeast, then the bubbling will be faster but burn out quicker. Adding baking soda, stabilizes the mix and prevents over frothing and erratic bubbling. Also, if you mix the ingredients into warm water and let it start first for 20 minutes before closing the bottle up, apparently the yeast gets a better start on things (sooner) and more of them remain alive for longer.... Here is one recipe that sounds pretty good: http://www.hallman.org/plant/CO2.html Here's a review of a 'DIY' system you can buy, but the post by Danio at the bottom gives some good advice: http://badmanstropicalfish.com/products ... ystem.html Goodluck! And let me know what you learn, as I will soon be attempting to make my own! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted September 19, 2009 Report Share Posted September 19, 2009 In the presence of air the yeast multiplies and without air it ferments sugar to produce ethanol and CO2. You can therefore increase the amount of active yeast by allowing it to stay warm with access to air for a while before closing the system off to air. You can also buy wine yeasts from the home brew shops which are stronger than bakers yeast and will remain active for longer as the concentration of ethanol increases. From the same place you can buy salts which provide the nutrients the yeast need to be more effective or if you are feeling cheap you can add a small amount of marmite. Keeping the system warm makes it work better as well and to this end you can add an element/thermostat or heat pad. Even better, you can set up a good sized jar and make wine at the same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquila Posted September 19, 2009 Report Share Posted September 19, 2009 I haven't heard of the salt yet. How much do you add compared to the other ingredients? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnie Posted September 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2009 Cool, I might try a bit more yeast next time then to see how much it helps. Keen to here a bit more about adding salt as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted September 20, 2009 Report Share Posted September 20, 2009 It is not common salt, it is nutrient salt, which is a mixture of nutrients that helps the yeast to multiply and work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoon Posted September 20, 2009 Report Share Posted September 20, 2009 pm romeo about his jelly method he told me about it one day it sounds like a good idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 I have also heard that more complex sugars will help the process last longer. Some people recommend using raw sugar instead of white sugar, or adding a bit of molasses to the sugar mix. I haven't done any controlled experiments so I don't know if it's really true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 The first thing the yeast does is break the complex sugar (cane sugar as in table sugar) into simple sugars before breaking them to alcohol and CO2. When making alcoholic drinks people often use simple sugars but I have never seen the point as the yeast does it anyway. I would guess that using complex sugars will only delay the start of fermentation rather than prolong it. The yeast ferments until it is killed off by the alcohol that it produces and wine yeasts will withstand higher concentrations than bakers or beer yeasts so will therefore ferment for longer and produce CO2 for longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 The first thing the yeast does is break the complex sugar (cane sugar as in table sugar) into simple sugars before breaking them to alcohol and CO2. When making alcoholic drinks people often use simple sugars but I have never seen the point as the yeast does it anyway. I would guess that using complex sugars will only delay the start of fermentation rather than prolong it. The yeast ferments until it is killed off by the alcohol that it produces and wine yeasts will withstand higher concentrations than bakers or beer yeasts so will therefore ferment for longer and produce CO2 for longer. And then you can drink the old mix while you're setting up a new one... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 The CO2 is the same from sugar and yeast as it is from top quality wine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
land_lubber Posted December 23, 2009 Report Share Posted December 23, 2009 I know this is an old thread but thought I would ask a question on here instead of making a new one. Can you use active yeast instead of bakers yeast? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted December 24, 2009 Report Share Posted December 24, 2009 yea, i normally use activated yeast and sugar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breakaway Posted January 1, 2010 Report Share Posted January 1, 2010 Hey guys - I've just had my first attempt at setting up my DIY CO², I've used 1 x tsp of Yeast (Edmond's Active Yeast from Pak n' Save) and one cup of sugar. I realise this mix is far from ideal, and it should work - however I'm simply not seeing any results - there are no bubbles forming at all! (It's been two hours). Have spoken to a couple of people who have also done this, but they report voilent ( ) bubbling about 10-15min in. My bottle just sits there looking all cloudy and some very very small bubbles. What am I doing wrong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted January 1, 2010 Report Share Posted January 1, 2010 was the water cold? if so wait for it to reach room temp. i use warm - warmer water and see bubbles in minutes after i mix it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breakaway Posted January 1, 2010 Report Share Posted January 1, 2010 No the water is a little warm (maybe around 35 deg C). The bubbles are forming, slowly, but my guess is there simply isn't enough pressure to push the CO² out. I will try with a shorter hose tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted January 1, 2010 Report Share Posted January 1, 2010 itll be working tomorrow. give the bottle a gentle mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquila Posted January 1, 2010 Report Share Posted January 1, 2010 Is the system air tight? Try squeezing the bottle...if you hear any whistling then you will have to fix it before it can work! Goodluck Milena No the water is a little warm (maybe around 35 deg C). The bubbles are forming, slowly, but my guess is there simply isn't enough pressure to push the CO² out. I will try with a shorter hose tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breakaway Posted January 1, 2010 Report Share Posted January 1, 2010 Is the system air tight? Try squeezing the bottle...if you hear any whistling then you will have to fix it before it can work! Goodluck Milena Hi, Yes the seal gave earlier today (looks like I didn't use enough silicon) so I blobbed on a fair amount of silicone on it (this time on the inside and the outisde of the cap) and am waiting 24 hours for it to fully cure. Also the CO² seems to be going pretty well right now (have the bottle sitting next to me without the lid on - I can actually see a significant amoutn of bubbles rising up.) I will post back when I have everything set up. One more thing - Is there a better way of doing this? (the cap -> airline setup I mean) - the sealing seems to be prone to breaking especially if you move the bottle around a bit - either that or I'm terrible at gluing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted January 1, 2010 Report Share Posted January 1, 2010 Silicone is not that good at sticling to plastic. I use a hot glue gun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted January 1, 2010 Report Share Posted January 1, 2010 i find if you mix up the yeast with a pinch of sugar in a little warm water really well using a fork until you get lots of bubbles and let it sit for 10 mins before you add it to the bottle you seem to get bubbles quicker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquila Posted January 1, 2010 Report Share Posted January 1, 2010 I just wanted to share this article. Its pretty comprehensive and well written and it explains exactly why to do a step http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/sh ... p?t=152401 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reptilez Posted January 2, 2010 Report Share Posted January 2, 2010 sounds kinda complicated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antwan Posted January 2, 2010 Report Share Posted January 2, 2010 I just drill a hole smaller than the tubing diameter so the tubing is really hard to pull through, that makes a good seal. That link is a good read, thanks aquilam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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