Glad I could help!

awesome! I’m glad it did!

I appreciate you my man!!

I’ll always run the safe route to avoid any issues with leaks. I know CO2 molecules are small so the potential for leaks in regular airline tubing are greater, marginally.. but I know the system isn’t the most complex as far as safeguards for leaks. But hey, if it works.. it works!’

I really need to learn how to organize everything because I did feel it was a little lengthy. I appreciate the kind words, thank you!

Glad you enjoyed it!

How’s it working out so far?

Thank you!

Definitely go with a new valve. Leaks are bound to happen and it won’t be fun wasting the CO2

I haven’t tried a float valve, but that would be a good idea. Only issue I can think of off the top of my head is if the mixture settles a little, you need to shake the bottle sometimes & it might block the valve!

no

Yeah don’t leave them on their sides, they need to be upright at all times!

The bubble counter did start leaking, i swapped it out for a bronze bubble counter from aquatek and ran into no issues with it! Also, it lasts for a while depending on how well you maintain the O-rings and clean out any corrosion from the baking soda

Thank you so much!

So there’s a built in release valve for too much pressure. If you see that it’s going in the red when you shut it off, use the magnet and keep that bottom piece that sits in the citric acid out of the solution until you turn it on again!

The "Y" is needed to allow the CO2 gas to travel from Baking Soda bottle back to the Citric Acid bottle. 1) When you turn off the Needle Valve, the CO2 pressure in the Baking Soda bottle pushes back on the liquid in the tube between the two bottles, thus stopping the reaction. (Cutting off the flow of Citric Acid water into the "reaction vessel", i.e. the Baking Soda bottle, stops the chemical reaction after a short time, when all the Citric Acid reactant in the Baking Soda bottle is used up.) 2) While the system is operating, periodically you will see some Citric Acid water traveling through the tube between the two bottles, into the Baking Soda bottle (which is the "reaction vessel"). (Note: My system has a clear plastic tube between the two bottles, rather than the stainless steel tube setup which is being sold nowadays. So you may not actually "see" any liquid traveling between the bottles, with the newer stainless-steel-tube type of system.) Whenever gas pressure drops in the Baking Soda bottle, the higher pressure in the Citric Acid bottle pushes some more Citric Acid water through that tube between the two bottles. --Thus adding a supply of the second reactant, which had become depleted. Every time the Citric Acid reactant is running low (in the "reaction vessel"), the system sucks in some more liquid from the Citric Acid bottle into the Baking Soda bottle. So the setup is "self-regulating". It's really quite ingenious! It looks a little mysterious, but don't eliminate that "Y" connection, it's necessary. And the built-in Pressure-Relief Valve is a "fail-safe", in case the self-regulating configuration ever screws up. And believe me, things DO screw up from time to time with these systems, I speak from my own experience. --Although it was totally my own fault a couple of the times. But I bet you won't do everything perfect every time, either. By the way, your English is pretty bad. I don't know if I answered what you actually asked. About the Check Valves: Some systems that I see for sale have check valves for the "Y" connector, but mine doesn't have any check valves there and it works A-OK, I think. Have a good day.

Hey! Yeah of course, so if you have the bigger o-ring that’s clear, it goes on the inside of the connector where the bottles are screwed into. There’s a groove for them but it’s tight so you might have to use something to make sure they’re sitting in there properly. If it’s the smaller blue o-ring, it goes on top of the little portion where you install your bubble counter! I hope that helps!

@@rpscapedtanks1317 thanks Bro :) have a nice day

Anytime! Likewise!

No, it’s supposed to equalize as the CO2 is released into the tank, only then will it move into the other bottle. You may have a leak somewhere in the system!

Hi , how much sugar yeast mix, BPS and hours/day on with the solenoid u use ? Thx

what kind of bottles did you use like what shape?

@@isbiome I used 2ltr fizzy drink bottles.

@@H3ct0rXZ i use 300gr sugar in 1ltr of water. The amount of yeast doesnt realy matter as it will multiply on its own but i start with around 5gr of dried bread yeast. My solinoid is on for an hour before the lights and goes off at the same time as the lights.

So I’m guessing there was still the mixture happening at night when it was off which is why I definitely recommend the magnet to move that piece that sits into the citric acid, out until you need it again. There was probably a leak, and the pressure was being release somewhere which caused more mixing of both solutions even when it was off, leading to that excess pressure. If yeast works for you then by all means! I’m glad nothing catastrophic happened to the tanks!!

Check valve is always necessary!

😂 I love it!!!!

PPM is usually around 20-25. I RARELY ever get to 30 because I don’t have a surface skimmer so diffusion rates through the surface are slower for the system it’s on!

Nope! Only the one with the citric acid in it needs to be able to get to the bottom!

HCI is a very acidic solution. I’m not sure it would last running through the tubing and the bottles. I’m not even sure about the chemical composition of the “CO2” going into the tank. I would definitely avoid using it.

but what about diffusion rates from the surface agitation throughout the day?

@@rpscapedtanks1317 All I have is my filter outlet pointed to the surface slightly for surface agitation and its fine like that day and night. My plants and fish are doing great.

Hmm maybe I’ll try that!

will kill co2 at night yes, but will also kill it in the day doing this lol so kinda not great

also depends on your aquarium size. 24/7 on 10liter wil not give same result as 500liter.

Depending on your bubble count maybe 1BPS or 2BPS and if you have any leaks, probably 3-4 weeks minimum

Sovthe valves are pretty cheap, the best way to tell is to feel the bottles, they should essentially feel like they’re going to pop at any second (they won’t) but that’s how you know you have a reasonable amount of pressure. If that doesn’t work and you can’t get them to pressurize, I would check for leaks!

I always prefer to be accurate because there’s always the one time I’m not and a blow a hole through the shelf lol

A gram is the same as a ml for water but not for other substances like the 2 powders

It shouldn’t because there’s a pressure relief valve built in if it exceeds a certain amount!

@@rpscapedtanks1317 where is the relief valve located? BTW we have the same DIY co2. At the side of the citric acid?

Yes! It’s connected to the pressure gauge

Well the system only continues to create pressure once there's flow of citric acid solution to the baking soda bottle. By not allowing co2 to leave, you're not creating the necessary negative pressure to pull citric acid. It should be fine

It was about 6 weeks with a bubble every 2 seconds

Did you tried

Agreed

The pressure created from the mixture would absolutely cause the single plastic treated bottle to explode. I would recommend the metal single tank version to avoid any serious issues or damage!

I like the way that you even BOTHERED to answer a comment like that, sometimes it's just not worth the effort :)​@@rpscapedtanks1317