Anyone use the Hydor CO2 system?

by **dizzcat** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 11:10 pm

I bought a CO2 system and set it up yesterday. Its not working :-( I set it up exactly like I was suppose to, but I did add an extra piece of air hose with a connector because it wasn't quite long enough. The instructions said "CO2 production begins after appox 6 1/2 hours after the activation of the fermentation process". Well, that should have been around 8:30- 9pm last night. No bubbles in the counter or coming out of the diffuser. So when I got up this morning and turned on the tank lights, I took off the extra hose thinking maybe that was what was wrong. It has been a few hours since then, still nothing :-( I know the diffuser is running, I unburied it and set it on top of the sand until all is working and could feel it running. I only buried it as far as the guide showed.

Is it possible that the ingredients were bad? I couldn't find an expiration on the packets. Isn't the bubbles coming out of the diffuser suppose to be real tiny?

Anyone have any ideas what may be wrong? I can't see any leaks in anything.

This is what I have: http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ct ... fermentset

Do you think I should try a recipe I have that I know makes the CO2 bubbles within an hour, since its basically just a bottle with yeast ingrediants in it?

Help CO2 peoples!!

by **a1k8t31524** » Tue Feb 17, 2009 11:46 pm

the yeast could be bad yes...... but in all honesty it normall takes 18ish hours for the mixture to start producing co2 you could speed the process up faster by adding more sugar but this will cause the yeast to die off quicker

by **dizzcat** » Wed Feb 18, 2009 12:04 am

Just talked to the guy at the LFS I bought it at, his wife has the same system in one of her tanks. He said it takes a couple DAYS to see bubbles. Sheez! When I tried a DIY setup I had bubbles in like an hour, but it also only lasted a few days.

Since its basically a glorified DIY setup do you think I could use my own yeast mixture when this one runs out? Any thoughts? Anyone have a mix recipe that lasts longer than a week? This says it will last up to 3 weeks, but the refill packs are a tad pricey.

I actually got a great deal, because it only cost me $35 for the whole set-up that includes a counter and diffuser. As I was looking for info on this system online I noticed that just a diffuser alone runs in the $30+ range! The cheapest bubble counter I have found so far was $10.

Also, I have read online that you should turn off your air pump during the day so the CO2 does not get pushed right out of the tank by the air stone/wall. And then turn the air on at night when the plants are sleeping.

Should I do this? Air off during the day, air on at night?

Anyone use the Hydor CO2 system?

3 posts