DiY Jello Co2

what i meant was 30 ppm when the lights come on, after being out all night and morning. The drop checker is a lime green, the reagent is mixed so that 30 ppm is green, so im likely sitting on the cusp of 35 ppm by the time the lights come back on.

As for the relationship, i use crushed coral to buffer my KH due to water here sucking for hardness. It was my understanding that Phosphate Based buffers (ie your typical PH UP/DOWN crap) is what makes the chart innaccurate. Figured since crushed coral is Calcium carbonate, that it would definately be portrayed correctly (well accurate as the tests are) through KH tests.

You do bring up a good point though, many don't think about the phosphates when they use those buffers, and on top of that, most ei dosers do add phosphates aswell, which increases the error margin of your KH test.

Problem with the sugar water solution is all the sugar is available for the yeast to replicate quickly. so you get a huge spike of co2, then it tapers off. With jello, you lock in most of the sugar and force the yeast to slow down, also has a minimal source of protein (not sure if it affects it). I've seen people report they've lasted 6 months on a single batch, steady for the most part. Some report that they need to refresh the yeast solution now and then, others not, if it dies early you dump out half the water, replace the yeast + warm water and it kicks up again. Generally if you use champagne yeast, the water volume increases as it processes the gelatin/sugar, so the alcohol content is not as likely to become great enough to kill itself off.

Rexx grigg, from planted tank, even uses jello method for his smaller tanks and he sells high quality co2 equipment. But he sets the jello in a pan then cuts it into chunks to increase the surface area and give a giant boost to co2 production once its mixxed into the cannister.

oh and the drop changer slightly darkened from the start of the photo period, but it definately was still above 30 ppm.

as i said, information on it is pretty buried as for cost

Cost of container, (free if you use a food product contrainer)
Boxes of Jello, $1 each
4 cups of sugar, crap all
champagne yeast, partial packet ($1 each packet)
water.. free.

Even if im one of the unlucky ones and it lasts 3-4 months, im still way ahead cost wise, afterall, its only a 29 gallon. we'll over estimate the cost to $5 a refill every 4 months.

to avoid a "bad batch" you simply activate your yeast first to see if it starts to replicate. if you skip this and its still bad, you pour out the water + yeast, the jello is still there to be used up. if after a few days its not working as much as you'd like, add an 1/8th tsp of activated yeast and re-assess. Seems much more forgiving than the standard DiY

eternity302 said:

Hey Neven, just a quick question "If i leave my jello CO2 in, and have a airstone or powerhead running when lights are off, is it okay?"
Thanks Neven!!

Click to expand...

If you are bordering a solid yellow with no hint of green, then yes for sure. If you are using that much yeast though, you'll likely burn through your jello quicker (still longer than standard yeast water) and be in need of yeast top ups.

As for an update on my Jello Co2. I've only just started noticing a slight decrease in co2 levels. The change is so gradual though that its hardly noticed until you think back to what it was. So sitting at solid green i figured i'd try to top off the yeast again before hitting 20 ppm. I drained the water so only 1/4 of it remained, i mixed 3/4 tsp champagne yeast with 1 cup of 40C water and a pinch of sugar, let it rehydrate for 15 minutes then poured it in.

Result wasn't simply more co2, it was still misting out of my filter outtake despite being broken up by the impeller, so before i killed any fish i opened it up and tossed 1 more cup of water in with a dash of baking soda. It worked in slowing it down nicely Probably the reason it went insane was now the jello loosened off the bottom allowing for more surface area to the sugars and protiens.

So far it seems to be working great for my tank, i don't get fluctuation of co2 like i was getting when i had the basic yeast water sugar formula, the hardness of the tank keeps the PH swings to negligible. I think i'll fine tune my mix more next time to make it last longer and have less of a burst at the start, and i think the key to that is 1/2 cup less sugar in the jello and perhaps 1/4 tsp less yeast.

Also i'll like to make mention of a member's plight when he gave jello a test run as i did. Eternity302's Tank was practically destroyed by chunks of jello spewing into his tank. He lost fish and many plants, he was forced to do a restart to the whole tank. Its a slap in the face to any hobbyist when they lose their beloved project.

Im mentioning this in this thread, despite it having its own thread, because it is a risk you take whenever you try these methods with your tank. It doesn't need to be jello, heck it doesn't even need to be diy co2. People have ruined many tanks with whatever method thats used. Accident's do happen, but more often its carelessness that'll do it.

so i'll say this for your diy method no matter the type.
SECURE IT! they are very prone to tipping if you use 2L bottles.
Do Not Shake the Bottle while it's connected to the tank. If you do shake it, take the airline off of it.
NO airstones. they are meant for higher pressures so when you connect it to diy, you get 1 of two things, enough pressure to push a larger bubbles out (never misting), or BOOM yeast, sugar water everywhere.
Do not Block the line. Some use a chopstick, just like above, can lead to ruptures of the thank.
DO NOT SEAL IT! you are using DiY, there will be loss, accept it, because sealing wont give you much more life, and most who do seal also disobey the above two 'rules'
Start small! Undersize your first batch just barely, then adjust SLOWLY. Don't go hmmm 1/4 tsp yeast wasn't good enough im goin 1 tsp next. baby steps, you want to perfect the method you use without killing things.

This batch of Jello Co2 has officially come to an end! I noticed a pressure drop as my misting in the tank wasn't nearly as much as before, and then my drop checker started slowly deepening in colour. So 2 months long on my first batch of Jello co2. One thing i noticed is dumping out the solution, was it wasn't that strong of an alcohol scent like the typical yeast sugar gets. It was like cracking open a watermelon cooler.

This next batch i altered slightly:
3 cups of Sugar, 4 boxes of jello made as directed.
I'll be starting with 1/2 tsp of champagne yeast

The changes is less yeast and less sugar. Not normally a fan of changing two variables at once, but the yeast can be adjusted if it doesn't produce enough. I doubt the sugar reduction will be a limiting factor, i'd much rather hit a solid green and have my batch last 4-6 months than a yellow-green that lasts 2 months.

If i can't hit green on the drop checker, i'll be adding 1/4 tsp more yeast. If im wrong and the sugar is limiting me, this batch wont go wasted, i can add a bit of sugar each week to keep it going, i don't want to add too much though cause if the alcohol spikes, i'll lose the yeast (like regular DiY does). Thats what i see as the worst case scenerio, if it happens then the next batch i'll use 3 1/2 cups of sugar The co2 wouldn't be fluctuating to much imo if i need to top sugar up, the metricide dosing will provide the plants with the extra needed carbon for my plants to uptake the nutrients im dosing, aswell as reduce the chance of a BBA outbreak from fluctuations.

Sure i could have left it at the original recipe, but i want to perfect this, after all, its about a cheap low maintenance co2 source without the drawbacks of typical DiY batches. I've read about people achieving the proper balance and gettin over 6 months on a batch.

first batch i screwed up, my kid turned down the fridge so it didn't completely form over night, and the yeast didn't take off even with an increased amount of nutrients available. So i scrapped it and used a new packet of yeast, modified it a bit. Also i use watermelon jello it has more protein than most other kinds

3 1/3 cups of sugar
4 boxes of jello

3/4 tsp of champagne yeast. 1 cup 40C water.

Results, consistent light green (no yellow tinge), with rippling of the surface
If it kicks up a bit i doubt it'll go above dangerous levels, probably wont go into the pure yellow at all.

i think me i found the mix that'll give me the exact output i want