Cheap and easy Co2

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Theres a simple image of it. I am useing this method. Can't say 100% if it works good or not as this is my first grow and I have nothing to compare to. But I only get about 1 to 2 bubbles per second in the water bottle. When I shake the 2 ltr bottles I do get a burst but once that goes away it's back to 1 or 2 bubbles. It's nice to see cause you know something is taking place inside those bottles.

You need to stop co2 flow to your growth chamber during dark period, because the process works backwards when lights or off. When you turn the lights off, you make the plants stop doing photosynthesis and start growing by using the product of photosynthesis. They do that by using oxygen, so you need to stop co2 and change the air when the lights or off. this should increase the growth of your plant significantly in theory.
Another point, I don't think you need 100 bottles of yeast for a regular sized growing chamber. Because the co2 percentage of air is quite small, so throwing in a bunch of bottles should increase the co2 percentage significantly...

does co2 help with keeping the temp down? or does it just make the plants endure more heat?
because i heard co2 is useful if the temps are high, but i dont know why.. is that true?

Thankyou,'tis easy.

hey fellow rollers.has anybody out there had results from this method at all?are there any photos anybody can say yes i seen a difference in my plants from when i didnt use this method.

If you want a cheap and effective way to inject co2, this is the ticket. The baking soda and vinegar works but yeast is muuuch better. The reason is because yeast is actually a living organism; when it's placed in water with sugar present, it becomes anaerobic and feeds off the glucose in the sugar for energy. After consuming the sugar, it releases co2 and heat as a byproduct.
The actual lifespan of yeast is like 30 to 60 days or something like that.. but this method is really only good for a week or two tops before you should bring in a new population of yeast, and fresh sugar. For best results, buy some sort of "rapid rise" yeast as this typically contains an enzyme to increase production dramatically (check the ingredients). Hope this helped the skeptic believers

oh and in response to 'LION'.. the co2 does not lower the temps of the room.. as you guessed it just helps the plants tolerate higher temperature

okay when found out about this method two weeks ago i went out and bought a 7 gallon blue water tank(pic) i got lucky and found a airtight fitting and air hose for fish tanks

i mixed 10 pounds of sugar

4 gallons of water

and 4 packets of regular grocery store yeast.

with this mixture it started bubbling in about 30 minutes... i started it on the 5th of oct. it completely stopped producing bubbles no matter how hard i shook on the 15th. so 10 days but really 7 viable good co2 producing days in a semi sealed closet.

when i made it i was curious so i made another smaller one out of a alcohol bottle(pic) and a old calros rossi gallon jug... they produced a ton of gas but faded in like 3 days.

my second try at co2 in the big jug is

10 pounds sugar

3 gallons water

3 packets of this new yeats from the beer and wine store (pic) which is supposed to stronger and heartier than your average grocery store yeast... we'll see.

the results are very favorable noticable growth.

havent had or seen any bugs, the smell i'm used to and i figure if i can smell it so can the plants. the only problem so for is what to do with the 4 gallons of water beer drink it or trash it... i trashed mine.

the yeast and sugar is better i have that set up now. most people use it for fish tanks but it works.

dose that really work?

thunder love said:

dose that really work?

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lets say i have a growcab andits a ventalaated system. its about 18 cubic feet. doing a 12/12 grow lights on from 7am to 7 pm, i leave for work at 8 am return at 5 pm. faans run when lights are on.
i assume ishould shut fansdown when using co2 . so when sshould i shake this concocktion and how long should i shut the circulting fans offfor?
doing thios twice a day during work week would be cool cuz more co2 thebetter but i am curious to know how long light needs to be on b4 i expell the co2. sso as i dont wste mytime or the gas.
thx

Hi Guys. I'm brand spankin new to this growing thing but I've been ripped too many times getting finished product that I'm jumpin in. I'm pretty inventive, pretty efficient and pretty cheap so here is what I'm doing. My room is onlt 5x6x8. I know it's small but it's just for me. I'm going hydro flood, lining my room it with mylar and putting in flo and 4 band led lights on a timer to keep heat and elec $$ down. I've looked at every CO2 system out there and the fermentation seems cheap and relatively easy. Since I don't want to waste my CO2 during lights out I'm making a CO2 fermeter that will produce much more than a liter bottle and saves it when plants don't need it.

I'm starting with a 5 gallon water jug like office water coolers use. It should produce much more CO2 when perking than several pop bottles. In that I'll put my water yeast and sugar. I'll seal the top and run a piece of 1/4 inch air line out, maybe into my hydro tank. I'm putting a T in the line and an on / off valve . One of the ends will be open to the room, the other two ends go to two large balloons that are secured to fittings with zip ties so they don't leak. Since you can't just turn off the yeast the idea is to store the CO2 it produces. You can't cap the jug or in might explode and make a mess. SO, during lights on I'll open the release valve ever so slightly to release CO2 sparingly. Running it through a simple bubbler will show flow and results. When lights are off I'll close the valve diverting the CO2 produced to the two large baloons. Everything will be up high because the CO2 is heavier than air and will fall plus it's up out of grow space. A small will fan circulate the air / CO2 when lights on. So, the ballons collect the CO2 produced all night. In the morning when lights are on I'll slowly open the valve ever so slightly to release the CO2 in the ballons. 2 large balloons should take a few hours to deflate depending on how much CO2 is produced and how much you open the valve. Without a CO2 meter I have no idea the PPM of CO2 it will produce but I'm sure it's better than nothing. After the initial setup it'll need "recharged" with more sugar every 5 to 7 days and should go for several weeks, maybe even a whole cycle before cleaning and recharging.

I REALLY REALLY like the beer / wine idea though. I suppose the balloons would work with that too.

It'll take a few days to get the yeasty beatys going then a little trial and error to get the CO2 metered out nicely. It's cheap, easy, productive and efficiently uses the COS it produces when it's needed.

I might try running my CO2 tubing into my hydro tank so the CO2 is coming up through the roots under the plants. The flow of the CO2 and bubbler should force the CO2 up into the foliage.

I'll let you know how it works but it sounds like a better way than anything along the fermentation line so far.

Very cool idea, got the brain working...thanks for sharing.

Couldn't I just pay a couple of homeless people to sit around the grow area and play cards all day?

just set up a coleman camp stove .. burn for 28 min every four hrs ... if ur being a cheap ass..

wishmeluck said:

what does the co2 do? Smell or does it inprove the growth?

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Plants take CO2 (carbon dioxide, what humans breathe out) and turn it into O2 (Oxygen, what humans need to breathe in).
There is a certain amount of CO2 in the air, but adding more, is like when you go to the hospital and they put the oxygen mask on you.

whitey111 said:

guys isnt the co2 thing a little dangerous with to the light bulbs. im thinkin the heat isnt gonna be good at all

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WHY? When did they start making flammable CO2?
Don't they still have CO2 fire extinguishers?

VictorVIcious said:

Talk abotu a mess, just think of what is going to happen if some one mixes vinegar, baking soda and water in a gallon jar, outs a lid on it and shakes it. I'd like to be there to see that one.lol

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That's an old school remedy for clogged drains when on a septic system.

leafwrapper said:

a freind of mine said to get co2 into his setup cheaply, whenever he had to open a carbonated beverage he would open it in his grow room. worked for him and worth a try

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I hope he's thirsty if he is waiting to see a difference.

hippiembh said:

If you are willing to spend a little bit of money a good CO2 solution is a co2 tank from a paintball gun and a "remote hose" so you can safely discarge the canister. If you grow in a closet you could even drill a hole and use the remote fittings to route the co2 right into the closet.
Here are some links for places to get those tanks, also a good paintball supply sight if you are into paintball.
PMI High Pressure (HP) Remote Coils (for the remote)
CO2 Bottles (for the tanks)
as a side note I would suggest the 20 ounce co2 bottle as they are the cheapest to refill in the long run. You can get the tanks filled at most any place that sells paintball supplies.

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As I have said in a couple other threads, I have seen some of the "serious" paintballers running around with 5 pound tanks on their back in a backpack type of thing, so they don't have to change the tank on the gun.
With a larger tank like these, they have a fitting that could be adapted to a manifold, gauge, (so you know how much is left or you could put it on a digital scale for freon, since they fill them by weight) and valve.
These also could be filled at paintball supply places, some Wal Marts depending on the area, Bass Pro Shops, welding supply places, or party supply rental places.