co2 generator?

[john appleseed]

i read on here or overgrow how to make a co2 gen. with yeast, water, and someouther suff i don't remember. any of ya'll heard of this? i can 't find that info again and i need to start enriching for my girls.

[Zandor]

What type of light are you using? Fluorescent light does not produce enough lumens for the plant to use the extra CO². You must have HID lights 400w or better for the CO² to be any real help.

[john appleseed]

i have (2) 400w mh and (6) 40wfloro vertical.a fan on them. and an ac vent above blowing down on everything(set at 73f)have had a problem with Mn toxicity due to tape water.epsom saltwater fix. use rain water now.everything is doing ok now. figured start co2 for 4 wks then flower.let me know what ya think.oh yeah my girls are pretty old (3 mos) not real tall but healthy for plants under floro only for 2 months but now we are cooking with Mh baby.

[Zandor]

I run CO² every day veg and flower. As long as you have the HID lights you are fine. What are you going to use to flower?

[john appleseed]

im gonna use (1) 400w mh and (4)70whps.its all i have man.the outher mh will be on the veg side of the grow room.anyway what is this about mixing yeast sugar and what not in a 5 gal bucket with a lid and spout?I read it on the net somewhere and of course i'm a pothead so i forget a few things.

[snow owl]

FORGET IT. Its not efficient to control or maintain high levels and smells stonger than your buds will. But if you insist on this method, a pound of sugar added to warm water (fill 1/2 of your 5 gallon bucket) and 2 packets of baking yeast. The yeast eats the sugar and Co2 is the biproduct. last a couple of days and smells like stale beer 10-fold. Another science fair method is a vinegar drip over baking soda and less smelly. If your serious about healthy plants get a tank system.

[SyKo]

zandor dont plants benifit more from co2 at night ?thats what i always thought i heard,
if so im wondering why it would matter what lights you use with co2 if the lights are off

thanks

[Da1KrayzieThug]

If I was to get a CO2 tank (not hard at all) what would I attach to it to have it release CO2 at regular intervals? This is the only thing stopping me from doing this. Thanks in advance.

[Zandor]

zandor dont plants benifit more from co2 at night ?thats what i always thought i heard,
if so im wondering why it would matter what lights you use with co2 if the lights are off

thanks
No the plant can only process the extra amount of CO² when the lights are on. CO² in the dark is only a waist of money, unless you are using it as a pest control but that would be expensive pest control.

It takes about 10,000 lumens for the plant to process CO² levels above 900 ppm. Normal air runs about 300 ppm and for a good growth supplement the level is above 1500 ppm. I run mine at 1800 ppm just so you can compair.

[Zandor]

If I was to get a CO2 tank (not hard at all) what would I attach to it to have it release CO2 at regular intervals? This is the only thing stopping me from doing this. Thanks in advance.
You need a regulator with a solenoid switch to turn off and on the flow.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3212&item=3980779257&rd=1

This set up is 76.99

You could use a timmer but that is not the best thing. For the best results where you dont waist the gas is to use a monitor/controler

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=42153&item=3980404294&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

That one is 350.00 bucks. This is not cheep stuff but it is some of the best. The one I use is the C.A.P. XGC-1 Xtreme Greenhouse Controller it regulates the whole environment...but they cost about a grand each.

http://www.discount-hydro.com/climatecontrollers.asp at the bottom

[SyKo]

cool thats good to know thanks,i had plans of running co2 at night cuz i dont have to run exhuast as much,but now i wont lol

so are you saying if your above 10,000 lumes with floros you could still benifit from co2? i got 12,000 lumes in a large upright freezer could add 3,000 more mabye

also do you think air coming in from a basment would have enough co2 in it,not
to even bother with adding more?
thanks man ,peace

[snow owl]

At night plants actually release some of the Co2 absorbed during the day. This is why I run a closed system with my flower room exhausting into my veg room. While flower room is dark, veg room is still illuminated for 6 hours and receives released Co2 without running my tank system. Though the veg room is smaller, vegging plants can endure higher levels of humidity, and the veg room has its own exhaust set at a higher humidty level. The veg room exhaust into a room with a dehumidifier (portable a/c in Summer) from which the flower room receives intake. I swear by the closed system for its efficiency and enhanced stealth.

Peace

[snow owl]

P.S. even the water from the dehumidifier or a/c can be recycled into you reservoir without using R/O.

[Zandor]

cool thats good to know thanks,i had plans of running co2 at night cuz i dont have to run exhuast as much,but now i wont lol

so are you saying if your above 10,000 lumes with floros you could still benifit from co2? i got 12,000 lumes in a large upright freezer could add 3,000 more mabye

also do you think air coming in from a basment would have enough co2 in it,not
to even bother with adding more?
thanks man ,peace
Ambient air is still around 300 ppm period.

I can't guarantee success with CO² and fluorescents no matter how many lumens they say they put out. I have never tried it so I can only quote the math and science. You don't need to have the expensive equipment to monitor the PPM you can do the math and use a timer. I just like to know and not guess things. I guess that's why I am a control freak with my plants.


Here is a caculator that may help you
http://www.hydroponics.net/learn/co2_calculator.asp

[BILL THICK]

Is there a signicant difference between bottled CO2 and a CO2 generator? How do they compare efficiency, safety and cost wise? i do know that a 5 gallon tank of propane on a CO2 generator will last 3 times longer than a 20 gallon bottle of CO2. not sure what it cost for 20 gallons of CO2?

thnx, bill

[Zandor]

The propane or gas version is cheep to operate compared to tanks. They do have a down side and that's heat. They burn several flames to make CO² but they do it on the cheep. Tank does cost more money the large ones last a few months and cost about 40 bucks to fill. Tanks do not have the heat problem and that's always a positive thing to not add heat. You only run CO² during light hours so the heat is at max anyway. Unless you have a very large AC system it's hard to run natural or propane gas to make CO². The warmer temperature could cause the plant to turn hermie so watch out for temperatures above 88F.

[latewood]

BBBBBBBBBBBBBBUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMPPPPPPP :)

[Bonez87x]

I had a discusion with the owner of a local paintball store being that when I used to first play, I was using Co2 as my propellent, though now I use HPA (High Pressure Air). Theres many fittings you can get threw mail for the tanks and it can release a slow stream. Like a 20oz tank can last about a week and a half slowly leaking out, and refills are like 5$-7$... Though my plants are "Orchids"..

I was thinking being liquid Co2 turning to its gasous form is fairly cold, I was gonan try to have the air enter the plants grow closet right where my HPS bulb is...

[lozzabob]

i have heard that spraying your plants with soda water is helpful for co2... has anyone tried or heard of it??? am sure it wont harm the plants anyway.. might give it a go!

[mahavatar]

Here is a snippet from my "Super-boost for plants (http://boards.cannabis.com/advanced-techniques/186931-super-boost-plants-grows-2-3-times-faster-healthier-more-potent.html)" thread:


3. Create extra carbondioxide (CO2) for your plants. This alone can boost the growth and make them twice as fast growing.

Simply take several bottles, or larger container of your choice, and add 1 cup sugar to every 2 liters warm water along with 1 spoon yeast. I personally recommand adding some cut up / blended fruits as well such as apples, grapes, oranges, as this procedure will produce alcohol and with fruits in you will get some wine as an additional bonus.

Once ingredients are mixed (remember using warm water) in your bottle / container of choice, put a lid on tightly and pin a small hole in the lid. The hole will release the CO2 gasses and is a MUST even if you just want to make wine and not use the gasses for the plants, as without the hole the bottle WILL explode and you will have a mess. The hole should be about needle sized, so using a needle to pin a hole is fine.

Now place these bottles or containers with the lids with their holes around your plants. A suggestion is to connect a hose to the top lid and leading the hose into the plant area so you can have larger containers & bottles in a different nearby location.

This will ferment and create CO2 for 1-2 weeks. After 2 weeks max you should take the contents of the bottles and change and do the same procedure to create more CO2. If you want to save the alcohol / wine you make by this carefully siphon out the liquid leaving a small part with the yeast solids and fruit parts at bottom. You may need to filter it first to discard fruit solids, and then let it sit for a while to make the yeast solids sink back to the bottom before siphoning off.

If you want good instructions on making wine or other alcohol simply google "brewing wine" , "brewing beer", "brewing alcohol" etc and you can use any recipe you find just make sure to lead the releasing gas to your plants.

These bottles or containers should be shaken once or twice a day - remember holding a finger on the hole in the lid when doing this or it will get splashy.

The bottles or containers should NOT be filled completely, leave about 1/5th space empty as it will foam and bubble during fermentation and you dont want that spilling out.

This works perfectly well with any type of lighting from my observation, using CFL myself and using extra co2 dramatically increases growth and health of plants. Regarding smell, it does not really give off much smell if you do it as described and only use small tiny holes in the caps to let the gas out, and keep all fairly sealed (which I assume it is in an in-door setup in either case)

For other tips check the thread and some photos of how at http://boards.cannabis.com/advanced-techniques/186931-super-boost-plants-grows-2-3-times-faster-healthier-more-potent.html

[theskizza]

Mahavatar has it right. While sugar+yeast does not produce as much C02 as tanks, it is certainly better than nothing! I noticed a big difference using them for veg. I have not yet switched to bloom on them, but I'll be getting some more water bottles with H20, yeast and sugar for when I do.

This is a great way to get C02 to your plants for under $5.