# Cheap Way to make CO2 for your grow



## potroastV2 (May 17, 2006)

This is a low budget mod that can help you produce CO2 by simply using vinegar and baking soda. This method eliminates excess heat and water vapor production and requires simple items you can find in your closet  Create s system that drips the vinegar into a bed of baking soda (place it in a bucket) The main con of this system is not being able to control the CO2 levels, It takes alot of time for the CO2 to build up to a level where it helps a plant. Once this level is reached going over this level can kill the poor little plants  this will take some experimenting on your part to figure out how much to add, throwing a solenoid switch in the line with a timer will help you do this with little effort.

Good luck happy smoking


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## Anonymous (Jun 10, 2006)

Baking soda/acid is a good system, but it is ultimately fairly expensive. Furthermore, you also release acetate ions/salts, as well as other volatiles from the vinegar (which is not a pure solution of acetic acid, of course). They prolly won't kill your plants, though they might. Instead they will likely make it smell or taste bad. 

What is a better way to get your carbon dioxide? Fermentation. Acquire some brewer's yeast if you can. The types of yeast you can use are in order of what is best, though all are acceptable:

Champagne
Wine
Ale
Beer
Baker's

Rig up a simple fermentation chamber with airlock. The airlock is designed to keep the atmosphere anaerobic while releasing your good CO2. Fermentation chamber should be any airtight container with top. It could be a 2 liter Coke bottle, for example. Drill a hole in its top and glue in some plastic tubing, making sure to create a good seal. An epoxy is prolly what you'll need to do it. Run that tube into a smaller, halved bottle: a water bottle works well. Place the tube at the exact bottom and glue it there such that the outlet of the tube faces the wall (not the bottom) and is not blocked (by glue, the wall, your mouse, whatever). Fill that up with water, about an inch and a half above the bottom.

The mechanism is all set up, now set up the fermentation. Fill the bottle with about a 20% solution of glucose (dextrose) by mass and place a few tsp. of yeast in that jaunt. Placing the yeast in some warm water for half an hour prior with some sugar is a good way to jump-start the process. Using those six-carboned sugars, you get optimum results, but other sugars can be used. In general, you'll likely find the 5-carbon variety (fructose: corn syrup, eg.) or the polysaccharide (sucrose: cane sugar). In these cases, its ok to add a little more sugar, no more than 25%. Champagne yeast can tolerate more. Brewers yeast, you may want to shoot for less. Cap that jaunt with the tubing/cap system you rigged up.

Here's the principal, its perty simple: The yeast use the sugar to make their energy (ATP). However, in absence of oxygen, the metabolic pathways can't be completed, and alcohol is excreted as waste. This is disadvantageous to the yeast, but hey, who cares? They also release carbon dioxide. For every equivalent of glucose or dextrose, the yeast produces two equivalents of carbon dioxide and alcohol. If other sugars are used, the process is slightly less efficient due to the early metabolics that get done to prepare it, or the inefficiency of metabolic/synthetic shunts (biochemical shite, its unimportant, but fun if you are nerdy). The carbon dioxide is good for your plants: its the objective. The alcohol is bad. It increases in concentration in the fermentation vessle and DOES NOT leave in any way. Over time, the yeast poisons itself with its own waste. Better yeasts (as per the above sheet) survive longer and make more carbon dioxide. Hence the reason for increasing the sugar, if you'd like (the difference is probably just about marginal if at all, so don't dwell on it).

So what does this mean for you? A mole of glucose is around 180 grams. Thus, a 20% mass solution will produce slightly more than TWO MOLES (2.2 to be be exact) of of gas per liter. At standard temperature and pressure, and if you are growing, that's what you want, you will get around 50 liters of pure carbon dioxide from this method, over the time period of about 2-4 weeks. Great stuff.

Problems: You can tell the yeast are dying when the bubbling through the airlock subsides. No way around it, you need to whip up another fermentation mixture. Optimally you would do this every week and a half, while the yeast are at their maximum productivity. Using cane sugar and baker's yeast this is a crazy inexpensive endeavour.

Can you kill the plants with too much CO2? Most likely not. They breathe it as air, and they really only need oxygen (the only other thing they really take from the air) to run their ETC and some other minor metabolic processes. They get this from the water, believe it or not. Also they respirate as much 02 as they take in CO2. No problem, really. Time when killing the plants from carbon dioxide have been reported is likely either in extreme cases (approaching NO oxygen in the air and thus water) or due to the poor downsides to using other carbon producing methods (acidic air, contamination of various sorts, etc.). On the other hand, your plants would optimally have about 3 times as much carbon dioxide as would be in the atmosphere. That rings in at around 6%, so not that much, and in all likelihood, its gonna be difficult to bring it up to these levels. Happy planting.


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## potroastV2 (Jun 10, 2006)

Good plan guest, if you signed up I would have given you some reputation points to play with, when you come back just pm me your username.


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## Little Tommy (Apr 22, 2008)

Here is a picture of a simple fermentation setup that I have used. I keep a towel wrapped up on the outside of the glass. The yeast seem to work better in the dark.


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## Florida Girl (Apr 22, 2008)

Little Tommy said:


> Here is a picture of a simple fermentation setup that I have used. I keep a towel wrapped up on the outside of the glass. The yeast seem to work better in the dark.



I love the simplicity and inexpensiveness of this method and would like to use it in my 4 x 4 x 6 grow tent when I get to the flowering stage.

Can you tell me about the smell? Is it god awful or just slightly unpleasant? Also, does it attract fruit flies or other tiny gnat type bugs?

Thanks


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## Little Tommy (Apr 24, 2008)

I like the smell. It smeels like making beer. I happen to like it though my wife says it smells like a mild fart. No bugs ever noticed being attracted to the setup.


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## ctech4285 (Apr 26, 2008)

i think CO2 becomes toxic for plants above 5000ppm, btw there is a cheap 100$ CO2 meter on ebay (without display, need too hook it up to your computer, search CO2 controller) 

anywho im gonna try the fermentation method and keep a record of CO2 levels if there is interest for this data...


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## Hags (Aug 8, 2008)

whats the purpose of the airlock? couldnt u just run the tube straight out?


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## mountaindude530 (Aug 21, 2008)

you have to seal the top with the tube coming out of it.. what happends is the yeast feeds off the glucose (sugar) in order to make energy.. it produces the co2 as a byproduct and heat is released.. co2 is heavier than air and so the heat helps push the co2 up the tube and above your plants.. so you have to seal off around the tube so that the heat won't just escape.. 

just for general knowledge: the normal concentration of co2 in the air we breath = 300 ppm.. optimal plant growth is 1400 ppm.. at 1500 your starting to stunt plant growth and once you reach 1800 your killing plants and it's no longer healthy for you to breath either.. hope this helped


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## andrewpnc (Dec 8, 2008)

Where did you get that big ass glass jug! i have to get one of those!


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## johnnyfly2009 (Jan 2, 2009)

whats up guys here in ny tryin to grow some chronic any pointers wud b nice thanx


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## SayWord (Jan 2, 2009)

mountaindude530 said:


> just for general knowledge: the normal concentration of co2 in the air we breath = 300 ppm.. optimal plant growth is 1400 ppm.. at 1500 your starting to stunt plant growth and once you reach 1800 your killing plants and it's no longer healthy for you to breath either.. hope this helped



great info! good to know +rep for u my friend


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## needhelp (Jan 2, 2009)

i use the sugar, yeast and water in a bottle thing like mountaindude... just drill a very tiny hole in the top and CO2 releases slowly over 2 weeks.... shake up the bottle for a burst of CO2.... you can actuallly see all the tiny bubbles rushing to the top and you you start to smell the yeast... so i know it works... plus their where days when i would go look at my plants 24 hours later.. and they appeared a darker green then before


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## blzbob (Jan 2, 2009)

How much sugar yeast and water did you use?


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## sycocid (Jan 3, 2009)

why not just make some wine if you are going to go through the process just to throw it out? What about using co2 cannisters for a bb gun? If you could say, puncture the tip of the cannister and allow the gas to slowly escape while setting it under the plant(s)? Of corse I would only do this in a confined area with no fans etc,.


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## ELee (Jan 3, 2009)

I have also heard of using Seltzer water. but I'm not sure how to use it!


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## needhelp (Jan 3, 2009)

its called a CO2 generator... you can google it..... you get a 2 Liter soda bottle...2 cups of sugar, 2 cups of water, 1/4 teaspoon of yeast.... dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup of WARM water...not HOT..... and after that mix everything together.... make sure you use a soda bottle because soda bottles are flexible and are made for CO2 buildups...... and also drill a tiny hole in the soda bottle cover before you start the process.... because if you don't.... the bottle will explode from the CO2 buildup


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## needhelp (Jan 3, 2009)

you can use Seltzer water but i didn't want to mention it because you have people on here who swear you shouldn't give plants Seltzer water and they say the roots don't need CO2, just oxygen.... when in reality they are WRONG... I am not an expert grower but the reason i know they are wrong.. 1) i tried it and it didn't harm my plants at all 2) i looked up a study done with 2 plants Water Vs. Seltzer Water... it showed a chart and the experiment was done over a series of months...so it wasn't a bullshit study... and the plant fed Seltzer Water actually grew healthier and bigger than the plant that was fed water... (it even became smarter.... meaning... when certain leaves started to die when they conducted a dry experiment... the plant started to grow leaves at the bottom instead of the top like every plant that is fed water) because the theory is since plants roots do need oxygen... the bubbles are feeding both to the roots and people didn't know roots can benefit from CO2 because of the whole plant leaf using CO2 thing.... and what was also a plus sign... the bubbles help loosen dirt around the plants roots so they do have the room to breathe easier.... there are many that will dispute this... but like i said... i looked it up for myself because you can't depend on weed growers to know and understand all aspects of plant life.... you also need people who know plants.... just make sure its seltzer water with NO SODIUM... maker sure its all zeroes in the nutrional column on the back of the bottle.... oh yeah.... there are people on here that will say don't water your plants seltzer water...just spray it... i don't know anything about this or if it works... but i do know you can give your plant seltzer water as long as there's NO SODIUM


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## needhelp (Jan 3, 2009)

i recall people on here using the cans full of air.... i think one guy said he taped the handle down so it will give a slow leak.... i don't know how long it last for him..... puncturing a canister just seems unsafe to me.. thats pressure built up instead...


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## weedyoo (Jan 3, 2009)

andrewpnc said:


> Where did you get that big ass glass jug! i have to get one of those!


made one of these after seeing it on here in another post any way 

you will need 
5 gal bucket with cover 
3 small plastic hoses 
5 lb bag of sugar
yeast
if you want 
fish tank pump
timmer
one of thoes fish rock that makes bubbles

ok drill 3 holes in cover just the size of your hoses as they need to be sealed.

four if you are using the fish pump. put all hoses thure the holes 3 inches glue or calk them sealed.

same for the hose from the fish pump,but this hose run the the bottom. this comes on in the day light hours it sturs the water making more co2. 

now you run the 3 hoses up to the celling and down over the plants.

only thing left is to make the mix

fill bucket half full with water and 5lb sugar.

make yeast as the derictions say to. slap the cover on and wait. this last me one week. hope this helps.
weedyoo


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## needhelp (Jan 3, 2009)

weedyoo.... what you made is what i explained... its called a CO2 generator.... but what i don't understand is why you're using a 5 gallon bucket when the CO2 generator says to use a 2 liter soda bottle.... and i'm not sure if you know why you need hose and a fish tank pump and the rock that makes bubbles?... its because a C02 generator is really for people who have plant aquariums... people that have fish and grow their plants under water.... since the plants are underwater they need a way to get CO2 to the plants.... so basically what i'm saying is your system might need tweaking.... because with 2 cups of water, 2 cups of sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of yeast in a 2 Liter soda bottle can give me 2 weeks of CO2... why are you only getting a week with a 5 pound bag of sugar, bucket and all that other stuff? oh yeah... its a bad idea to use glue for certain plastics because of a chemical they use that really won't let the glue get a good grip... so if a CO2 buildup occurs.. it will pop your hoses out.... truthfully i have a grow cab.. which makes it suitable for using a soda bottle... so i guess it depends on the size of your area


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## weedyoo (Jan 3, 2009)

needhelp said:


> weedyoo.... what you made is what i explained... its called a CO2 generator.... but what i don't understand is why you're using a 5 gallon bucket when the CO2 generator says to use a 2 liter soda bottle.... and i'm not sure if you know why you need hose and a fish tank pump and the rock that makes bubbles?... its because a C02 generator is really for people who have plant aquariums... people that have fish and grow their plants under water.... since the plants are underwater they need a way to get CO2 to the plants.... so basically what i'm saying is your system might need tweaking.... because with 2 cups of water, 2 cups of sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of yeast in a 2 Liter soda bottle can give me 2 weeks of CO2... why are you only getting a week with a 5 pound bag of sugar, bucket and all that other stuff? oh yeah... its a bad idea to use glue for certain plastics because of a chemical they use that really won't let the glue get a good grip... so if a CO2 buildup occurs.. it will pop your hoses out.... truthfully i have a grow cab.. which makes it suitable for using a soda bottle... so i guess it depends on the size of your area


its really just yeast eating sugar and pooping out cos

5 gal bucket this is for my whole bud room not just one plant. this mix 

5lb sugar
half bucket water
3 tsp yeast

the fish pump is for sturing up the water as you may know if you shake your bottle you get more co2. that is what the bubbles do 

the hoses cant not pop the co2 simply gets pushed up and out the hoses. and down on to your plant. 

when the CO2 generator says to use a 2 liter soda bottle... i dont know where it says i need to make it this way. 
every one makes theirs a little diffrent i learned how to make this on riu


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## needhelp (Jan 3, 2009)

i think what you have works.... since you're doing a room... because a 2 liter bottle is good for a plant aquarium.... but truthfully, in a plant aquarium you're trying to get the co2 to dissolve into the water and you end up losing the rest.... so i think it would work differently in a room... since the plants aren't underwater and are able to get the co2 out of the air...... this is interesting.... i know the bottle works for me cuz i have a box...but it seems a bucket would work for a room, since its a larger area..... learn something new.... so you have to do it weekly huh? i read one time that the yeast doesn't dissappear, just the sugar... and the mixture can be reactivated when you add the sugar again... is that how you do it? or you just make a whole new batch


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## acederrytiler (Jan 3, 2009)

can i use a 2 litre bottle and just put a bubbler in the top for an air lock (bubbler is whats on your mans big jar) would this be ok the co2 would come through when the pressure good enough


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## needhelp (Jan 4, 2009)

if you use a 2 litre bottle... you won\'t need a bubbler... pressure is automatically building up the second you mix the yeast, water and sugar.... all you need to do is drill a tiny hole in the top so the CO2 can release slowly.... and whenever you need a boost...just shake it up... but what is your area size? because i do this for a grow cab...

also...the bubbler originally is for growing plants underwater in an aquarium...the bubbler releases the bubbles into the water...

the soda bottle and the mixture is good for 2 weeks.... the first time, i put a big hole in the top because i was scared if i made the hole to small, the CO2 would build up to much pressure and pop the top.... but in reality... it just needed a tiny screw hole


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## needhelp (Jan 4, 2009)

did you know just speaking and breathing around your plants gives them CO2? just wanted to let yall know


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## acederrytiler (Jan 4, 2009)

no the bubbler something to do with wine making but i think with an air lock it will keep it warmer helping the thing do its job il try both and see what happens thanks


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## needhelp (Jan 4, 2009)

cool...let me know how it works out for you


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## goonin08 (Jan 17, 2009)

the whole purpose of the bubbler is really just for when you want to ferment for alcohol it lets all the co2 out so theres no explosion and its a good indicator of when you're mash or whatever u want to call it stops fermenting


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## JPEG (Feb 26, 2009)

When making this contraption for the co2 w/ yeast an sugar,,, what is the smaller bottle for,,the halved water bottle that the tube goes to the bottom of from the bigger 2 liter,,what is the purpose


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## primitive1 (Feb 28, 2009)

JPEG said:


> When making this contraption for the co2 w/ yeast an sugar,,, what is the smaller bottle for,,the halved water bottle that the tube goes to the bottom of from the bigger 2 liter,,what is the purpose


damn, this is an old thread.

That would be an improvised airlock. co2 travels from the 2 liter through the tube to the open vessel of water(the halved water bottle could just as easily be a teacup), then the co2 escapes through the water surface but no oxygen can flow back through the tube into the 2 liter.

This is so the fermentation can take place. from a home brew website, "In the absence of _oxygen_, _yeast_ will respire anaerobically and produce ethanol and carbon dioxide". If the top is simply open it will not work, something must be attached to let co2 escape while keeping oxygen from getting back in.

Just to note, an airlock made for a 5 gallon cooler jug costs about $2.50 at any home brew store.


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## jondgls (Jun 11, 2009)

What does guest mean by "Fill the bottle with about a 20% solution of glucose (dextrose) by mass"?

Does that mean for a 2L bottle there would be a 400ml mass of powdered dextrose mixed with water?


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## Jim McColl (Jul 11, 2009)

fantastic! honestly... great information! thanks!


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## aviatorstewart (Jul 20, 2009)

gonna give it a whirl - i have a 320 cu ft room - will a 2 liter bottle be enough and how expensive are 5 gallon glass jugs - thanx


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## b7ackspade (Jul 21, 2009)

hello , i been trying to figure out if you could use co2 but for the roots in my hydro bubble ponic set up i have, just like fish tanks use it for. has anyone tried this? i been trying to loook and read but i cant find any info or not looking in the right place. thanks yall.


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## jeffchr (Jul 30, 2009)

I have read that aerobic yeast respiration produces 3x as much co2 (and water instead of alcohol). so, why is there an air lock on this system. let the oxygen in!


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## saboe (Aug 6, 2009)

jeffchr said:


> I have read that aerobic yeast respiration produces 3x as much co2 (and water instead of alcohol). so, why is there an air lock on this system. let the oxygen in!


Where didju read that?


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## jeffchr (Aug 7, 2009)

saboe said:


> Where didju read that?


I read that rightchere:

https://www.rollitup.org/do-yourself/162265-co2-via-yeast-right-way.html

"There is also an aerobic mode that yields no alcohol, but 3x as much CO2 and baby yeast.. 
C6H12O6 + 6O2 -> 6CO2 + 6H2O + more heat..."


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## E7sharp9 (Sep 24, 2009)

I hate it when the posts stop......


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## ceasermix (Oct 17, 2009)

weedyoo said:


> made one of these after seeing it on here in another post any way
> 
> you will need
> 5 gal bucket with cover
> ...


 A picture would be nice


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## whatsawhosit (Dec 3, 2009)

excellent post but lets make it simpler!!! why all the hoses and extra jugs just to lock out oxygen?

i just took a jug punched a hole in the top and epoxied a cheap plastic check valve in there. the same kind of valve aquarium filters use that prevent the water from backing up into the air pump. two dollars at wal mart

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_viewitem.aspx?idproduct=AZ0031&child=AZ0031&utm_source=mdcsegooglebase2&utm_medium=cse&utm_campaign=mdcsegooglebase2&utm_content=AZ0031 


something like that.


now you don't have hoses and jugs, heck in my set up I need four of these babies that would leave my place looking like a mad scientist lab form back to the future or something!!

the heat yeast makes is negligible and does nothing. just the creation of co2 itself will force all the air out of the jug in a few minutes and then your valve will be sending out JUST co2 and not allowing air back in

once you have done this you have a very easy way to attach a hose to your co2 generator and run those over and through the growing area so that you get a good coverage.

my 2 cents


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## Lobotomist (Dec 3, 2009)

Excellent! I'm glad that this method is getting recognition! I've used it every time and it works great!


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## cambu82 (Dec 22, 2009)

Little Tommy said:


> Here is a picture of a simple fermentation setup that I have used. I keep a towel wrapped up on the outside of the glass. The yeast seem to work better in the dark.


hi were can i buy the thing that you put in the top of the can or the name for me to search thanks for sharing !!!


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## caveman grower (Feb 22, 2010)

hey everyone, just to give you an idea of how quick the co2 rises in a room. I have a digital meter that reads the ppm every 5 seconds, just breathing in the room brings up the levels 300 ppm in seconds. the average ppm are 389 in my area but when i an in the flower room for 10 minuets after the lights turn off the level rises to 1000 ppm. So if your room is in your house you could use your house fan on your heater controls to bring co2 into the room when your home. just something t think about.


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## tyke1973 (Feb 22, 2010)

The best way that i have come up with to make a good co2 generator for my tent grow is to use my camping sove have it on low when the lights are on but turn all the fans off leaveing it running for harf hour at a time.It cost 10 pound for 2 refills and i may use 6 for each flowering that i do but it increses the yeild by at least 20%.Also i found a god send some of the older folk out there may remember a product called soda stream this is the perfect tool for makeing tap water into gas filled water the plants love it it is full of co2.


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## godsbestgift (Apr 14, 2010)

needhelp said:


> you can use Seltzer water but i didn't want to mention it because you have people on here who swear you shouldn't give plants Seltzer water and they say the roots don't need CO2, just oxygen.... when in reality they are WRONG... I am not an expert grower but the reason i know they are wrong.. 1) i tried it and it didn't harm my plants at all 2) i looked up a study done with 2 plants Water Vs. Seltzer Water... it showed a chart and the experiment was done over a series of months...so it wasn't a bullshit study... and the plant fed Seltzer Water actually grew healthier and bigger than the plant that was fed water... (it even became smarter.... meaning... when certain leaves started to die when they conducted a dry experiment... the plant started to grow leaves at the bottom instead of the top like every plant that is fed water) because the theory is since plants roots do need oxygen... the bubbles are feeding both to the roots and people didn't know roots can benefit from CO2 because of the whole plant leaf using CO2 thing.... and what was also a plus sign... the bubbles help loosen dirt around the plants roots so they do have the room to breathe easier.... there are many that will dispute this... but like i said... i looked it up for myself because you can't depend on weed growers to know and understand all aspects of plant life.... you also need people who know plants.... just make sure its seltzer water with NO SODIUM... maker sure its all zeroes in the nutrional column on the back of the bottle.... oh yeah.... there are people on here that will say don't water your plants seltzer water...just spray it... i don't know anything about this or if it works... but i do know you can give your plant seltzer water as long as there's NO SODIUM


Damn bro that was one hell of an elaboration. I can see truth to that, but I would give a test run to some midgrade 1st to see how it reacts. U must be smokin some good shit to get into that so passionatly bro NO 2 SODIUM!


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## Little Tommy (May 17, 2010)

The whole idea behind the vapor lock on top of the jug is to keep out harmful microbes that can kill the yeast.


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## bladezilla (Sep 25, 2010)

K.I.S.S CO2

What I did works fine and it's simple. I took a 5 gallon plastic water jug (office cooler type) and filled it about 25% full of lukewarm water, added about 2 cups of sugar and a couple teaspones of bakers yeast. I took a small hypodermic needle and stuck it through the plasic jug, put a sealant around it and ran a tube from the needle into a jug of water (mostly just to see how much CO2 was being produced). It produces about one bubble every second. I bought a bag of round ballons and stretch a ballon over the top. This is an air seal and also acts as a preasure regulator. If the balloon is standing up it's making CO2. If I give it a shake it bubbles like mad and the balloon gets much bigger. When the CO2 production subsids I add another half gallon of water and another cup of sugar and shake. So far it's been producing CO2 right along. I have no idea what concentrations I'm getting but it certainly better than nothing and the plants seem to like it.

Heres a pic from yesterday and one from 9 days ago
















Here is the same plant above less than two days later.







I can't wait until the really start growing.


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## coreymillia (Oct 2, 2010)

Yeah I know its been a year since anyone has posted anything here but a CO2 generator is a gas burning carbon dioxide generator. Now some jack ass decides to call his hootch setup a generator, as people have been doing making wine for how long. So not that it matters, but here in colorado we have a bunch of idiots attempting to grow medical cannabis, and they are spreading poor information, bugs and diseases. So I was here because I am going through a tank every 4 days keeping the ppm at 1500. And its to hot to run my generator. I thought Id try to find out the sugar/yeast ratio, and I see people calling this a generator. Giving no thought to the people who may be trying to search google for information on real generators, then being linked to this shit. So you cheap ass fuckers want to play with co2 try a tank AND monitor! otherwise just go breath on them... I will post again on what the ppm is in a room roughly 10 x 10 with BREWING the co2. at about 2 cups sug and a tsp yeast per gallon, pretty sure Im gonna want to up to a 5 gallon.


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## edensundies (Jun 30, 2011)

Hi, just wanna know where you bought the release bulb on your fermentation setup, the one on top that looks like a plastic thingy( transparent)


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## Tennis1 (Jun 30, 2011)

I've been doing this now (thanks to you) for the last 3 weeks of which have been in the middle to end of flower and feel like its been an overall improvement. My buds seem tighter and larger than they were headed 3 weeks ago. Yesterday, I had to turn the air conditioner off. I forgot about it and 2 hrs later it was 105 degrees in the room and the plants were acting as if nothing was happening. Cool its working. I just use the "Piss Jug" technique. Water, shit load of cane sugar, and 2tbs yeast. got 4 jugs in a 4x8x6 room.


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## [email protected] (Aug 23, 2011)

Anonymous said:


> Baking soda/acid is a good system, but it is ultimately fairly expensive. Furthermore, you also release acetate ions/salts, as well as other volatiles from the vinegar (which is not a pure solution of acetic acid, of course). They prolly won't kill your plants, though they might. Instead they will likely make it smell or taste bad.
> 
> What is a better way to get your carbon dioxide? Fermentation. Acquire some brewer's yeast if you can. The types of yeast you can use are in order of what is best, though all are acceptable:
> 
> ...


Thank you, Thank you, THANK YOU! Ive been wanting a cheap easy way to supplement CO2 for my plants and this is absolutely perfect. So would it be best to make one big fermenting vessel with several tubes going to each plant or is it better to make smaller individual vessels for each plant? It would seem easier and more practical to make one big one though. I'm the kind of learner that dose best if I have a visual reference so if possible could you please post some pictures showing the vessels, air lock, tubes and how they connect? I would be very grateful. Thanks again and stay green.

PS. I "liked" your post but if there is another way to give you reputation points or something (Ive heard of this before but I don't know how to do it or what it really is) let me know because you deserve it my friend.


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## [email protected] (Aug 23, 2011)

whatsawhosit said:


> excellent post but lets make it simpler!!! why all the hoses and extra jugs just to lock out oxygen?
> 
> i just took a jug punched a hole in the top and epoxied a cheap plastic check valve in there. the same kind of valve aquarium filters use that prevent the water from backing up into the air pump. two dollars at wal mart
> 
> ...


+1, excellent upgrade to an awesome idea, I love it here




, this place and you guys rock!


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## joeweedo (Sep 27, 2011)

VERY USEFULL INFO THANKS ALOT , 

BUT I NEED UR ADVISE PPL . i have a direct intake from outside air (natural), do i need co2 generator , ?? ?


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## DreamB0x (Sep 28, 2011)

Hey! Thanks a lots for this great method!
I made up a batch myself last night and it's a charm - 3 liter bottle with 1,5lt water; 1 1/2 tsp yeast and 1 1/2 cup sugar (brown, as I ran out of crystal) and an addition of a bunch of raisins! I'm guessing it was a big success by the temperature rise - ~2 degrees C which is quite a lot I think! My question is - Is it possible to determine how much the RPM has risen from the temperature amplitude? It would be a perfect way to control the level with those DIY generators if a calculation is possibleView attachment 1810000.


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## elduece (Sep 28, 2011)

A 1/2-3/4 teaspoon of baking powder for every pound of sugar will prolong fermentation for up to 3 weeks instead of 1 week without the baking powder. Just saying.


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## urgod (Sep 28, 2011)

best way for CO2 is to use your water heater. just route some of your exhaust to your grow room with a CO2 PPM controller. set it at like 1200ppm and run it on a inline duct fan. its virtually free (besides the controller) you can use a rigged computer fan too if you want


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## artofit (Feb 7, 2012)

Anonymous said:


> Baking soda/acid is a good system, but it is ultimately fairly expensive. Furthermore, you also release acetate ions/salts, as well as other volatiles from the vinegar (which is not a pure solution of acetic acid, of course). They prolly won't kill your plants, though they might. Instead they will likely make it smell or taste bad.
> 
> What is a better way to get your carbon dioxide? Fermentation. Acquire some brewer's yeast if you can. The types of yeast you can use are in order of what is best, though all are acceptable:
> 
> ...


An important foot note here is that CO2 should be provided during light hours only. Presence of CO2 during dark periods is counterproductive and can stunt the growth of your plants. Oxygen is needed during dark hours and the good source, of course, is the good old fresh air. Air is still free as far as I know but oxygen is regulated by the feds. Surprised, are you? What else did you expect ??? Also, any type of contained fossil fuel combustion system remains a valid source of co2 for your plants (butane or propane lamps are good ideas).


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## fslashthroat (Feb 7, 2012)

https://www.rollitup.org/harvesting-curing/509327-cheap-easy-diy-co2-generator.html

My method uses fermentation, the bonus is, you get free booze that tastes great. check it out and let me know what you think


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## artofit (Feb 7, 2012)

You are absolutely correct Cowboy. I have corrected the information.


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## erastus green (Feb 8, 2012)

Great info, explained in a easy to follow way, my hat is off to anon, and also Tommy for the great photo. Just what I had been looking for, cheers, may your bongs bubble strong with potent smoke!


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## dvs1038 (Mar 27, 2012)

I was just checking around regarding cheap ways to supply my plants with CO2 and I've been reading all these posts about creating ur own fermentation airlock and all this stuff and it sounds more like u guys wanna do some science experiments, but anyways for someone that just wants to get some CO2 to their plants the method that ppl I know have talked about and the one that seems cheapest and easiest to me is to go out to ur local supermarket or liquor store or whatever pick urself up some club soda aka seltzer water nuttin added to it, no sodium, no sugar, no flavoring of any kind just water and u guessed it CO2 that stuff that makes the bubbles, anyways u can simply put the soda in a spray bottle( u can even add some nutes if u do any kind of foliage spray) and spray it on ur plants now when u do this make sure not to have ur plants under any kind of light generating any kind of high heat cause like most know if u do this it will heat up the water on the leave and burn ur plants. 

There is nuttin wrong with the fermentation method if there was so many ppl wouldn't be talkin bout it, but this seems more like a method a stoner would use!

Sorry one thing I left out here the CO2 is used by the plants while they r in the light cycle so if u just shutdown the lights while u spray them set up a fan to help em dry then turn on ur lights again after 15-20min NO more than 20min. That way the leaves should be pretty much dry, 

2nd edit for noobs, I forgot to mention this as well but this method of spraying with club soda only can be used during veg stage, during flowering stage where u should avoid spraying the plant with water is when u would wanna break out the yeast and sugar method for CO2.


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## ruudong (Jun 9, 2012)

needhelp said:


> weedyoo.... what you made is what i explained... its called a CO2 generator.... but what i don't understand is why you're using a 5 gallon bucket when the CO2 generator says to use a 2 liter soda bottle.... and i'm not sure if you know why you need hose and a fish tank pump and the rock that makes bubbles?... its because a C02 generator is really for people who have plant aquariums... people that have fish and grow their plants under water.... since the plants are underwater they need a way to get CO2 to the plants.... so basically what i'm saying is your system might need tweaking.... because with 2 cups of water, 2 cups of sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of yeast in a 2 Liter soda bottle can give me 2 weeks of CO2... why are you only getting a week with a 5 pound bag of sugar, bucket and all that other stuff? oh yeah... its a bad idea to use glue for certain plastics because of a chemical they use that really won't let the glue get a good grip... so if a CO2 buildup occurs.. it will pop your hoses out.... truthfully i have a grow cab.. which makes it suitable for using a soda bottle... so i guess it depends on the size of your area


i use this all the time but i mix 1 1/2 cup brown suger 1/2 white suger 1 ts champaine yeast with 7 cups of luke warm water ,, mix them really good for about 5 minute then funnel it in to your 2 liter bottle 

have a thick plastic pipe drill hole in top of the cap of a 2 liter coke bottle have the pipe just in the bottle a little bit , seall using bathroom based sealent i like to use silicone 
have a second 1 liter bottle with the pipe connected from the 2 liter bottle , going all the way to the bottom of the 1 liter bottle with a second pice of tubing 1 inch in to the 1 liter bottle 20inch extra on it ,

fill the 1 liter bottle to the same height it would be filed to by soda pop ect this will act as a filter just to make sure only pure co2 comes out 

personley i have the tubing taped right behind my fan so the fan dispurces the co2 to my plants


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## Scroga (Sep 19, 2012)

what if I just poured a bottle or a half of seltzer around the base of my girl? (grown in hydroton) wouldn't this flush roots on the way past, then at the bottom of pot, sit and release the co2 back to the root zone?


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## outdoorking (Dec 8, 2012)

So to give this a try I went ahead and used some old homebrew beer making experience and here is what I did. Took a black 5 gallon bucket with a sealing lid. Drilled a small hole in the top, same size as my water hoses on the hydro tank. This was so I could use the same fittings and hoses to make a tight seal. Bought some champaign (sp) yeast off ebay and filled the bucket half way with clean tap water. Warmed a gallon of water to 97 F and added 4 packs of yeast, stir and let sit for 30 minutes. Took 2 lbs of sugar (too much maybe?) and poured it into the 5 gallon bucket. Mixed until it all disolved. Added a half cup of protine shake mix powder. This is supposed to be a super food source for the yeast, not sure but worth a try. Poured the yeast mix into the main bucket and stired for a few minutes. Here was something I did second time around. Drilled a hole in my grow room wall and ran the hose into the room with the yeast bucket outside of the room. This was becasue first time I had bucket in the grow but noticed that since i keep it at 72 F around the clock it was a bit cold for the yeast. By having bucket ouside the natural heat kept it nice and warm. Other option would be to use a fishtank heater in the bucket. This would keep the temp set while the outside air could be cold. I then ran the end of the hose into a 2 liter bottle of water half full to make an airlock. That protects the yeast from getting contaminated with outside junk. Did it work? Oh yes. to be honest, I have to take some photos to show the proof. Had 4 short ryder that did great but the master piece was 2 blue mystic (all auto flower feminized from Nirvana) .... The blue mystics are about 5 feet tall, 3 feet thick, and each has 7 to 9 cola that are massive. I measured the largest cola, which is about 18 inches long but thicker than a half gallon milk jug and dense as can be. Maybe it is just the grow causing it to do so well but this is without a doubt the best grow yet and I did not change anything other than the addition of the ghetto co2 machine  Seems to work, I am stoaked. Give it a try. Tons of videos on youtube on this topic as well. Apparently there are devices like this for auqariums, to help the plants grow. Just much smaller in scale. I am considering next grow adding a difuser to the setup and running it directly into my plant hydro tubs. That way the bubbles will be in the acutal plant water and the difuser will ensure the co2 is in the water the plants use. Any extra will simply bubble up to the top and slowly creep out of the container directly into the base of the plant. Or at least this is what I am thinking. May try it on one tub to see if there is any difference noticable. Will report findings. Great thread! Thanks


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## outdoorking (Dec 8, 2012)

I was not aware of this, I let mine run round the clock but have cage fans running that curculate and recylce the air. Have to come up with a way to time the release of gas I guess. Is it really bad to run 24 / 7 or just not optimal? I don't want to mess up such a great grow


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## joespit (Jan 23, 2013)

I've got this setup going on. It's a 3 gallon brew jug dealie, filled with champagnes yeast and plenty of sugar. I wrapped a spare seedling heast mat around it to keep the yeast warm. But I guess I should pull it out of the tent at night?


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## A64 Team (Jan 24, 2013)

Get that paintball gun out!. no paintballs, just blast those maffackas with CO2! (joking)


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## Steelheader3430 (Jul 30, 2013)

edensundies said:


> Hi, just wanna know where you bought the release bulb on your fermentation setup, the one on top that looks like a plastic thingy( transparent)


 If you still care you can get all the jugs, bungs, and bubblers from a store that sells beer brewing equipment.


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## Steelheader3430 (Jul 30, 2013)

Has anybody on here just gotten a bottle of co2 and sprayed the plants with it periodically? I've seen it work wonders. Yes this was back in the dark ages (90's). How about getting a bottle of co2 and a valve for a beer keg then tuning it to get the appropriate amounts? Thats whats on my mind since I have access to that stuff.


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## midgetpawn (Oct 2, 2013)

I'm curious what the amount of co2 in the average 2 liter soda bottle is. Has anyone tried opening a seltzer or soda bottle a tiny bit to let the co2 seep out for a while, and noticed raised co2 levels in the air?


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## GrowinDad (Oct 2, 2013)

Here's what I don't get... Most of us have a tent in a larger room (or in a closet). We have intake and exhaust. I am really curious if anyone using the yeast method has measured the impact when there is exhaust. Seems like the co2 would be leaving too fast or moreso going in at too slow a rate to build up with exhaust???


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## matto70799 (Jun 17, 2015)

Anonymous said:


> Baking soda/acid is a good system, but it is ultimately fairly expensive. Furthermore, you also release acetate ions/salts, as well as other volatiles from the vinegar (which is not a pure solution of acetic acid, of course). They prolly won't kill your plants, though they might. Instead they will likely make it smell or taste bad.
> 
> What is a better way to get your carbon dioxide? Fermentation. Acquire some brewer's yeast if you can. The types of yeast you can use are in order of what is best, though all are acceptable:
> 
> ...


Just real quick: 100% correct. And to put to bed the idea that you can poison any plant with to much CO2 - no way it can be done. Look it up in the new edition of Ed Rosenthal's grow book. Here's the gist: the plants ability to use extra CO2 in the environment is limited by the amount of light and heat available. Ideally at about 400-600 ppm CO2 (with enough lights at about 75-80F) photosynthesis is very rapid at about 600 mol (4600 fc or 49,310 lux) which is not too hard to accomplish. Smaller, but significant, gains are seen to about 1200 ppm CO2 but you really need some heavy duty lights (Requiring about 5500 fc or 48,240 lux). Over this amount of CO2 you get smaller gains up to a max of 1500 ppm CO2 (but you need a whopping 7500 fc or 80,400 lux)!
Plants cannot be killed by too much CO2.
Anyway, hope all this helps!


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## matto70799 (Jun 17, 2015)

matto70799 said:


> Just real quick: 100% correct. And to put to bed the idea that you can poison any plant with to much CO2 - no way it can be done. Look it up in the new edition of Ed Rosenthal's grow book. Here's the gist: the plants ability to use extra CO2 in the environment is limited by the amount of light and heat available. Ideally at about 400-600 ppm CO2 (with enough lights at about 75-80F) photosynthesis is very rapid at about 600 mol (4600 fc or 49,310 lux) which is not too hard to accomplish. Smaller, but significant, gains are seen to about 1200 ppm CO2 but you really need some heavy duty lights (Requiring about 5500 fc or 48,240 lux). Over this amount of CO2 you get smaller gains up to a max of 1500 ppm CO2 (but you need a whopping 7500 fc or 80,400 lux)!
> Plants cannot be killed by too much CO2.
> Anyway, hope all this helps!


growdad: yes the CO2 is evacuated rapidly with exhaust fans. You get no benefit from augmenting CO2 at night (or during the dark cycle). What you can do is put your vent fan on a timer so it runs for like an hour every 2 hours or so and then constantly during the dark period. Ventilation (other than to remove heat from HID lights and the fans to simulate a breeze) is to pull out excess O2 and replenish the CO2 concentration naturally. If you are artificially generating CO2, and have a breeze inside your tent to keep the micro environment around the leaves and stems moving, ventilating with fresh air is not needed as often. 

Just my 2 cents.


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## papabisquits (Jun 17, 2015)

if your going to put a bottle with sugar water with yeast in your growroom just take up wine making they go hand in hand from conception till consumption.


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## JellyJaguar (Jun 17, 2015)

rollitup said:


> This is a low budget mod that can help you produce CO2 by simply using vinegar and baking soda. This method eliminates excess heat and water vapor production and requires simple items you can find in your closet  Create s system that drips the vinegar into a bed of baking soda (place it in a bucket) The main con of this system is not being able to control the CO2 levels, It takes alot of time for the CO2 to build up to a level where it helps a plant. Once this level is reached going over this level can kill the poor little plants  this will take some experimenting on your part to figure out how much to add, throwing a solenoid switch in the line with a timer will help you do this with little effort.
> 
> Good luck happy smoking


This is outstanding and the timing is impeccable, I was just walking down to my grow room this morning and thinking, man I wonder how much a co2 system would cost X) I will give this a shot for sure . I think I can picture in my head how to make a slow drip system using this method. Will upload my concept tonight and you guys can tell me what you think.


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## JellyJaguar (Jun 17, 2015)

I think with a seven foot tall tent I would have to build a fairly hefty unit as well I wonder if it would be better for me just to buy a unit due to the size of my tent and wont the ventilation just remove it?


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## matto70799 (Jun 22, 2015)

JellyJaguar said:


> I think with a seven foot tall tent I would have to build a fairly hefty unit as well I wonder if it would be better for me just to buy a unit due to the size of my tent and wont the ventilation just remove it?


Hi. See my reply like 3 or 4 posts up about ventilation removing CO2. Short answer is yes ventilation will remove it. But I explained above that you can use the ventilation system on a timer and run it like 2 hours every 4 hours whIle the lights are on and all the time when they are off (plants only use CO2 during the light cycle reactions of photosynthesis, so not at all in the dark. Anyway, I think the best and most cost effective way of generating CO2 in the concentrations needed to make the biggest difference (in the long run, the setup is a bit pricey bit ongoing costs are fairly low) is to get a 40lb. (Or whatever size will fit your space, Ebay has them at good prices - about $100 for a big 20-40lb tank), a solenoid controlled regulator (Ebay for like $38.00), and a little high pressure plastic tubing (home depot - they sell black plastic 1/4" ID refrigerator water line. This stuff holds lots of pressure and works great for gases. Use it for N2 at work all the time. Cheap too ~$6.00 a roll of 10 or 20'). Remember tanks are usually sold empty so you have to account for the cost of the gas and getting it filled. 
Ok good luck. Crank up the wattage on your lights, bring the CO2 levels to about 800-1200 ppm and watch your babies grow so fast you won't believe it. And we thought hydro alone was fast....


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## JellyJaguar (Jun 22, 2015)

matto70799 said:


> Hi. See my reply like 3 or 4 posts up about ventilation removing CO2. Short answer is yes ventilation will remove it. But I explained above that you can use the ventilation system on a timer and run it like 2 hours every 4 hours whIle the lights are on and all the time when they are off (plants only use CO2 during the light cycle reactions of photosynthesis, so not at all in the dark. Anyway, I think the best and most cost effective way of generating CO2 in the concentrations needed to make the biggest difference (in the long run, the setup is a bit pricey bit ongoing costs are fairly low) is to get a 40lb. (Or whatever size will fit your space, Ebay has them at good prices - about $100 for a big 20-40lb tank), a solenoid controlled regulator (Ebay for like $38.00), and a little high pressure plastic tubing (home depot - they sell black plastic 1/4" ID refrigerator water line. This stuff holds lots of pressure and works great for gases. Use it for N2 at work all the time. Cheap too ~$6.00 a roll of 10 or 20'). Remember tanks are usually sold empty so you have to account for the cost of the gas and getting it filled.
> Ok good luck. Crank up the wattage on your lights, bring the CO2 levels to about 800-1200 ppm and watch your babies grow so fast you won't believe it. And we thought hydro alone was fast....


Wow good to know man thanks,


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## matto70799 (Jun 28, 2015)

Super glad I could help. Just trying to pass on what little knowledge I have in return for the vast amounts I've taken from here.


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