What you need. 1 - 2 or 3 litre screw cap bottles 1 - roll of 1/4 inch clear vinyl tubing (10-15 feet serviced 2 plants) 1 - Hose barb, it's a brass fitting, with a barbed end, and a threaded end, the threaded end will get screwed down into the cap of the bottle, the barbed end goes into the tubing. It should be 1/4 inch on the barbed side to accomodate the tubing, and 1/2 inch on the threaded side. (note: if you don't have a 1/2 inch drill bit, pick one up, you'll only need it once, unless you stuff up, but none the less you will need it.) 1- 5 pack of 1/4 inch Drip T's, found in the outdoor irrigation section of your nearest Hardware Store of Home Depot. (the number of plants depends on how many you will need. 1 - roll/tube of pipe thread sealer or pipe tape. Here's a picture of all the small stuff, excluding the bottle.
So you've got all this stuff... now what to do with it all... Unscrew the cap of the bottle. You'll be drilling a hole in the cap to accomodate the threaded side of the barb.... . I used pipe tape to get a good seal, although depending on the kind and size of the threaded end you may need to use a tube of thread sealer, as it might not be a great fit. Take a pair of pliers, and CAREFULLY thread the barb into the cap. . We'll move along to the tubing. I have four plants in my grow, so i had to branch off from the barb twice, using 3 T's. Once to go from barb, (that gets me to ports), and another time to get four. These quarter inch T's ran for a 5 pack about 2-3 dollars. Cut a small piece of tubing approximately 1 inch long, attach/push the tubing onto the barb, at the other end, push it onto a T. (now what i have leftover isn't the same size so bear with me on this but you'll get the idea.) You'll want the ends of the tubing to reach the tops of the plants, as CO2 is heavier than O2 it will tend to drift down towards the floor. Select a site for the bottle to sit, measure your remaining tubing out to go to each plant so that the tubing points toward the plant at the tops, and connect the tubing to the remaining T's. You might have to secure the tubing with a little bit of tape to keep it from going all over the place or moving when fans are on but that's easily accomplished. 7 cups of water 2 cups of sugar 1/2 teaspoon or 1 packet of yeast Generally, it was stated that the yeast/sugar will last between 1-2 weeks before you'll need to change it out. It's a good idea to have 2 bottles available, and two days before you change them out, do up another bottle of the yeast/sugar, let it sit for 2 days to get the yeast going on the sugar and producing CO2, and then change the bottles out, so that there's no dip in CO2 production. If your kind of sceptic about if it's working or not, simply place a balloon over the bottle top when a fresh batch is made, the creation of CO2 will fill the balloon, and eventually burst it. Maintainance: You'll need to check your lines once-twice a week to make sure there's no kinks or that anythings been plugged, as this will build up pressure in a sealed container and could explode, so be careful. Maintenance on this generator is minimal as sugar, water and yeast are the only things that the generator actually uses after construction, so it's fairly cheap, and should be quite effective on upping CO2 levels.
excellent idea.... having the fans in the room on timers will prbably help the CO2 levlels stay higher.... great idea, i might impliment somthing similar for my next grow.. .
Hippie John: im not so sure that that would be a good idea, I leave my fans on 24/7, if levels of CO2 get too high, it can seriously affect the outcome of the yields. thats why for plants 1-3 months old or under 1 foot I used about half that formula, and for plants older that that I used full formula. Happy Grows BTW, how is that grow box of yours coming along?
not to burst ur balloon (get it) but... yes, CO2 is the limiting factor in ur grow room if everything else is correct but... 2lbs of sugar over a few weeks isnt producing much co2. if ur room is more than 500 cuft (8ft x 8ft x 8ft) ur not even putting in an extra 100ppm of co2 into the air. and franly in a sealed room, a few plants are using up more than that in a day time. if u seal ur room and expect 2 lbs of sugar to keep up with dead air...i think u are mistaken. also if u vent that room even once during the day...ur are losing all ur co2 to diffusion. unless u have a sealed room and the proper air exchangers and other controls, in my very honest opinion...u are beating ur head againsed the wall. air in ur house has a ppm of about 400. close ur room up for a few house with the light on and 2lbs of sugar every other week and ur consideriably lower than that. ur shooting urself in the foot. moral of the story...if u dont have the proper equiptment and the understanding on how to use it, dont even bother and work on ur other growing techniques.
if u dont believe me, do the math urself http://www.greenair.com/co2-generator.htm http://www.agrosun.com/content/articles/co2.html if my math is correct, to fill a room 8x8x8 to 1500ppm, u would need about 1lb of sugar a day. and remember that means no air exchanges and that the plant isnt using any co2. ofc both of those are true, so i would up that # to about 1.5 lbs of sugar a day. that seems like alot of work to me.
Might do better for cheaper to spend some quality time with your plants, talking or singing, or breathing heavily...lols
actually i was thinking about this q today. and just that, wondering how much co2 ppm an ave person puts into the air? and i agree with thug...it smells bad and is a pain in the ass with iffy results.
a hell of a lot. we looked into this a while back while looking for a place to grow. co2 levels are much higher in a city than in rural areas, 50 to 100% higher if i remember right but i probably dont. anyway its loads more becuse of the people. there was a biosphere thing in cornwall, some people and loads of plants in a big glass dome, the air inside was ment to last a year, plants giving the oxagen and people the co2. there was 4 people and about ten acres of plants, they ran out of oxagen. personaly i think there are very few grows that would gain from extra co2 but a lot that need better venting. if you get to the stage where co2 is worth the hassle then its worth the money to get a propper kit and all the dials n stuff. spending time with your plants will add a lot of co2, it also gives you plenty of time to spot problems and its relaxing and good for the soul.
I was sort of considering this for my setup. Like John was thinking, it is for a small box. 2x2x3 more or less even! There's an exhaust fan, but the whole unit is inside a closet, and though there are slats on the closet door, the intake vents on the box are very close to the wall. The fan does move air, but I'm not convinced that there's much intake from outside the closet. Discussing it with a bio undergrad friend of mine, he was saying that the normal plant cycle is to "breathe" in CO2 during the day, and breathe out oxygen. At night however, the plant intakes oxygen and releases CO2. So maybe a 18/6 light schedule would be more beneficial in lower ventilation than a 24/0. What do you guys think?
i dont think the plant uses oxygen at night... it just slows its production of oxygen... i beleive its only the roots that use oxygen... i might be wrong though..
yeah your right john. its common thinking that plants switch from using co2 to using oxygen at night but it isnt true. plants use co2 in the day and give off both oxygan AND co2 but as they use more co2 than they give off its never really thought of as giving off co2. during the dark cycle it still gives off co2 but not oxygen so levels of co2 rise making it look as if its using oxygen but its not. roots use oxygen all the time as they never stop working.
O2 is the plants' exhalation. For them to turn around and use it would be like humans switching from using O2 while awake, to using CO2 while sleeping. Not exactly parallel, but close enough for this purpose. This is a prime example of getting info from a friend of a friend. Ever play the game which starts with a whispered statement passed around the room, then comparing the final-pass version to the original... eg
Ai, thanks for setting me straight all of you good thing I'm not a bio major, I'd have to stop toking before learning this stuff Damn I feel dumb! And that game, I think it was called "operator" when I was little.
co2 is the product of resperation and o2 is the product of photosynthsis. all living things respire but plants (green things) only photosynthesize during the day. so...lets pretend u are gonna vent that little room. if its not sealed and/or u vent it continuously...ur co2 production is out the vent. no doubt every little bit helps, but lotta work for not alotta gain imvho...
As you gain experience with growing, you may develope a common syndrome, Cannabisius amores magnum(great love of the pot plant). Symptoms may include feelings of serenity while tending the garden, and a deepening desire to know your plants on a personal level. You could develope a passionate wish to provide them with everything they need, being the best Mother Nature you can be. This may lead to bouts of study and even spasms of learning. Continued exposure may give rise to feelings of accomplishment and create greater confidence in the gardener. Don't ever feel stupid for wanting to understand something outside your rhelm of experience. Also, you shouldn't take it personal if someone feels inclined to inform or even correct you. We all need to learn new stuff every day or plaque will build up in our brains. earth girl says go for it!