# @#$% Jello CO2! Half tank wiped out!



## eternity302 (Apr 22, 2010)

Yes, I had a few cans of beer already! I had a long day at work and hurt my back yesterday from moving something at work! And guess what? @#$% Jello CO2! Yes, if you like to support it, GREAT, by all means, cuz I could care less! I've read tons of articles and fact of what could happen and horror stories online, BUT NO, I don't like to believe them! Guess what? As I'm at work, almost about to leave, my wifey calls me in panic "HALF YOUR TANK IS DEAD"! WHAT? Yes, the jello CO2 that I started trying early this month started pumping jello in my tank! NO, it didn't explode! I rather it exploded and got it everywhere!  But no, it pumped jello in my tank and wiped out what I care for most! I am devastated and completely upset, cuz this ain't your horror story, this is your LOCAL fishy community friends!!!

If you're doing Jello DIY CO2, take it out, I ain't even joking! DIY CO2, great, used it for months and no problem, but look, JELLO CO2 JUST PLAIN SUCKS!!!!
Excuse my language, but finding DEAD denisoni barbs, kutubu rainbows, 4 inch congo tetras, and triple red cockatoos, ain't friggin cool one bit!!!

Here are pictures from 2 days ago before water change... and right now... when I'm changing water and trying to save all the fish with the wifey!
They are in a quarintine bucket!


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## eternity302 (Apr 22, 2010)

Upset... very upset!


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## plantedinvertz (Apr 21, 2010)

Sorry for your loss. I overdid my DIY co2 and added alot of yeast once and the solution came pouring into my shrimp tank. I CHanged gallons of water nonstop for a whole hour only one casualty. Good Luck


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## eternity302 (Apr 22, 2010)

I feel like crying at the moment.. and I feel like drowning the person who thought about jello co2! Mods.. sorry, but honestly.. dumb mistake, and i'm devastated!

I dun think anyone personally would understand how I feel right now except the members on this forum!


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## ~Michelle~ (Jun 18, 2010)

omg that is absolutely horrible!! Sorry for your loss! I hope you can save the rest!


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## Scholz (Apr 21, 2010)

dood..... that sucks those were some nice rainbows....


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## VinnyD (Apr 21, 2010)

whoa...*beeeeeep*....sorry to hear and see your loss...sh*t happen..but it hurts more if it's a fellow bca member...hope all turn out better...fingers crossed.


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## eternity302 (Apr 22, 2010)

Thanks guys!Q
I am taking a break while my wifey is on it! She wuz devastated like she wuz crying over the fone when she called me! I can only tell you one thing.. if you're on Jello CO2, pull that crap out.. it aint worth losing any fish...!
I have my whole tank ripped apart.. my wife asked me a easy question "Is it okay if I destroy all your plants to try to catch as many fish possible?".. "yes, ofcourse, shred them up, save as many lives as you possibbly can"!
I feel terrible.. as I definitely did not expect this!
I will not EVER use soemthing that I think is good for the fish, instead, I rather buy fish supplies!..
With the amount of fish that has died so far.. i could of bought myself a cheap CO2 system.. instead.. i wanted to save mone first.. i will definitely not make that mistake again!


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

Defintely sucks man. Hopefully the rest can be saved.


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## O.C.D Fishies (Apr 21, 2010)

Oh I am so sorry for your loss eternity302, I hope that the rest are going to make it. What a hard way to learn what not to do.


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## VinnyD (Apr 21, 2010)

i would've volunteered to help you out, but by the time i reach you, u and you wife would be done already...


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## Brisch (May 13, 2010)

I know how this feels....I didnt have a jello co2 f**K up my tank, my power went out and went it came back on the filters and air pumps didnt start...Im really sorry you lost sooooo many fishy friends


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

You have my sympathy. I just had a 80% casualty rate in my tank due to disease I inherited from a LFS. Took me a week to take care and still working to control the spread.

Hope your tank recovers soon!


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## eternity302 (Apr 22, 2010)

I want to thank everyone for being so understand!
As I said, I definitely would pull out wutever DIY CO2 you have, as you don't want to end up like me! And this ain't no regular horror story, this is your local fishy member!

Anyways, All fish has no choice but to go back in... 100% water changed! But ofcourse, I pulled out 50% of the water from a 29gallon, and from another 5 gallon, and another 5 gallon!
So I guess it wont be too bad!
Lets pray nothing is worst! I will post up the casualties in a bit.. after another can of beer and a cigarette!
Guess the ironic thing is? I just bought a xp3, fluval 203, fluval 303 just to give additional filters to this tank and a future tank... god i hate myself!


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## VinnyD (Apr 21, 2010)

yah ...just add some prime and get the filters going ..and hope for the best...wish u and your tank residents the best..


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## eternity302 (Apr 22, 2010)

Thanks VinnyD!
Just added prime! Glad that over the years, I had quite a few different tools around!
Got some extra added conditioner! Cleaned my eheim 2215 and 2x fluval 3 plus and a powerhead!
On top added prime, neutral ph regulator and that's about it! Praying that the ammonia remover, carbon, and crushed coral will do it's thing!
Everyone doesn't seem to have a great slime coat, but it's looking better!

As for casualties, here goes...
sux.. but I hafta say it:
Threadfin Rainbowfish 1.5" or so $14
Parkinsoni Rainbowfish 3" $18
Kutubu Rainbowfish 3"+ $12
Congo Tetra x 2, 3" + 4" $15
Denisoni Barb 3" $25
Apistogramma Triple Red 2" or less $13
Dwarf Parrot x 3, 2" or less $2 each

Yah.. it hurts... really does! could care less about the money right now... but soooo sooo super sad!


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## VinnyD (Apr 21, 2010)

yah..it hurts and sad when u see pets pass away..especially if you could've prevented it...we just learn from the mistakes and take precautions...i did the diy co2...let it on at night...ph lowered...casualties.....then there was the heat wave last summer....sad


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## eternity302 (Apr 22, 2010)

been through both of them!
My wifey's turtle thats been with her for 5 years... died last year becuz of the heatwave!
Trust me... it's a big thing for her.. she's only 20... so 5 years.. it's a quarter of her life... sigh~


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

Sorry for your loss man.... It sucks when this sort of thing happens. I hate to say it, but its an inherent risk no matter the method of diy co2 you use. There will be horror stories out there always about it, and a few of us will have our own.

But DiY remains the reality for many, Whether it be jello or the standard co2 2L water solution. That is why most people look for mixes from others experience, to help find the tried tested and true balanced mixture. The jello method has been around for a very long time, even Rex Grigg (master of co2 equipment) uses it on his smaller tanks. I hate to sound like a douche, but people wont give up on diy, because in the majority of cases no issues happen, and its dirt cheap to set up. I cant afford a co2 tank and the equipment needed for it, and many others cant.

Rather than tell many of us to scrap our diy setups because yours did lots of damage, why not try to help us pin point the cause of it.

ie. What was your:
mix
type of yeast
Capacity and shape of jug
Soft or hard jug
Was the line sealed into the cap, or stuck through
how was it fed into the tank (directly to cannister, airstone, venturi powerhead, chopstick in line?)
Was the tank above, below, or at substrate level?
Was your mix heated, or near any sources of heat (ie sun, heating vent)

Don't take this as me not caring, i hate losing fish, and i especially hate losing plants, so you definately have my sympathy.


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## eternity302 (Apr 22, 2010)

HAH! somehow I knew you'd defend the DIY Co2, but nonetheless, I would rather pull it out! But as you said, anything will have their ups and downs, even a co2 regulator and canister can fail on you! But honestly, i would definitely not do this again!

As for the mixture, dun remember, have it written down somewhere, will post tomorrow once I have the strength... just finished.. oh god.. it's 2am!
yeast - the ones they sell in jars at save on foods and safeway, the one with yellow label
the line wuz sealed with silicone bought from rona!
it wuz fed into the tank with the intake of my fluval plus 3
the tank is well below, i would say the co2 sits 1.5-2 feet lower than the tank
the lines were also around 6 foot long!
I mix wuz fridge over night when made, then used next day with luke warm distilled water (aquafina water) with yeast added
There are absolutely no sources of heat nearby at all, it sits under the tank, inside the cabinet


hope this helps neven.. as I will definitely not give this another try, but hope the info so far will help you narrow down everything! I'm going to crash now! Will talk to u later!


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Ouch! I've never even heard of Jello CO2. I just use Metricide & that seems to work for me.

Yeah, I know soooooo many people, including myself, who tried to save a little $$ and ended up doing something that cost a lot more $$$$$$.

Good luck with the rescue.


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## Shrimpgirl (Apr 21, 2010)

So sorry to hear. Hope you are able to to save the rest. How's it looking this morning?


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

sorry for your loss  this is why i keep the plants in the garden, easier to just have to worry about parameters for fish than fish + plants.


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## Nicklfire (Apr 21, 2010)

That`s really unfortunate to hear. 

I tried diy co2 once and saw all the other stuff out there and hated it all..
just wound up spending the money on pressurized system will the failsafes.. and never looked back. wise investment if you want to use co2.. costly.. but wise..

Again that really sucks, i know how much that can hurt, especially when you have somewhat of a emotional attachment to your critters.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Sorry to hear that Jackson. Now that you've pulled the JellO out, just use the Metricide and everything should be ok.


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## budahrox (Apr 21, 2010)

Bummer 
Sorry for your loss.


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## Aquaman (Apr 21, 2010)

Soooo Sad right now  Sorry about your loss . I know how you feel. The feeling of guilt allways rips me up .  Loosing fish unnaturally is allways hard.

Damn that Peter Cooper ! ( inventer of jello ) 

bill


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

hmmm possibly the intake sucked it in.... was it set up with the line directly in the intake? on the side of it so only the suction pulls on the bubbles but not the line itself? underneath so the intake sucks in the rising bubbles.

When you go into the intake strainer, you need to be careful to make sure it goes in near the bottom, sometimes a tug on the line could move the co2 line where it is in line with the flow, therefore feeling the suction. personally i use a needle valve to greatly reduce the surface area of the co2 line's orifice, which ups the pressure in the line significantly, and reduces the suction the co2 in the line would recieve from the canister. Its also connected in a way that a tug would angle it down opposite of flow, rather into the flow.


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## jkam (Apr 21, 2010)

I had the same thing happen to me when I first set up my compressed CO2 system. My bubble counter got changed somehow and pumped a ton of CO2 into my tank and killed my fish. I was just as sad as you were


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## eternity302 (Apr 22, 2010)

SeaHorse_Fanatic said:


> Ouch! I've never even heard of Jello CO2. I just use Metricide & that seems to work for me.
> 
> Yeah, I know soooooo many people, including myself, who tried to save a little $$ and ended up doing something that cost a lot more $$$$$$.
> 
> Good luck with the rescue.


4 hours nonstop of water change... I'm going insane! I agree, I should of spent the money for something more secure!



Shrimpgirl said:


> So sorry to hear. Hope you are able to to save the rest. How's it looking this morning?


I saved wutever I could! They look kinda alright this morning... some have ich, some seem to have fungus or wutever... i think it's from the water shock when I immediately pulled them out to another tanks water! 



Mferko said:


> sorry for your loss  this is why i keep the plants in the garden, easier to just have to worry about parameters for fish than fish + plants.


Ahhh... but the beauty of having everything inside a tank, not just for show... i don't have to deal with the insects outdoors LOL!



Nicklfire said:


> That`s really unfortunate to hear.
> 
> I tried diy co2 once and saw all the other stuff out there and hated it all..
> just wound up spending the money on pressurized system will the failsafes.. and never looked back. wise investment if you want to use co2.. costly.. but wise..
> ...


Thanks Nicklfire, I'm planning on investing on pressurized, but until then, metricide will do. I just need a month or two for things to settle down first...



Aquaman said:


> Soooo Sad right now  Sorry about your loss . I know how you feel. The feeling of guilt allways rips me up .  Loosing fish unnaturally is allways hard.
> 
> Damn that Peter Cooper ! ( inventer of jello )
> 
> bill


LOL BILL!!! HAHAAHA!! YES, DAMn HIM!!!! But hey, at least this is one horror story you're hearing from a local, NOT an online story that can only be in half belief!



neven said:


> hmmm possibly the intake sucked it in.... was it set up with the line directly in the intake? on the side of it so only the suction pulls on the bubbles but not the line itself? underneath so the intake sucks in the rising bubbles.
> 
> When you go into the intake strainer, you need to be careful to make sure it goes in near the bottom, sometimes a tug on the line could move the co2 line where it is in line with the flow, therefore feeling the suction. personally i use a needle valve to greatly reduce the surface area of the co2 line's orifice, which ups the pressure in the line significantly, and reduces the suction the co2 in the line would recieve from the canister. Its also connected in a way that a tug would angle it down opposite of flow, rather into the flow.


Neven, nothing against you at all, and I already expected you to defend the DIY CO2  I would rather like to tell my side of the story that it ain't worth it! It's definitely smart to figure something that simple to work in a tank, and it's also that SIMPLE that half the lives in there are dead! I raised all these fish from younglings... watching my congo tetra that wuz less than an inch that looked crystal clear... and raising him to push over 3" wuz no easy task. I can only say one thing to everyone, it just ain't worth it at all! but hey, if you wanna continue supporting diy co2, by all means, I had no problem with the regular one, just not the jello co2! but no sure when problems woudl struck again, this is why i'll never use this junk again!



jkam said:


> I had the same thing happen to me when I first set up my compressed CO2 system. My bubble counter got changed somehow and pumped a ton of CO2 into my tank and killed my fish. I was just as sad as you were


=( Sorry to hear that, sure you know how i feel!


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## wsl (Apr 21, 2010)

Sorry to hear about your loss. I know how it feels to lose fish when you make a mistake that was preventable since I've had my share of losses from stupid mistakes as well. Hope the rest of your fish pull through.


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## eternity302 (Apr 22, 2010)

Thanks very much!

Alot of people have been very understanding about [email protected]
Thanks!


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

I use a second bottle as a bubble counter and an overflow to prevent this from occuring. I saw this happening with the standard DIY yeast mix flowing up into the tank, I didn't like the looks of that.

Sorry to hear about your fish, my tank got 75% eliminated the other day with a pressurized system... There's risk in any CO2 setup you use.


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## eternity302 (Apr 22, 2010)

Sigh... the regular DIY co2 mix wuz fine.. it wuz the jello that really killed! I might still use the regular mix, but not for awhile now~


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