# Co2 sterilization



## Jacob (Nov 30, 2017)

I wasn't sure where to post this but I was looking up ways to supplement small amounts of Co2 into plant only tanks to improve growth and I stumbled across this video on YouTube about using Co2 to kill pests in vivs, as well as sterilizing moss and plants. Not sure how well it works but for anyone with bad pests it might be worth trying. Check it out either way 
https://youtu.be/cxKXiB25Wvc


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Thanks Jacob, we call it co2 bombing your viv. The biggest issue, besides it also killing off your microfauna, is that it will not kill eggs. For it to be effective, it would need multiple applications to kill newly hatched bugs. Your viv has to be pretty tightly sealed, too.
Done correctly, it can be effective, but I think I've probably more reports of failures.
I'm needing to do this on a moss tank, and my tiny filmy fern viv. When I do it, I'll be borrowing a beer brewing friend's co2 bottle and gauges. I think it would be particularly difficult with vinegar and baking soda.


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## Jacob (Nov 30, 2017)

That's a good point. I forget how hardy the eggs of most of these critters are. If you have a really bad mite problem or something to that effect I guess it'd be worth the multiple applications though. There's definitely better ways to add the Co2, that would make things much easier. Maybe seal up the vents with seran wrap and leave a small vent at the top for the oxygen to be forced out? Co2 is heavier than oxygen so it should fall to the bottom and push the oxygen up and out through the vent. I'm probably just gonna use this method on moss samples I take from outdoors for a little extra piece of mind though


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## Louis (Apr 23, 2014)

I co2 bombed a zoomed 45x45x60cm vivarium just after I set it up in mid November to kill slugs that had arrived on a plant.
I wrapped it tightly in clingfilm and ran an airline from a 5l plastic bottle to deliver the co2, with the airline running through another empty bottle between the reactor bottle and the tank to catch any spillage as the vinegar/baking soda reaction is quite violent.
Following instructions from http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/care-sheets/57367-building-using-co2-generator.htmlI calculated the quantities of vinear and baking soda required to fill the entire tank with co2 then flooded it completely and let it stand on three consecutive days. During the three days I was gassing the tank I also kept the room as warm as possible as insect metabolism slows in cooler temperatures.
It worked perfectly, after three days I unsealed everything and there were dead slugs and some kind of moth caterpillar all over the place and so far there's been no further sign of slugs, either I'm lucky and there were no eggs or the extended three day treatment combined with the heat killed them. 
One mistake I did make was in airing out the tank and adding microfauna _straight away_, springtails and isopods were of course fine as the air had been refreshed, but midge larvae I added to the small water feature began violently thrashing about and _died within minutes_ - I had ovrlooked the fact that exposure to nearly pure co2 for an extended period had caused the ph of the water to _plummet_ and that it takes much longer for the gasses dissolved in water to reach equilibrium with the air. 
I was essentially suffocating them in sulphuric acid and it took a full two days before anything added to the water didn't immediately perish. Luckily these were just midge larvae but not a mistake you'd want to make with frogs.
I've since introduced 10+ species of microfauna and they are all flourishing.
If I was ever to co2 bomb a tank again, and I probably will because it *does * work, I'd do what pumilio is suggesting and get a large C02 fire extinguisher cylinder or something like that as it inconvenient constantly adding baking soda charges to the vinegar.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Louis said:


> One mistake I did make was in airing out the tank and adding microfauna _straight away_, springtails and isopods were of course fine as the air had been refreshed, but midge larvae I added to the small water feature began violently thrashing about and _died within minutes_ - I had ovrlooked the fact that exposure to nearly pure co2 for an extended period had caused the ph of the water to _plummet_ and that it takes much longer for the gasses dissolved in water to reach equilibrium with the air.
> I was essentially suffocating them in sulphuric acid and it took a full two days before anything added to the water didn't immediately perish.


Glad you didn't lose anything but midge larvae. It would suck to release your expensive new frogs into that!
We use this to our advantage in the reef tank hobby. By injecting a controlled amount of co2 into a recirculating reactor, we can lower the ph in the reactor. We fill the reactor with coral based material (aragonite, dead coral skeletons, shells). The water becomes acidic enough to literally melt the aragonite. Dripped slowly into your tank, this gives you a constant supply of calcium, and a plethora of other trace elements, so your corals grow well. We call it a calcium reactor in the hobby. Much more important, though, is that it controls the alkalinity of the water. I always said it should be called an alkalinity reactor, with the added side effect of controling your calcium.
If your calcium gets low, things stop growing.
If your alkalinity is badly out of whack, everything dies...everything. 
See my point? It's an alkalinity reactor!


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## Jacob (Nov 30, 2017)

Thanks guys, you've been really helpful. I'm glad to hear you didn't lose any frogs in the venture. I've been noticing a few small white mites mixed in with springs in my tank of the same size. It looks like this might be in my future as well if they get out of hand. Has anyone used this on mites? I'm thinking it would be hard since they're so tolerant of co2. At the moment they're not much of an issue though, I only notice them where I see springs. On a side note, I did set up a similar system as in the video but for co2 supplementation vs sterilization. I used a half gallon of hot water(1.8L), 5 cups sugar, let it cool until it was slightly warm and then threw in a tbsp of yeast and it's doing way better than I thought. Yet to see how long it will last though


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## Louis (Apr 23, 2014)

It's pretty rare for mites to be a real problem in your tank and frogs will eat them. If they got totally out of control I would try a predatory mite like Hypoaspes miles before resorting to co2 which will also kill the rest of your microfauna. The only reason I did it was because I hadn't seeded yet.
H. miles also eat springtails and their eggs but they'll never totally irradicate them and always preferentially eat other mites. I use them in all of my enclosures and still have thriving springtail populations.
but I promise you most of the time mites are harmless in your tank.


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