Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
❄️ What exactly is dry ice – and where does that incredible fog come from?
Dry ice is solid carbon dioxide (CO₂) at around −78.5°C / −109.3°F. Unlike regular ice, it doesn’t melt into a liquid. Instead, it changes directly from a solid into CO₂ gas – a process called sublimation.
When dry ice comes into contact with water, the relatively warm water makes it sublimate much faster. The extremely cold CO₂ cools the surrounding humid air, causing water vapour to condense into millions of tiny droplets. That’s the thick white fog you see – it’s mainly tiny water droplets, not CO₂ “smoke”. 🌫️
⚠️ Important: Never put dry ice into an aquarium containing fish, shrimp or other animals. It can rapidly increase CO₂ levels, lower the pH and create extreme local temperature changes, potentially harming or killing livestock.
This was purely a show effect at a trade fair and the aquarium contained NO animals. 🐠🚫
Video credit Frank Reece
#DryIce
#Aquarium
#Aquascaping
#AquariumHobby
#ScienceInAction
❄️ What exactly is dry ice – and where does that incredible fog come from?
Dry ice is solid carbon dioxide (CO₂) at around −78.5°C / −109.3°F. Unlike regular ice, it doesn’t melt into a liquid. Instead, it changes directly from a solid into CO₂ gas – a process called sublimation.
When dry ice comes into contact with water, the relatively warm water makes it sublimate much faster. The extremely cold CO₂ cools the surrounding humid air, causing water vapour to condense into millions of tiny droplets. That’s the thick white fog you see – it’s mainly tiny water droplets, not CO₂ “smoke”. 🌫️
⚠️ Important: Never put dry ice into an aquarium containing fish, shrimp or other animals. It can rapidly increase CO₂ levels, lower the pH and create extreme local temperature changes, potentially harming or killing livestock.
This was purely a show effect at a trade fair and the aquarium contained NO animals. 🐠🚫
Video credit Frank Reece
#DryIce
#Aquarium
#Aquascaping
#AquariumHobby
#ScienceInAction
