Fizz Plant supplements

[guppymonkey]

I found these drop in plant supplements that are kind of like Alka Seltzer. They fizz and are supposed to add CO2 and plant supplements to the water. Do these things really work? I have a planted 20 gallon and would love for the plants to grow better and if this would work it would be easier then setting up a CO2 system.

 

[Lateral Line]

I would assume that anything that "fizzes" when you add it is made from an acid/alkali mix, so firstly I'd be a little wary about using it. Second, if the gas is fizzing to the surface, most of the gas is simply dissappearing. What is going into solution is going to create a CO2 "spike" but it will not last long, you'd need to be adding them continuously.

In short, I'm suspecting it is a gimmick. Got a link?

 

[guppymonkey]

Jungle Aquarium Products

Hopefully that will work, I haven't tried putting a link in before. Its from Jungle, they make a lot of aquarium fizz products, at least thats what their website says.

 

[Lateral Line]

Link works, doesn't say much though does it. Have you tried these? If so, is it obviously fizzing like an Alka-Selzer - in which case, it can't do it for very long.

 

[guppymonkey]

I have tried them and they do fizz like Alka Seltzer. They fizz until they completely dissolve. The rising bubbles form a slightly white film on the surface of the water for a few hours then that disappears. The box says that they are supposed to be dropped in once a week. I have dropped them in yesterday so I am guessing that if they did work it would take a few weeks for any noticeable change? Isn't that usually how long it takes to notice a change when using a co2 system?

I wonder if these tablets could be reducing the oxygen level in the tank? Should I be worried for the fish?

 

[Lateral Line]

Adding CO2 does not remove O2. If, as you say, these things fizz up for a short period and then stop, I would suggest that any CO2 benefit they allude to in there advertising bumph is so negligable as to be useless. It will briefly raise the CO2 level, but so briefly that I can't see how there could be any notieable difference. Of course, if you are not adding trace elements, then you start using these things, you may well get an effct, but I don't think you should rely on these things for CO2.

I can't see that they could harm your fish unless your water is very poorly buffered, in which case the pH may dip.

 

[Bangin]

A friend of mine used these 'tablets' with success. He recommended them to me for my 10 gallon. I decided to use the DIYCO2 method instead.

I'm about to setup a 20 gallon tank, and I plan to use the DIYCO2 method again. It will last longer than those tablets, so there will be less of a requirement to buy more. Those tablets may very well work, but I don't want to constantly add one each week!

Have you looked into the the Plant Gro CO2 Natural System? Here's a link: http/www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/produc...1;pcid1=;pcid2= (You can also make one of these yourself, just search for "DIY CO2" on google.)

That item can be bought at most pet stores, including Petsmart, and works very well. You only have to refill the yeast mixture every few weeks. You may want to try something similar if the tablets don't work out for you.

 

[Lateral Line]

>>> just search for "DIY CO2" on google

Or even the board search here, the topic comes up quite frequently.

 

[Bol]

I ran sort of an 'experiment' with these things a few months ago.

I dropped two tabs into a 46g tank. Basically a half-dose (the instructions say 1 tab per 10 gallons).

The KH of the water was 10 degrees. The tabs completely dissolved in about 10 minutes.

Time -- pH -- estimated CO2 content in ppm

0h 00m -- 8.0 -- 3
0h 15m -- 7.2 -- 19
0h 40m -- 7.4 -- 12
2h 00m -- 7.8 -- 5
6h 00m -- 8.0 -- 3

(next day, pH was 8.0 again)


My conclusion: they're almost worthless, and possibly dangerous.

I'm going to guess that any CO2 added to the water was basically all gone after (let's say) four hours. Therefore, the 'dosing' lasts about a third of a tank 'day'. One dose per week isn't going to have much of an impact, in my opinion. You're better off having a steady supply.

What was basically a half-dose dropped the pH in my tank by 0.8 in fifteen minutes (and raised it back up within a few hours). I shudder to think how much the pH would have dropped if I'd have used the full dose. Granted, this same drop would occur with a 'real' CO2 setup, but not in anything close to fifteen minutes.

I would not recommend the use of this product.

 

[endparenthesis]

What's with Jungle and fizzy stuff anyway. Unless you have a tank that's an exact multiple of the dosage on the box their products quickly become a pain in the butt.

 

[Silly me]

I heard that those are not CO2 but glucose, causing CO2 to develop in the tank. Uhm, ,

 

[Lateral Line]

SM:

Chemistry required - how does that work? You'll need a reaction which is stable dry and reacts vigorously in water.

Glucose + say H2SO4 maybe, inadvisable, but fast...

 

[Silly me]

Lateral Line I am not sure but I think its more like a mixture of both glucose and a more active from of yeast, only needs water to start,

not only does it create CO2 but other junk to,

 

[Silly me]

I post the same question on the www.junglelabs.com site, I'll let you know as soon as I know

 

[Lateral Line]

If it contains yeast, then it must be trying to metabolise a sugar into alchohol. That will produce CO2 of course, but iver a period of weeks, Not as a fizzy tablet. I cannot see a chemical path that can work here.

I can see a lot of ways to market stuff on the other hand...