Just Purchased A Nutrafin Co2 Unit

mdwags · Apr 5, 2007

I just bought one of the Nutrafin systems on Tuesday, set it up per the instructions in the box, and it seems to be working OK so far. However, the bubbles seem slow and they seem to be getting stuck on the ladder and congregating into very large bubbles on each layer. Is it possible that I do not have the ladder straight?

Also, how hard must your water be to not have to add the "Stabilizer"? I believe my water hardness is 150+ ppm at the last test I did yesterday.

lljdma06 · Apr 5, 2007

mdwags said:
I just bought one of the Nutrafin systems on Tuesday, set it up per the instructions in the box, and it seems to be working OK so far. However, the bubbles seem slow and they seem to be getting stuck on the ladder and congregating into very large bubbles on each layer. Is it possible that I do not have the ladder straight?

Also, how hard must your water be to not have to add the "Stabilizer"? I believe my water hardness is 150+ ppm at the last test I did yesterday.

The nutrafin system is excellent. The packets that come with it are easily substituted. The "activator" is just yeast. The "stabilizer" is Sodium bicarbonate and not necessary with a kH of over 3, which I think you're safely above that level.

Substitute the "Activator" with 1/2 tsp of yeast and use 1/2 cup of sugar. Fill with luke-warm water, not over 100 degrees or you'll kill the yeast. It'll cool down to room temp anyways, so like I said, luke-warm is fine. Only fill the water to about 1/2 to 2/3 inch below the second notch (this reduces yeast escaping onto your bubble ladder). Close the lid and give it a good shake. This recipe produces about a bubble a second for perhaps a week, depending on the quality of the yeast and temperature of the room. A jar of yeast is only a little more than three of the nutrafin packets and is good for about 6 months or so. Much more economical.

In addition, for a more stable CO2 level, two canisters can be attached to a single bubble ladder via a T-connector. You then alternate changing the canisters. I get excellent results with this.

For more information, there is a pinned topic on this system.

Good luck,

llj

EDIT: it takes a while for the ladder to develop a frictionless surface for the bubbles to pass through. Time in the aquarium takes care of that. To make sure the ladder is straight, I usually flush it to one side of the glass, but that's just me.