nutra fin

[chris allsop]

I saw the above in my lfs, priced £16.95 are they any good?

 

[abstract]

it is what i use and i am happy with it....the main reason i bought it was because i didnt know anything at the time. but if i had to do it again, i would purchase it again instead of making a do it yourself version....although i do NOT buy their yeast and "stablizer" packets - i use a mixture of yeast and baking soda (what the stabilizer is) with the container and ladder diffuser (the ladder diffuser was a main reason for buying it also).....i also like the fact that it hooks on to the back of my tank so that i do not have to worry about my cat knocking over the 2 liters....others will probably disagree for various reasons (mostly because of the cost vs. making one out of some tubing and 2 liter bottles (see the do it yourself forum)), but i believe it would be a good purchase for someone new to the planted tank

 

[George Farmer]

I would recomment them. I have two in my 34G - I use a DIY recipe and get 20 to 25 mg/l CO2. Cheap as chips!!

 

[houndour]

Hi,

Sorry to hijack your post...I've got a post in the DIY section about DIY CO2 systems and I've been reading up on the 2 litre coke bottle method and have seen posts of people with disasters (the yeast going up the tubes into tanks) and in the article it says the bottle can explode. I just can't risk anything like that happening as I am renting.

By buying this nutra fin equipment, am I at much less risk of having a disaster than if I build my own??? I'm more than happy to spend £20 and then use my own yeast/sugar mixture.

Sam

 

[chris allsop]

thats what im going to do mate.

 

[abstract]

By buying this nutra fin equipment, am I at much less risk of having a disaster than if I build my own??? I'm more than happy to spend £20 and then use my own yeast/sugar mixture.

Sam

well you definately will not have a problem with the bottle exploding - thats for sure...it is very thick plastic compared to the thin, flexible plastic in a 2 liter bottle....however you may still have issues with the fluid possibly ending up in your tank due to pressure, but if you follow the instructions of how far to fill it up, and use the tank attachment so that it is secured to the tank, you should not end up with spillage due to pressure or someone/thing knocking over the container....theoretically you could put a 20 oz bottle (or something comparable) inline so that the gases pass through that first in case any fluids may drip out (they will end up in the 20oz instead of the tank - see the do it yourself thread on co2 for what i mean)

 

[houndour]

theoretically you could put a 20 oz bottle (or something comparable) inline so that the gases pass through that first in case any fluids may drip out (they will end up in the 20oz instead of the tank - see the do it yourself thread on co2 for what i mean)

Yes I know what you mean here.

OK that's made my mind up then. I'll get one of these at the weekend.

Thanks

 

[Lateral Line]

I have an empty bottle as a plenum between my DIY generators and the tank. Never had any trouble with it, although I keep my bottles in a bucket so they can't fall over, and don't have cats which seem to be the principle trouble source.

I cannot see how a bottle, ultimately open, albeit through a tube, could build up sufficient pressure to explode, particulaly as the same bottles are used for holding pressurised drinks.

 

[houndour]

You're quite right, but I spose it's not necessarily the bottle....it's the connection of the tube to the bottle that may potentially be weak. I'm no diy-er and I'm not going to risk doing it wrong. If it was own place I wouldnt mind so much as a scrub down of yeast and sugar will do, but I can't afford to lose my deposit if the landlord isnt happy.

I'm just erring on the side of caution.

 

[Lateral Line]

Yes, of course. However, the pressure in the delivery tubes and at any connections will never be more then the atmospheric pressure at the depth in you tank that the tube emerges. To build up pressure, the system needs to be closed in some way, which it is not, (unless you deliberately close it).

 

[utahfish]

i had my dad help me make my co2. it has a smaller relief bottle just incase fluids leak out. the only way the bottle would explode is if the pressure isnt being released. it would build up until the bottle exploded. i was going to buy one of those tank set ups you mentioned but figured i could build one my self. having said that i kinda wish i wouldve bought one of the tank deal for 20 bucks instead,. it seems more low maintainence and i didnt realize you could use your own mixture in it.

 

[Danno]

The only thing im really worried about if I got one of these things is, http/www.thatpetplace.com/Products/KW/F1...0/Itemdy00.aspx, as seen here, thier is not a place that you could temporarily stop it or something because I wouldnt want it running when the lights are off. If it is running while the lights are off then the pH of the water would drop so much that it would kill all of my fish. Anyone have an answer?

 

[houndour]

Good point, but how would you temporarily stop a coke bottle?

I have another question about it...

I've actually bought one of these nutra fin systems now and set it up, but not added the mixture. The water has syphoned up the tube...which I assume would happen again if the CO2 stopped. The system doesn't come with any one way valves, but I have some from my air bubble things (which i wont be using now as I'm going planted this time)...should I use the one way valve to stop the tank water from going into the CO2 system...or maybe put it the other way just incase the solution goes through the tube? Or maybe I shouldn't have one at all???

What do other people do?

Sam

 

[jimbooo]

i have 3 nutrafin kits on my 40G, no one way valves or anything else just set up as standard with my own recepie of yeast/bicarb/sugar.

works fantastically and never had any problems (fingers crossed now i've cursed myself).

oh also got one on my 12G, that does the job as well. i'd say 40G is the largest tank it will work on though as 3 bottles only just gets there (with 2 heaped tsp's of yeast in each bottle!!!)

 

[Danno]

Is it possable to shut off a nutrafin?