Nutrafin Co2 Basic User Guide

[lljdma06]

Thinking of other ways to keep the canister heated - what about a mug warmer? A mains one can be found here http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/Simpsons-Mains-Operated-Electric-Mug-Warmer_W0QQitemZ360243231709QQcmdZViewItem?rvr_id=&rvr_id=&cguid=2d02127b1260a0e202a4d0b4fffa1690. or you could get a usb one plus a mains/usb adapter. What would an ideal temperature be? Some of these mug warmers claim to keep the temperature at 40-60 degrees.

You don't want it too hot, or you'll kill the yeast, or cause it too consume the sugar mix too rapidly. Unless your surrounding temperature is extremely cold, room temperature is going to be fine for fermentation CO2. At least, that has been my experience. During the winter, my home temperature plunged to around 18 degrees celcius. The fermentation still worked fine. Remember, usually the canisters will be near a heat source already (lighting, electric outlets, etc) and the tank itself generates a small amount of heat. This should be enough. I wouldn't worry about it much.

 

[paulc]

Thanks for the reply.

Well after 20 minutes this home mix started producing bubbles which kinda got stuck until a bigger bubble formed. Now, a couple of hours later there is a constant run of bubbles starting off large and by the time they get to the top of the latter they are a lot smaller. Infact at the moment each rung on the ladder has a bubble at all times!

Kinda puts the supplied mix to shame!

 

[lljdma06]

Thanks for the reply.

Well after 20 minutes this home mix started producing bubbles which kinda got stuck until a bigger bubble formed. Now, a couple of hours later there is a constant run of bubbles starting off large and by the time they get to the top of the latter they are a lot smaller. Infact at the moment each rung on the ladder has a bubble at all times!

Kinda puts the supplied mix to shame!

The supplied mix is a load of rubbish. I found that out very quickly myself. I have also found that there are some glass diffusors that work well with the Nutrafin canisters. I use a Rhinox 1000 glass diffusor in my 8g. Teeny tiny bubbles all over the tank. Very good diffusing, better than the Nutrafin ladder. The diffusor sells for as little as $5 (US) on eBay. Might be something to try.

llj

 

[paulc]

Thanks for the reply.

Well after 20 minutes this home mix started producing bubbles which kinda got stuck until a bigger bubble formed. Now, a couple of hours later there is a constant run of bubbles starting off large and by the time they get to the top of the latter they are a lot smaller. Infact at the moment each rung on the ladder has a bubble at all times!

Kinda puts the supplied mix to shame!

The supplied mix is a load of rubbish. I found that out very quickly myself. I have also found that there are some glass diffusors that work well with the Nutrafin canisters. I use a Rhinox 1000 glass diffusor in my 8g. Teeny tiny bubbles all over the tank. Very good diffusing, better than the Nutrafin ladder. The diffusor sells for as little as $5 (US) on eBay. Might be something to try.

llj

Thanks for the tip llj, I found one in the UK for £8 which is about the same price. Looks really neat. So with this you just plug in the tube and off you go? I have a 42g tank so was planning on using 2 nutrafin systems I guess I could simply use 2 Rhinox 1000's ?

 

[lljdma06]

Thanks for the reply.

Well after 20 minutes this home mix started producing bubbles which kinda got stuck until a bigger bubble formed. Now, a couple of hours later there is a constant run of bubbles starting off large and by the time they get to the top of the latter they are a lot smaller. Infact at the moment each rung on the ladder has a bubble at all times!

Kinda puts the supplied mix to shame!

The supplied mix is a load of rubbish. I found that out very quickly myself. I have also found that there are some glass diffusors that work well with the Nutrafin canisters. I use a Rhinox 1000 glass diffusor in my 8g. Teeny tiny bubbles all over the tank. Very good diffusing, better than the Nutrafin ladder. The diffusor sells for as little as $5 (US) on eBay. Might be something to try.

llj

Thanks for the tip llj, I found one in the UK for £8 which is about the same price. Looks really neat. So with this you just plug in the tube and off you go? I have a 42g tank so was planning on using 2 nutrafin systems I guess I could simply use 2 Rhinox 1000's ?

Hate to be a party pooper, but I think 42g is going to be too large for fermentation CO2. I've done it with my 36g in the past, but I was changing like 4 canisters in alternation. I think either dosing with Easycarbo or going pressurized are going to be better for you if you choose to use CO2, or go low light and opt not to use it.

llj

 

[paulc]

Hi again

after a couple of days of bubbles on each rung of the ladder I now have one bubble
on the ladder with a gap of a few seconds
before the next bubble is produced.

I followed the OP directions exactly and it worked
for a couple of days. Any ideas?

 

[lljdma06]

Hi again

after a couple of days of bubbles on each rung of the ladder I now have one bubble
on the ladder with a gap of a few seconds
before the next bubble is produced.

I followed the OP directions exactly and it worked
for a couple of days. Any ideas?

Time to change the mix if it were me or there is a clog on the ladder. What mix are you currently using? Do you have a dropchecker?

 

[paulc]

Hi again

after a couple of days of bubbles on each rung of the ladder I now have one bubble
on the ladder with a gap of a few seconds
before the next bubble is produced.

I followed the OP directions exactly and it worked
for a couple of days. Any ideas?

Time to change the mix if it were me or there is a clog on the ladder. What mix are you currently using? Do you have a dropchecker?

the mix was only 2 days old and was as follows: granular sugar to the first
level and then 1/2 tea spoon of bread yeast (in date).

After I posted I put the canister on the lighting unit which got it going again. It's still going now but nowhere near as much as it was to start with.

 

[aaronnorth]

optimum temperature is around 35-40C.
If you are going to be spending £20 on a mug warmer though then it kind of defeats the object of a simple, low cost method to provide CO2. I used to use DIY and it was fine at around 22C, I got a constant production for 1 week, and it was high enough to supply the demand of my plants.

 

[`Peter]

Getting this nutrifin co2 system delivered next week and I was just wondering if the bubble counter is really that necessary and what is the valve used for?

 

[aaronnorth]

The bubble counter isnt of much use. The reason I use one is that I can see I have about X BPS (Bubbles per second) for X sized tank so when I set up another tank, I can set it to this bubble rate then just fiddle with it until I have the right injection rate.
For measuring the CO2 levels you need to be using a drop checker.

The valve is used to stop backflow of water into the system.

Thanks, Aaron

 

[Jack sparrow]

Hello all, first proper post on the forum, I have decided to dig my old nutrafin-co2, but I seem to have misplaced the ladder, is their anywere that I can get a replacement ladder from?

Kind regards
Jack

 

[Flubberlump]

Just wondering because I plan to get one of these for the tank I'm currently aquascaping...is there any way to turn this system off at night? Don't wNt to suffocate my fish. Hope that's not a daft question.

 

[Flubberlump]

I read somewhere that setting an airstone to come on at night works, as the oxygen created by the airstone diffuses the co2. would this be sufficient? Or would it better to insert a valve into the tubing which can be opened at night to release the co2 into the room rather than the tank? Some people say that these fermentation canisters dont produce enough co2 to cause a problem. However, the tank will be heavily planted so the plants will use a fair amount of oxygen at night. There seem to be some mixed opinions on this.

I'm wondering whether it's better to just release the co2 into the air at night, or whether it would be beneficial to run an airstone anyway, to introduce more oxygen into the tank at night for both the plants and fish. Of course, I want optimum plant growth, but I want my fish to be happy too.

Or am I just getting carried away?