Nutrifin Co2

[Ed Green]

Hello guys

Looking for some feedback from those of you that go with nutrifin as their co2 option - as I am thinking about trying it.

Does the homebrew recipe on here work?

I really don’t want to pay for a pressurised system - anyone got a similar priced option that does as good a job or better?

Also if i get it do I need to buy a bubble counter separately or is this not necessary?

Thanks

Ed Green

 

[three-fingers]

It works, but I found it's too much effort to be worth it, since CO2 output varies (which believed to contribute towards algae troubles), and can drop significantly if you forget to change it over. Also, I wouldn't recommend one for a tank over about 30L.

Personally I'd just stick with pressurised CO2 or go without any CO2. Stick to low-medium lighting, stay away from very demanding plants, remember to have a good turnover in the aquarium and dose EI and it will all be easy without added CO2 .

 

[Ed Green]

It works, but I found it's too much effort to be worth it, since CO2 output varies (which believed to contribute towards algae troubles), and can drop significantly if you forget to change it over. Also, I wouldn't recommend one for a tank over about 30L.

Personally I'd just stick with pressurised CO2 or go without any CO2. Stick to low-medium lighting, stay away from very demanding plants, remember to have a good turnover in the aquarium and dose EI and it will all be easy without added CO2 .

Hi thanks for the reply

I am using co2 because I want a nice HC or similar carpet which i know will need it, my tank is only 35l anyway. it is annoying that the co2 levels will vary but i just cant afford a pressurised system.

 

[fish.com1]

yeast co2 is more likely to cause problems to plants than help them to grow. The output from yeast systems is very unstable, and unstable c02 levels cause algae. Your probably better off going for a liquid carbon supplemeent such as easylife easycarbo, if you can't afford pressurised c02. It is a carbon supplement in liquid form and will help plant growth, and is ideal for small tanks like yours. Aqua Essentials sell it.

 

[JenCliBee]

It works, but I found it's too much effort to be worth it, since CO2 output varies (which believed to contribute towards algae troubles), and can drop significantly if you forget to change it over. Also, I wouldn't recommend one for a tank over about 30L.

Personally I'd just stick with pressurised CO2 or go without any CO2. Stick to low-medium lighting, stay away from very demanding plants, remember to have a good turnover in the aquarium and dose EI and it will all be easy without added CO2 .

Hi thanks for the reply

I am using co2 because I want a nice HC or similar carpet which i know will need it, my tank is only 35l anyway. it is annoying that the co2 levels will vary but i just cant afford a pressurised system.

Hi m8 im currently using one on my 40l and as long as u keep ontop and monitor it works perfect, i measure by where the second bubble goes to to the next one comingout(hope that makes sense lol) when it differs i change the mixture.

Mixtur i use is 5ml/1tbl spoon of yeast to the recommended sugar and water the unit advises and it last around 3 days untill it needs changing

Hope this helped

jen

 

[Ed Green]

yeast co2 is more likely to cause problems to plants than help them to grow. The output from yeast systems is very unstable, and unstable c02 levels cause algae. Your probably better off going for a liquid carbon supplemeent such as easylife easycarbo, if you can't afford pressurised c02. It is a carbon supplement in liquid form and will help plant growth, and is ideal for small tanks like yours. Aqua Essentials sell it.

Hello there, great, thanks for that. I am aware of easycarbo but assumed it wouldn’t be as good. I will give it a go - simplifies my set up a bit anyway

It works, but I found it's too much effort to be worth it, since CO2 output varies (which believed to contribute towards algae troubles), and can drop significantly if you forget to change it over. Also, I wouldn't recommend one for a tank over about 30L.

Personally I'd just stick with pressurised CO2 or go without any CO2. Stick to low-medium lighting, stay away from very demanding plants, remember to have a good turnover in the aquarium and dose EI and it will all be easy without added CO2 .

Hi thanks for the reply

I am using co2 because I want a nice HC or similar carpet which i know will need it, my tank is only 35l anyway. it is annoying that the co2 levels will vary but i just cant afford a pressurised system.

Hi m8 im currently using one on my 40l and as long as u keep ontop and monitor it works perfect, i measure by where the second bubble goes to to the next one comingout(hope that makes sense lol) when it differs i change the mixture.

Mixtur i use is 5ml/1tbl spoon of yeast to the recommended sugar and water the unit advises and it last around 3 days untill it needs changing

Hope this helped

jen

Hi Jen, thanks for getting back to me - useful to speak to somone that actually has one. What sort of plant life/ stock do you keep in your 40l?

 

[gecko2606]

Hi. Not too sure about the (Nutrifin) as never seen it but TMC: have a Aqua Gro Co2 kit available.

My local store sell it for £9.99 for the full kit or £5.99 for the ( replacement bottle ).

Heres the link to the Aqua Gro on the TMC site:

http/www.tmc-ltd.co.uk/planted-tank/aqua...starter-kit.asp

Hope this is some help

 

[Ed Green]

Hi. Not too sure about the (Nutrifin) as never seen it but TMC: have a Aqua Gro Co2 kit available.

My local store sell it for £9.99 for the full kit or £5.99 for the ( replacement bottle ).

Heres the link to the Aqua Gro on the TMC site:

[URL="http/www.tmc-ltd.co.uk/planted-tank/aqua...starter-kit.asp"]http/www.tmc-ltd.co.uk/planted-tank/aqua...starter-kit.asp[/URL]

Hope this is some help

Hello Gecko - thanks for that, very interesting. I haven’t seen that one before - has anyone reading this used it? how does it work - its aerosol based?

Cheers !

 

[JenCliBee]

Hi Jen, thanks for getting back to me - useful to speak to somone that actually has one. What sort of plant life/ stock do you keep in your 40l?

I keep riccia, christmas moss and Cabomba(sp) and a couple other stem plants which not sure on names, but they are all growing and growing quick to the point i had to trim the cabomba after a week and a half of been in the tank


jen

 

[three-fingers]

Hello there, great, thanks for that. I am aware of easycarbo but assumed it wouldn’t be as good. I will give it a go - simplifies my set up a bit anyway

Be aware of what easycarbo/excel actually are before you use them long term . They can work great for tanks, especially without any inverts and get great reviews, but across the web quite a few people have had issues using it with invertebrates. Read this thread:

I'm not saying don't use it! Just be aware of what chemicals your putting in your tank .

Hi Jen, thanks for getting back to me - useful to speak to somone that actually has one. What sort of plant life/ stock do you keep in your 40l?

Just to let you know, I have one too . I just stopped using it on my tank after several months because it would lower the pH very low at night (I was getting below pH 6) and output using a bubble counter varied quite a bit for me each day. I started using Flourish Excel instead as a carbon source, and it worked great, but I was mainly just growing dwarf hairgrass and Rotala. Algae went away after I stopped using the Nutrafin unit (probably mainly due to the Excel) and plant growth was wild under high light.

 

[three-fingers]

Hello Gecko - thanks for that, very interesting. I haven’t seen that one before - has anyone reading this used it? how does it work - its aerosol based?

Cheers !

Just to say, the link doesn't work for me, but if that's the kind of kit where you push the spray and it puts CO2 gas into the diffuser, then they are worse (since it relies on you pushing it more often and is far more expensive over the long run) as yeast based units. No control over CO2 at all, at least with yeast units you can change the mixture inside to try get different results.

But again, personally, I'd go pressurised or no CO2 at all.

 

[waterdrop]

three-fingers,

You sound like you had good success with your Flourish Excel and I'm curious as to whether, when you were(are?) doing it, what your tank pH generally was and your GH and KH (or general idea of your hardness if those weren't something you knew.)

thanks! WD

 

[sjdriscoll]

I'm afraid I have to disagree with a lot of this thread. I run DIY CO2 on my 150litre with a great deal of success, very low maintenance and extremely stable levels.

I use 3 x 2l coke bottles 'tandemed' together and I only have to swap one out about once every fortnight. I have a drop checker to keep an eye on the CO2 level (always on the 'yellow' side of the green spectrum).

I did find it a pain when I started, as bottles only seemed to last a week, but then I discovered Marmite and my life changed forever! If you add 1/2 tsp to your mix it will prolong the CO2 peak production across a few weeks and with 3 bottles hooked up it's barley any effort at all do do a bottle change twice a month!

Don't try the aerosol stuff - it's worse than crap.

Steve

 

[tobyjug]

I'm afraid I have to disagree with a lot of this thread. I run DIY CO2 on my 150litre with a great deal of success, very low maintenance and extremely stable levels.

I use 3 x 2l coke bottles 'tandemed' together and I only have to swap one out about once every fortnight. I have a drop checker to keep an eye on the CO2 level (always on the 'yellow' side of the green spectrum).

I did find it a pain when I started, as bottles only seemed to last a week, but then I discovered Marmite and my life changed forever! If you add 1/2 tsp to your mix it will prolong the CO2 peak production across a few weeks and with 3 bottles hooked up it's barley any effort at all do do a bottle change twice a month!

Don't try the aerosol stuff - it's worse than crap.

Steve

hi steve,you couldnt post the recipe you use for the diy co2 setup could you for each 2l bottle,and how you diffuse it.
also what drop checker do you use.i have a nutrifin yeast based set up but my mixture only lasts a week before the bubble creation dies.
any advice would be appreciated.mel

 

[Aphotic Phoenix]

You can also consider using yeasts with a higher alcohol tolerance such as the ones used for making champagne, which will last a bit longer.