Nutrafin Co2 Thingys...

[hoarp001]

yeah i wobbled the bottle about abit to mix it. an overflow bottle sounds like a good idea, but surely that would just create a lag...

the bubble is still trying to get to the diffuser, its about 9inches away and has been for the last few hours...

 

[Boxermom]

I have found a good mix for mine is 1 liter of water, 1 cup of sugar, 1 tsp of yeast. I mix the water and sugar together and shake it up until the sugar is dissolved, then add the yeast, mix once or twice, and its good to go. Lasts about 4 weeks.

 

[hoarp001]

that sounds good... whats cup in grams?

 

[Boxermom]

Definite feeling of deja vu going on here.

 

[voo]

I fill up to the bottom marker in the canister with sugar, then fill to the top marker with luke warm water. Give it a stir with a knife to dissolve most of the sugar. Then add enough yeast to just cover the top of the water in the canister. Add 2 pinches of bicarb. Just give it a brief stir with a knife.

Another thing - i just saw the pic of your tank. Do you leave the bubbles going? You shouldnt be using them that much during the day as it'll disturb the water surface and so the CO2 will escape the water. I put mine on at night as i cant stop the CO2 being produced during the night and the plants will use up oxygen. Another thing, maybe direct the spraybar outlets down so that it doesnt move the water surface much.

 

[d3tained]

Hi all.

Well if you open the booklet that came with mine and states there, use logest path for 180 liter tank and second longest for up to 100 Liters en shortage patch for 70 liters and down.Mmmm weird but anyway.

TIP:

I fill canester to 1st line with suger,then add water to the middle of last marker and then add yeast ( Bruwery ), Bruwery yeast will make lots of FOAM so i dont fill the bottle to the top point of last marker but more like to the middle.I get about 2 bubbles a second constantly within the 3 - 5 min.Works wonders.

Trial and error is key here.Like i filled it up to much and it pushed foam into the pipe.I just removed it at canisters side and then sucked on ot and then drawed water through untill it was clear.Blow the water back into the tank so that the pipe only have air in it and then connect it vertically to the defuser ( Not on ground cause problems with water running into canister due to the safty meganism in the capof canister )

As for water movement, dont have bubbles in the tank.I Use 2 dolfyn filters that casue very small ripple on teh surface making O2 and C02 exchange min but enouth for the fish.

Hoped this helped!!!

 

[MoreCoffee]

DIY CO2 Mix for Nutrafin canisters:

First off ..... throw out the nutrafin sachets - they are rubbish and overly expensive !
Second ..... Add a check valve (non return valve) into the tubing between the canister and the tank, this will prevent any syphoning action when the pressure drops when fermentation starts to die off.These are non-standard with the Nutrafin kits (but really should be included IMO)

Ingredients:
Allinsons Dried active baking yeast (nutrafin 'activator')
Bicarbonate of Soda (nutrafin 'stabiliser')
Sugar
Warm water

Disolve half a teaspoon of Allisons yeast in a cup of warm water and leave for 1 min.
Do NOT use hot water as this will kill the yeast, the water should be luke warm.

> Fill canister with sugar to level of bottom fin and add 1 teaspoon of Bicarb of soda.
I avoid using 'Baking Powder' as this has extra rising agents in it, so it's not quite
the same as bicarb of soda.

> Add the dissolved yeast mix to the canister (I've never found a need to stir it up)

> Fill the canister to the level of the upper fin (or just below) with luke warm water.
There should be a gap at the top to allow for foam expansion.

> Screw the lid on firmly to ensure a good seal and connect to the tubing.

> You should see CO2 bubbles within about 5 - 10 mins

Note:
Using too much yeast or overfilling the canister and not leaving the gap can result in yeast foam mix expanding out of the canister ..... up the tubing ... and into your tank !
THIS IS NOT A GOOD THING !

If it is going to happen it will probably be within the first hour or two. At first you may want to do your mix at a time when you'll be around to check this (not just before you go out or go to bed).
It shouldn't happen, but if it does you need to take action QUICKLY.

I cant guarantee these actions will prevent disaster ... but they worked when it happened to me !!
Hopefully you'll never need it !

> Disconnect the tubing - This is another good reason for having the check valve, you can just disconnect at that point.

> Switch off filters/pumps. This slow the cloudy water/mix spreading around the tank and will cut down on how much of it gets into your filter .... I dont know what impact that would have on the filter bacteria ?
But I cant imagine it would be good.

> Remove your tubing and bubble ladder (they'll need cleaning). Try not to disturb the water too much as this just sends the mix around the tank even more.

> Perform a water change & a good vac of the substrate!
The amount largely depends on how much mix got into the tank and how cloudy your water is. I wouldnt change more than 50% at one go, then maybe do another change the next day if required.
If you've caught the leak early, you may be able to syphon most of the mix out (I was lucky, that's what happened to me).

> Get an air pump into the tank to provide some aeration. Your fish may be at the surface

> Switch any pumps and filters back on.

> Do a further water change the next day if required, then replace your bubble ladder and start agian !

Basically it's common sense. Stop any more mix getting in the tank. Stop it spreading and mixing with your tank water. Get as much of it out as quickly as possible.

Hint:
1. One way to avoid this is to have get a small length of tubing (about 12" will do), put an airstone on
the end (include a check valve if you want). After doing your mix, simply connect this small tube to the
canister and place the airstone into a jug of water. Then leave it for a pair of hours before connecting up
to the tank. This way you'll pass the danger point and you'll also know it's making CO2 !

2. leave a bigger gap at the top of the canister when doing your mix. In the past I've left about a 3" gap
at the top and then topped off the canister to the normal level (with warm water) after about 24 hours.
By this time the initial vigorous fermentation phase is over .

3. A secondary small bottle between the canister and the tank will give you more expansion room and will also help cut down on the amount of gunk that builds up on the bubble ladder.
A web search will bring up details on how to set on up. But it should look something like THIS


Hope some of this helps !