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I was just wondering if Nutrafin Plant Gro C02 natural systems are any good? They are much more reasonably priced than big C02 reactors, Would they do ok on my 90g tank?
I think the addition of any c02 at all would be beneficial. Any thoughts?

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Sure, they're pretty good little systems. I had one on my 20G planted at one point before I graduated to a pressurized/reactor system. It's basically a glorified DIY CO2 system. Some people prefer the prefab design, some don't.

One thing you should realize though is that one Nutrafin unit wouldn't be sufficient on a 90G. I think the highest that it is rated for is a 30G, but I can't remember at this point. Someone who has the documentation on it can tell you.

So you have a few options. You could buy a 2 or 3 of the Nutrafin units, and put them in parallel with one of those air tubing splitters. This would be expensive though.

Another alternative would be to do a few DIY 2-liter soda bottles, and put them in parallel like I mentioned in the previous case. There's a DIY CO2 tutorial here:
http://www.aquabotanic.com/DIYCO2.htm
This would be the cheapest alternative, and isn't that difficult to put together.

The last option would be the pressurized tank and reactor system, which is by far the most expensive, but is certainly worth it if you are going all out on a high-tech planted tank.

[span class="edited"][Edited by EdgarFanCLS 2004-08-19 10:22][/span]

Edgar - you are correct. 30g is the rated capacity of the Nutrafin CO2 system.

I thought it said 20 gallons on my box. At any rate, you should just toss those packets and mix your own mixture. The pre-mixed packets will only give you about one bubble per 10 seconds, while after I mixed my own mixture, I was getting a bubble every 2-3 seconds.

Crazygar Gary used one in his 55 gal and still had good results.. I just mixed my first home-made batch, bubbles started in 5 min. The water I mixed in was 75F. I'm never buying those packets again !

The Amazon Nut...

You said it!

I would buy the bubble ladder separately and use DIY bottles -- juice bottles tend to be stronger than the soda bottles. My 29 did very well with one Hagen unit for a long time, but I upgraded light and purchased rare plants and so I run two ladders with DIY bottles now on that tank. Works great.

Opps, for a 90 gallon you would want to go with pressurized CO2 depending upon your light amount. If you just want some CO2 in a low light tank, you may can get away with DIY. For a high light tank, however, you will need pressurized.

Hey xxmrbui3blesxx, before I made that mix I read that post with you and Crazygar so I used his recipe.. Except my mix water was 75F, bubbles within 5 min..

There was a member in here (I looked all over for the post darnit) who also adds protein powder and I think molassis or something like that and it quadruples her co2 output.. NEED TO FIND THAT ! Although the basic mix it working well .

The Amazon Nut...

That was me, Dafishman, and here it was:

http://www.fishprofiles.com/interactive/forums/thread.asp?id=44448&page=2

[span class="edited"][Edited by Sunflwrgrl Tsu 2004-08-21 21:10][/span]

Thanks heaps Sunflowr I knew I should have wrote it down the first time !

The Amazon Nut...

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Opps, for a 90 gallon you would want to go with pressurized CO2 depending upon your light amount.

Sunflower - the point of my post is that I am trying to find an inexpensive way to add some c02 to my 90g. I cannot afford a pressurized system, not when the price of one is a months food!! Being a student on a student loan, with barely 1200 dollars a month its hard to justify spending 300 dollars on a pressurized c02 system, Besides, I did some work and found out that the only guy in the area who refills those pressurized canisters charges like 70 dollars to fill 2 small canisters!.

My tank would probably be considered a "medium-low" light tank, with approx. 1.7 wpg. I am trying to figure out a cheap way to up the lighting, would like to get it to around 2.5wpg, which would allow for a greater range of plants.

I could purchase 2 Nutrafin c02 systems for around 70 dollars canadian, about 55 american approx. I could mix my own recipe for it. Do you guys think 2 of these systems would be beneficial, as that would do about 60g, a little short but better than none, or do you think it would be a waste of money?

Also, are those c02 fizz tabs any good? A friend of mine was over last night and suggested those. He said they seemed to work on his tank, until he added his red devil and the plants disappeared within a day or two.
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[span class="edited"][Edited by Sneaky_Pete 2004-08-21 23:48][/span]

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Well, in that case, just buy the Nutrafin ladders and make your own bottles out of juice bottles. They will hold a lot more liquid. For a 90 gallon, I would suggest at least three of them.