Currently unavailable.
We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock.

Image Unavailable

Image not available for
Color:

Nutrafin

Nutrafin CO2 Natural Plant System with CO2 Activator and Stabilizer

88 customer reviews

| 23 answered questions

Currently unavailable.
We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock.

CO2 Stabilizerand CO2 Activator for aquariums up to 20 gallons
Affordable, safe and user friendly means of CO2 supplementation for live aquatic plants
Does not require constant adjustments
All natural fermentation process
Results evident in 15 days

There is a newer model of this item:

Fluval Mini Pressurized 20g-CO2 Kit - 0.7 ounces
$24.99
(149)
In Stock.

Customers who bought this item also bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

735

$9.44
258

$6.53
833

$23.29
399

$8.67
2,348

in Aquarium Water Treatments
$11.99
2,713

in Aquarium Test Kits
$21.99

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

Customers also shopped for

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

Have a question?

Find answers in product info, Q&As, reviews

Please make sure that you are posting in the form of a question.

Don't see what you're looking for?

There was a problem completing your request. Please try your search again later.

All Product Information Customer Q&A's Customer Reviews

Product description

The Nutrafin CO2 Natural Plant System provides plants with a key nutrient that is lacking in most aquariums, Carbon Dioxide (CO2). This natural fermentation system has been designed to provide a simple and effective approach to providing dissolved CO2 to aquariums. Using a proven concept, every component has been carefully conceived to enhance performance. The level of CO2 generated by the Nutrafin CO2 Natural plant System is ideally suited to most planted aquariums illuminated with fluorescent lighting. The Nutrafin CO2 Natural Plant System is easy to use, just add water and refined white table sugar. It is also quick and easy to install and will enhance the water quality in a planted aquarium. The use of the system will help provide lush plant growth, a cleaner aquarium and healthier fish. The Nutrafin CO2 Natural Plant System treats aquariums up to 20 U.S. gallons, and for larger aquariums, the use of multiple units is suggested.

Product details

Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 7.6 x 7.6 inches ; 1.43 pounds
Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
Domestic Shipping: Item can be shipped within U.S.
International Shipping: This item is not eligible for international shipping. Learn More
ASIN: B00026058Y
Item model number: A7690
Average Customer Review: 88 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #155,351 in Pet Supplies (See Top 100 in Pet Supplies)

Product Warranty:

click here

Would you like to tell us about a lower price?

Customer Questions & Answers

See questions and answers

Customer Reviews

Write a customer review

See all 88 customer reviews

Read reviews that mention

Top customer reviews

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Careful Reviewer

Makes CO2 (like any DIY model) - Poorly Designed Accessories

April 5, 2015

Verified Purchase

Three stars only because it works as a CO2 generator (just like anything you can make - easily - for free). However, what I wanted was the ability to hang it from the back of my tank, out of the way, as the product information claims. I had to return this after three weeks. The hanging adapter is poorly designed and begins to break from the weight of the cylinder. Then, you have to put it on the floor like my old soda bottle standby. There are instructions for making your own DIY CO2 generator all over the internet.

Nutrafin provides yeast and baking powder in this kit, although they are labeled as some kind of special-fantastic-mysterious powders. All that you are doing here is putting a little yeast into sugar water. The yeast eats the sugar and the byproducts are CO2 (which you want) and alcohol (don’t try drinking it!). Any sugar will work. Start by dissolving 1 ½ cups of sugar into 1 ½ cups of lukewarm tap water and make sure the apparatus are always cleaned first with a hot water rinse (no soaps). Then add about ½ teaspoon of yeast, which should be activated by stirring it with a fork in about a ¼ cup of lukewarm water until it’s creamy and has lots of bubbles in it and let it to stand at least 10 minutes before adding it to the sugar water. Although some users recommend adding baking soda (not baking powder), it isn’t really necessary to buffer the mixture. The yeast is killed by the alcohol buildup, not acidic water.

Speaking to that, the length of time that this will produce CO2 is a function of how long the yeast survives until the alcohol build’s up to a certain level and how much yeast is in the mixture. You want to try to find that optimal balance. So, it’s better to start with the most alcohol resistant yeast you can get, which is wine/champagne yeast. You can buy packets here on Amazon (Premier Cuvee Wine Yeast) for about $8. This will stand up to about 18% alcohol levels, which means it produces longer than a typical bakers yeast that might be as low as 5% alcohol tolerance. Start with ½ teaspoon of yeast and see how long it lasts for you. Try adjusting the yeast level both up and down until you’re happy with the length of time that it lasts and the amount of CO2 it produces (bubbles per minute).

We’re not done yet. You need to get the CO2 to dissolve into the tank water and not get to the surface where it would evaporate. Included in this kit is a large and ugly bubble ladder (ladders aren’t very efficient). What I do, which is a much more efficient way to get the most CO2 into your water, is to run the end of the CO2 tube into my canister filter’s intake pipe. I have a sponge filter attached to it and I insert the tube through the sponge to hold it in place. A power head would also work. The idea is to get the impeller to chop the bubble into minute pieces, making it much easier to dissolve.

How do you know if it’s still making CO2? Buy a bubble counter here on Amazon (Fluval 88g-CO2 Bubble Counter - 3.1 Ounces) for about $3. With that, you count the number of bubbles per minute. Count the bubbles after about 24 hours of setting it up and monitor it every week (or more often) to see when it starts dropping off. Then you know the yeast is almost dead or gone and can decide when to make a new batch. In addition to being a bubble counter, it also acts as a gas separator, helping to prevent anything other than the CO2 from getting into your tank.

How do you know if you’re getting enough CO2 into the water? Well, if there is a noticeable change in plant growth over about two weeks, you have your answer. However, you can also but a CO2 drop checker (again, on Amazon: ISTA CO2 Indicator Drop Checker) for about $13. This will tell you whether or not CO2 is at a good level or is too high or low.

Comment 6 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

Jack

Much better than modifying a bottle yourself

August 21, 2013

Verified Purchase

This is a good price, and comes with a nice looking bottle, ladder system, Co2 resistant tubing, and 3 yeast and 3 baking soda packets. You supply our own sugar, and water. I read chlorine can kill the yeast, so I filtered my water with a Pur filter first then warmed the water in the microwave to be luke warm(speeds up the process). This is perfect for someone that doesn't want to mess with an expensive and complicated pressurized tank CO2 system. This is very simple and easy for a new person to using Co2 in their tank (like me).

I knew I didn't want to use a pressurized Co2 tank system, but I didn't want to make a DIY system either. I didn't want to mess with drilling holes in an ugly 2 liter soda bottle and trying to epoxy a tube through the lid. This system is worth the small price tag and I'm glad I didn't try to rig something up myself. I love that the bottle comes with a nice adjustable clip. It adjusted easily so it hangs mostly out of sight behind my tank from the back lip of the tank next to my filter box.

I am currently using the yeast/baking soda packets that came with it and they are not expired and work fine. But, I purchased a box of baking soda and yeast from the store for when I run out of packets. I do not plan to pay for their replacement expensive packets. Here is the homemade recipe (without using their packets) that I found online if you are interested: Fill the bottle to the bottom set of fins (Line) with sugar, add 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon of bakers yeast, then fill with declorinated luke warm water to the top fin/line in the bottle. Mix the contents carefully with a spoon, screw the lid back on, make sure your tubing is hooked up to the bottle and ladder correctly and wait for 2-12 hours as the pressure builds. Mine took about 12 hours to start working. Soon bubbles will come out into the ladder. It should give decent Co2 bubbles for around 14 days before it starts to decline. When it does, just empty it and make a new batch... it's that simple!

I haven't had this long enough to see if it helps my plants (which have been struggling lately). I fertilize both macro and micro nutrients so this is the only thing left as my lights are plenty bright. But, I can say that it seems to inject Co2 like it should because I can see the bubbles popping out of the tube onto the ladder system. After about 30 hours of running it so far, I'm getting about 1 bubble per 10 seconds. I think that's pretty decent, but am not sure. I am using this in a 29 gallon tank, so it may not supply quite enough Co2 but I figure some has got to be better than none!

##Update## I seem to have maxed out at 1 Bubble every 4 seconds, that is impressive. And, I now have proof this works well for my 29 gallon tank. I used the lookup tables for KH and PH to estimate my CO2 Levels before I got this and now that it has been running for several days. Before, according to the tables I had 2-3ppm of CO2 in my tank, so no wonder my plants were struggling as 15+ is ideal for plants. Now, I have 23ppm, which is actually on the high end, but not at the dangerous level yet for the fish. Of course it dropped my PH significantly but it changed it gradually enough my fish adjusted just fine, and everyone is happy and healthy. I do not use an airstone at night, as my fish are not gasping for breath at the top and are happy. But, If your levels of CO2 get too high I wanted to point out that this system has 3 Levels were you can insert the CO2 hose into the ladder. I have mine on the lowest one which give you the most CO2. If you have a small 10 gallon tank, I would put in on the highest insertion point so that the CO2 doesn't travel as long on the ladder which will reduce the amount of CO2 being absorbed into your water. This system clearly works!!!

Comment 36 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

Iridescence

Fantastic Kit!

September 20, 2015

Verified Purchase

I will admit, when i first received this, i thought it was a dud. The bubbles would form so slowly, and build up at the bottom instead of running up the ladder.
However, after a few weeks, i took it out, washed and scrubbed out the ladder with a clean (old aquarium) toothbrush, and replaced their c02 mix with the DIY c02 mix, of sugar, baking soda, and yeast.

THE DIFFERENCE THE DIY MIX MAKES. And the DIFFERENCE after you scrub the ladder! Bubbles are quickly going up the ladder, and my plants are growing quickly and splendidly. My plants are wondrously green and healthy, even in a slightly brackish tank. Its been doing well for a month now, no plant die off or anything. I am very very pleased with this kit.

For the best results, i like to couple this with Seachem Excel, and just a tad bit of Seachem Iron.