CO2 tablets?

[ThevinQ]

Hi, i saw an lfs selling co2 in tablet form. the instruction claims tat just need to put the tablet into the water and the co2 will slowly dissolve. has anyone tried it? i'm quite tempted to get it...

[comet]

i used tt when i started planted tank. its onli for small tank. tt time my tank was abt 10g. the plants did grow, but no bubble effect. the tablets is supposed to be bury into the gravel and provide co2 thru roots. not bad after all, very useful for small tanks i think

[ThevinQ]

Bury into the gravel? as in completely cover? I bought it today and the instruction say:"add 1 tablet to every 100 litres of water.." hmm... very ambiguous.. I hope it is shrimp safe.. i dun wan my shrimps to mistake it as algae wafer... thanks for the info!

[|squee|]

I've never used it, but it seems too costly in the long run. Seachem Excel will be a much muh better option if you do not want to use other forms of C02.

[comet]

yup bury in the gravel and cover it. but for some brand i think u can just left it there. but is acutally better to use diy c02 cheaper, better.

[baranne]

I would not recommend it for the long term, mainly from the cost point of view. I still have some left from when I first started my tank, so now I am using it during the period of my DIY Co2 change where it takes a couple of days to start producing.

[Panther]

It is actually quite costly for long term use. Get a co2 tank is the most economical and it'll do the plants plenty of good too.

[JT]

i tried once, along with those CO2 in liquid form...its difficult to evaluate. As i dont see how CO2 is relaesed as compared to CO2 tank/self made type(where u can see bubbles). So gave up n went for the CO2 tank instead.

[ThevinQ]

Using DIY co2 did cross my mind. but regarding the DIY co2, is it possible to regulate the amount of co2 released? I'm thinking there could be an initial exponential increase in co2 amount when the yeast starts to react, follwed by a drastic drop when the yeast is almost used up. am i wrong?

[Panther]

It is diff to regulate the amt of CO2 for DIY as the pressure build up is not strong enuff.

One alternative is to use 2 or more DIY co2 bottles to regulate.

[juggler]

Using DIY co2 did cross my mind. but regarding the DIY co2, is it possible to regulate the amount of co2 released? I'm thinking there could be an initial exponential increase in co2 amount when the yeast starts to react, follwed by a drastic drop when the yeast is almost used up. am i wrong?

Yes. In my experience, the 1st week has strong production rate. It remains somewhat constant for week 2 and 3. Week 4 dropping drastically. So if you change mixture every 3 weeks, your plants should have enough CO2.

Otherwise, you can stagger the CO2 production by having 2 DIY bottles. And changing one of them every 2 weeks.

I believe DIY CO2 is fun and part of a learning process. Everyone should try it before getting pressurised CO2.