This is a short-run affordable CO2 system for lightly to moderately planted aquariums not larger than 55 gallons. If you stay on top of it and keep it charged regularly it WILL work, however, there are a couple of prerequisites that you need to know about before using it.
First, and most importantly, if you're using anything but a canister filter or an internal filter you're wasting your time with this or really any other CO2 system because a standard hang-on-the-back overflow filter will cause the CO2 to dissipate from the water faster than any CO2 system can get it dissolved into it. So, in short, you need a canister or some type of internal filter before you even begin to use CO2 injection.
Second, in many cases you probably shouldn't put it on a timer because this kind of system doesn't increase the CO2 content enough to warrant shutting it off at night and in the morning when the lights come on it can take literally hours before this thing gets enough CO2 back into the water to matter. Half the time it'll run an entire aquarium day but it won't make any difference until half the day is already gone. Just leave the thing running. Oh yeah, and if you use the included powerhead you need to put it as close to the bottom of the tank as possible so the bubbles have further to travel before dissipating, giving them longer to dissolve. It also helps to make the hole on the end that the line plugs onto a little bit bigger than it is. IF you have a small, like 20 or 30 gallon tank it might be a good idea to shut it off at night but depending on how many plants and fish you have in a tank that size you might not need this at all. Plants produce O2 during the day but they produce CO2 at night. This coupled with fish respiration might provide all the CO2 you need (assuming you have a canister or internal filter) especially considering the limited amount of light most 20 or 30 gallon tanks are saddled with.
Third, if you use this stuff and you don't have enough light it's not going to do you much good. Aquarium plants Love CO2 and it's like magic if you've never used it before but once you begin using it your plants are going to need quite a lot of light that they didn't need before. They're also going to begin needing more nutrients than they needed before. CO2 is also quite effective at hindering algae growth and eliminating certain types of it altogether!
It's just not as simple as squirting in some CO2 and everything takes off. CO2 injection is going to cause your plants to need more of everything they needed before you started injecting it, light being the most important. 50 watts per 25 gallons is a good baseline minimum for most aquarium plants with CO2 injection. Certain species of Anubias, Cryptocornes and Java Fern can get by with half of that.
Other than that you should know that the expensive "refills" for this unit are nothing at all but about one cup of sugar and a little pack of yeast. Just put a cup of sugar in it and 1/8th to 1/4 tsp of predissolved yeast from the grocery store and save yourself a bundle of money. You can play around with different measurements of the two ingredients to get varying levels of CO2 output vs. longevity. There are no magic measurements that will work. Play around with it and see what works best for YOU. I've used up to two cups of sugar and 1/2 tsp of yeast in it and it works fine, just for God's sake don't shake it up after you've connected it if you use this much stuff.
Because this is a biological method of producing CO2 it's discharge rate is also very dependent on ambient temperature. So, if the temperature outside the tank is , say, 65 degrees it's going to put out measurably less CO2 than it would if the temperature was around 75 degrees.
There's also a number of modifications you can do to it to make it work significantly better. The BEST thing you can do and something that I recommend you do from the very first day is toss the powerhead and connect the outlet hose directly into your canister filter's intake strainer. This will give a 100% rate of solution instead of the average +/-10% that you'd get using the powerhead. It won't hurt the filter bacteria either. Undissolved CO2 trapped in the filter media is harmless and once it's dissolved it doesn't matter anymore. It's no different than what you're running through the filter anyway. Only drawback is that you won't be able to count bubbles to see if it's still working or not. You need to already know about how long it'll last and recharge it regularly. EDIT: As best I can remember the recommended measure of ingredients is supposed to give you two to three weeks of operation but the CO2 output will begin to drop before that as the yeast gobbles up the sugar. And don't drink the by-product which is a nasty alcoholic swill that will probably wreck your stomach before you ever get enough down to get drunk.
You can also make a "bubble-dissolving canister" of sorts out of a plastic spice jar and some aquarium gravel. Fasten it at the bottom of the jar to the end of the powerhead discharge and the gravel will trap the bubbles, giving them more time to dissolve and you'll get a much higher rate of solution same idea as the canister filter but on a much smaller scale and with a much lower rate of solution. This you'll have to figure out on your own but it's not hard once you have all the parts in hand. Keep an eye on the discharge outlet though. It likes to get clogged up faster when you do this.
Basically, anything you can rig up that will trap the bubbles or otherwise delay their dissipation will help this system tremendously.
Finally, you can make this whole injection system for free with a 2 liter soda bottle and some epoxy. Just drill the top, epoxy in some airline, fill the bottle with your own secret blend of sugar and yeast and plug the works into your canister filter intake tube or an old (or new) powerhead.
So, this unit DOES work very good considering the method that it uses, however, you don't really need to "buy" one because you can make one yourself at home with a soda bottle and some epoxy but it DOES work which is the issue. It's not a good choice for long-term injection because you have to stay on top of it and keep feeding it every couple or three weeks but for smaller tanks, like 20 30 gallons it's not so bad and it's a good way to familiarize yourself with CO2 before going out and dumping a bundle on a fancy $300 system.
Just whatever you do get one of those CO2 color indicators that mounts inside the tank so you don't accidentally kill all your fish... which is a real possibility if you don't pay attention to the changes that will take place in the tank after you start injecting it with CO2. And watch your pH as well because CO2 injection will cause it to drop and sometimes dramatically.
I have owned this product for over a year, but it only worked for a few months. The pump still works, but it doesn't work well for creating CO2. I followed the instuctions and each time it would work for about a week to a week and a half, then start making this horrible noise. I think there was not enough CO2 being generated for the pump. I kept the pump on the lowest setting, but it would still start making the noise if it was hooked to the bottle. I had a 6 pack of the sugar, and so I used it as long as that lasted. I am now looking for a better CO2, I would not waste your money on this one.
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Well, I hope I can save someone some time and frustration writing this review. I had some initial problems starting this CO2 system. First, I couldn't get any co2 coming out. I read the directions and it said give it 24 hours for the mixture to start working. Well, I waited for over 48 hours, and nothing. After reading some forums on the internet, I found that you're not supposed to use tap water/chlorinated water, because it kills the yeast. So, I put some stress coat/dechlorinater in the mix, added some more yeast and woo hoo, started working. But then, I had it on a timer, and when the timer turned the pump back on, it didn't work again. Then after messing around for quite some time, I found that there's a design flaw with the pump. When the timer turns the pump off, the co2 forms an air bubble or co2 bubble around the propeller of the pump and slowly leaks out the back of the pump. But, when the timer turns the pump back on, the propeller can't suck any water through because the propeller is just spinning in the air pocket, so no water or co2 is jetted through the nozzle. There for, I'm not able to put it on a timer. But, I really don't think that it matters, cause from what I've read, it's pretty hard to put in a harmful amount of co2 with units like this or the Haggen Ladder systems. I see though that the poster before me had luck putting it on a timer and I wonder how they've gotten theirs to work. So far it's been running for a couple weeks, and for some reason my plants look more pale. Maybe there's some other issue I have to address yet to get my plants going better, but for now I thought I'd give this system 3 stars. Hope this helps someone. Good luck.
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I am currently using this on a planted freshwater 55g tank. I put the diffuser in the middle of my tank adjascent to other pumps to help the CO2 circulate. The dispersion method given with this system is very cool and I can see the CO2 bubbles moving around. I have it on a timer as to not waste any CO2 at night. My plants seem to be enjoying this and my PH is steady. The canister is easy to use and I have made my own concoction to put in there...as opposed to buying new medium every month. If you are reading this because you dont want to buy a $200 system, then try this!! It works.
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This product doesn't work. It arrived and never worked. I called customer service, and they said they would ship another product. I have never received the replacement. Bottom line is I wasted my money. While this seems like a reasonably priced alternative to expensive C02 systems, it won't be of any use. You are better off going on YouTube and learning how to make your own.
I don't usually write reviews, but I thought this item deserved more than just the one star that it had. I am giving this item 5 stars not because it was particularly exciting or fun object, but because it was exactly what I wanted, which was red marbles. Also the shipping was totally reasonable.
