rjsomers Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 I have both the Red Sea and Nutrafin systems and hate buying the refills so I am looking for your recipes for refilling these. Obviously the Nutrafin is still the Sugar the the first mark and it looks like about 1/4 tsp of good quality yeast (brand suggestions?) and what is the other packet? Looks like Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). The Red Sea I will be setting up for the first time tonight. I am not into building the systems on my own I am lazy but hate paying for the refills. Tanks everyone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleshgear Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 i use 2 liter pop bottles and 1 cup of sugar per liter of water and 1/2 tsp of any kind of baking yeast and add water i normally keep it 2 or 3 inches from the top. when you add the yeast the water cant be higher than 27 Celsius or it will kill the yeast. this lasts about 3 to 4 weeks. i dont use baking soda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 I dont' know about the red sea one but I used to have a Nutrifin DIY co2 thing. I just used the same amount of sugar and water, then I added 1/4tsp of yeast. The second packet is baking soda but I never added it, our water is hard enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjsomers Posted March 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 Thanks guys I will try when I run out of my already bought refills. Suggestions on brand of yeast? I have heard the Lavlin or something is the best but not sure if it really matters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleshgear Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 i use the kind for bread that has the yellow label. i have used others as well. the only kind i havent tried is the quick rise kind. i dont think that would work as well for what we want it for. the wine yeast would probably last the longest, but it costs too much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjsomers Posted March 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 Thanks fleshgear!! I have the Fleishmanns I have used for my microworm cultures so will use that up. Tanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted March 10, 2010 Report Share Posted March 10, 2010 I've tried a few different kinds of yeast(regular, quick rise, brewing) and they all worked the same and lasted around the same amount. I dont' think its worth spending the extra $ on brewers yeast. Just use whatever you have a home or is the cheapest. Just make sure its fresh and still alive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burbot Posted March 11, 2010 Report Share Posted March 11, 2010 What are you using as a distribution system to the tank. Just an open air hose or do you throttle it with a valve to control the amount of CO2 released? Could one bottle serve several tanks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjsomers Posted March 11, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2010 I use bubble ladders that came with the Nutrafin and the Red Sea come with a little mini power head type thing so I will see how my tank likes that once I set it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishclubgirl Posted March 11, 2010 Report Share Posted March 11, 2010 I've got to refill mine and can wait if you're over on the weekend. Was demonstrating how easy it is to someone and ran out of sugar. Used icing sugar that was messy but works the same. So far, my diy refills last longer than the store bought ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjsomers Posted March 11, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2010 I've got to refill mine and can wait if you're over on the weekend. Was demonstrating how easy it is to someone and ran out of sugar. Used icing sugar that was messy but works the same. So far, my diy refills last longer than the store bought ones. I will let you know tonight if I get to have some time to myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted March 11, 2010 Report Share Posted March 11, 2010 Could one bottle serve several tanks? No, to do several tanks you'd need pressurized co2. DIY works best on small tanks(<20g), anything bigger then say a 30g and you'll need multiple bottles(if you are using 2l bottles) on the tank. I put my co2(pressurized and DIY) into elite mini filters. They are a tiny little filters and work great for distributing the co2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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