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CO2 Tablets?

wolfewill

Member
Joined
19 Nov 2012
Messages
77
Location
Kanata, Ontario, Canada
Does anyone have any experience with Ista CO2 tablets for the planted tank? If so, what are the ingredients? And, more importantly, does it work? The videos I've seen suggest that the gas goes straight up and gasses off without any consequential amount dissolving in the water. Also, there is a product called 'CO2 tablets' produced by a company called Medley Pharmaceuticals in which the active ingredients are two antibiotics.... which surely isn't the same thing, is it? I can't find the MSDS literature for the Ista product. What are we dealing with here?
 
CO2 tablets pharmacy are a combination of Cefixime & Ofloxacin
 
Generally the CO2 is produced by reacting sodium or potassoum bicarbonate and citric acid (or similar), both normally solids, they dissolve in water and react. CO2 and sodium/potassium citrate is the result.

Not sure either of these accumulating on your tank is a good idea, especially sodium, which has no place in fish tanks.
 
From what I've read, using CO2 tablets isn't recommended because it isn't very consistent or accurate so could lead to algae. Oscar :)

I'd be very interested in what you read. Can you send me there?
 
Generally the CO2 is produced by reacting sodium or potassoum bicarbonate and citric acid (or similar), both normally solids, they dissolve in water and react. CO2 and sodium/potassium citrate is the result.

I'm hoping that this is all it is. A fellow hobbyist, new to the hobby, has been sold this from the LFS. She has two very young children and I'm concerned that she and her family are not aware of the potential harm that may occur should her children get into this stuff. But that being said, even the quoted ingredients are probably not kid friendly, eh?
 
off course you should not let kids play with them, let alone stick them in their mouths,

But as said by ian_m it is a combination of citric acid and a bicarbonate, and so is baking powder. Their will probably be also some filler in their to make the tablets dissolve slower.

Their is no loss in trowing them away, pretty useless stuff in my opinion.
 
Ok. It's a relief that it's only as poisonous as baking powder. Seems a waste of money though. Cheers everyone.
 
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