Vinegar Dosing SPS Tank

[Jimbo]

I have a stubborn case of Green Hair Algae that I have been battling for 6 months now. It's not a severe case but there is a good amount on my rocks. I have been running a GFO reactor and changing the media every 2 weeks. My phosphates test at 0.02 ( Hanna Checker ) Nitrates are at 0 ( Red Sea Pro) They tested this low even before the Algae outbreak.

I obviously have phosphate and nitrate available or I wouldn't have a problem. I am considering dosing vinegar but how do I gauge my dosage when I have no detectable nitrate?

Can I start according to the vinegar dosing chart and use the algae as a guide ? Keep upping the amount until I see a decline In the algae ?

I have a 70 Gallon SPS tank with mostly frags and a couple of mini-colonies. SPS actually have better color now than they did before I had an algae issue but it's gotten to the point where I need to get rid of this stuff.

Some tank info: 30"x30"x18" tank
8x24 ATI Sunpower ( Bulbs are 10 months old, I'm in the process of changing them)
Alk 8.5
Calcium 450
magnesium 1380

I have previously run Biopellets on this tank for a year. Was very unhappy with SPS color and realized when the hair algae started, that the pellets were much better at reducing nitrate than phosphate although phosphate always tested fine and nitrates were always 0. I also was starving my SPS.

I removed the pellets and there was a dramatic increase in growth and color of my SPS. They looked MUCH better after removing the biopellets. That was 6 months ago, Problem is the hair algae persists and i have some kind of nutrient issue although I don't test for any. Considering the vinegar after much research to hopefully finally get rid of the algae and then dosing amino acids and feeding more than when I was using the pellets, to avoid making the same mistake.

Any advice or suggestions ?

 

[mike007]

Yes you can start dosing according to the charts. I started dosing small amounts weekly and increasing each week until I got my nitrates down to 0. I would not trust test results completely. Most of these algae problems are caused by excess nutrients as you know. Carbon dosing of any kind will help but without proper husbandry it will only help a little. Most of these issues are caused by overfeeding the tank. My corals only receive residue from the fish foods I add nothing else I they do great.

 

[Jimbo]

Well that's part of my problem.My nitrates already test 0, So how do I know when I reach the right dosage? I really do not over feed the tank, have a good protein skimmer, do weekly 10% water changes with 0 TDS RO/DI so I'm at a loss as to where the excess nutrients are coming from.

 

[Moonlightreef]

i had the same exact problem after start using biopellets . No matter what i did the GHA will just not go away . My NO3 was 0.5 and PO4 was reading zero before i got the GHA to grow on my rocks , after couple of month battling with GHA i went all out and dipped all my rocks in Hydroproxidid for about 20 min each rock and went a way . No im not running any biopellet or GFO for past two month and zero sign of GHA . Be careful running GFO with GHA in the tank specially if you get zero reading on PO4 or you will het burn tip on the SPS from no PO4 in the water , lets not forget that GHA consumes ur PO4 faster the you test kit can read so adding a lot of GFO might strip the tank to clean .

 

[Electrobes]

I followed the chart on: Reefkeeping Magazine - Vinegar Dosing Methodology for the Marine Aquarium

Though I can't say this is the best way to gauge how much vinegar to add, or when to stop, I mainly looked at my skimmer. I used an oil pencil and made measured marks on my skimmer cup. If I usually skimmed, say 2 marks worth of skimmate, without dosing, I would then start at the bottom of the chart and check on the quality and amount of skimmate every week right before I was due to increase my vinegar dose. If the next higher dose didn't produce any more skimmate than before (And the quality remained the same) I would go go back to the dose of the week before and stay there for a time. If I change my maintenance in any way (Feedings, water changes, etc) I would adjust the vinegar dose (Little by little) accordingly.. and constantly check the marks on the skimmer cup. I still do this despite having found my sweet spot in vinegar dosing, even if I haven't changed anything.

 

[lionfish5740]

I would suggest starting very light on the carbon dosing and taking your time with any increase in dosage if you have low NO3 and PO4.
A lot of people have created a good environment for cyanobacteria by adding carbon in those conditions.

 

[Jimbo]

Thanks for the replies. Funny you mentioned Cyano because I did notice a tiny bit on one rock yesterday. I have never had this before in the tank. I'm thinking maybe the rocks were absorbing PO4 the whole time I was running Biopellets. I think the Nitrates were so low, PO4 was not being removed, yet I was still testing low numbers. I assume its now feeding the Hair algae. I guess it is either remove the rock or wait for all the phosphate to be used up, which is the easier of the two.

I am running a cup and a half of GFO in a reactor that I have been changing every 2 weeks. The Acro's have never looked better so I don't believe I am stripping it too low. Thought maybe some carbon dosing would help speed the process up but I don't want to create an environment for Cyano to take over either. Not sure what to do but I need to get rid of the hair algae.....

 

[metro6775]

Just FYI - I tested nitrates with red sea nitrate test kit and kept getting zero nitrates. I did not trust it so I purchased a Salifert nitrate test kit. Now I'm totally ****** because my nitrates are reading between 25 - 50.

 

[lakeviewink]

Just FYI - I tested nitrates with red sea nitrate test kit and kept getting zero nitrates. I did not trust it so I purchased a Salifert nitrate test kit. Now I'm totally ****** because my nitrates are reading between 25 - 50.

I've had an almost identical experience. Confused…

 

[Windy]

If you dose vinegar, here is what I am doing based on a lot of research. First week dose is 15 ml of 5% white vinegar per 100 gal of water (Not rock). Second week double the dose to 30 ml per 100 gal. Third week go to 45 ml per 100 gal and go no higher. Keep at this level until your skimmer seems to have "caught up". You need a good skimmer to do dosing. Some people continue to dose long term.

 

[Jimbo]

I also tested using the new NYOS Nitrate kit and also got 0. Windy is that a daily dose of 15 ml you're starting with? That's way more aggressive than the chart I'm using but I've read that the chart is very conservative and ramps up slowly.

 

[Jimbo]

Here's a couple of pics of the tank. You can see the algae on the rocks in the 2nd picture. It's not growing really long but it is definitely not dying off. I think my clean up crew helps keep it in control.

 

[Windy]

I also tested using the new NYOS Nitrate kit and also got 0. Windy is that a daily dose of 15 ml you're starting with? That's way more aggressive than the chart I'm using but I've read that the chart is very conservative and ramps up slowly.

Yes its a daily dose, I mix it with water and drip it in over about 10-12 hours.

 

[rayn]

I am surprised Randy hasn't popped in here. There is a thread somewhere here, he said that basically the chart was conservative and one could ramp the vodka dosing quicker. <<<I am paraphrasing here a bunch. However, I start dosing at .5 ml per gallon and go up from there. Every 3 days I adjust my dosing higher. If HA is a issue and your tests are reading 0, you need to watch your HA itself. As the nutrients are taken up by the bacteria, there at be any for the HA and it will die off turning white. This would signal that the nutrients are now low and you can cut your dose in half and monitor the tank.

 

[Jimbo]

Thank you Rayn, that's the info I was looking for , and I believe I have read that somewhere also. I wasn't sure which forum I should put this in, probably should have been in the Reef Chemistry Forum.

 

[esteadma]

rayn Had I had that info two years ago, I would have been a much happier guy in dealing with my HA problem.

 

[rayn]

rayn Had I had that info two years ago, I would have been a much happier guy in dealing with my HA problem.

Lol, I have dealt with "kitties" in my tanks as my wife puts it. Not sure if it is where I get my rock from, husbandry, or what. I started carbon dosing and manual removal and just watched it disappear. I always did water changes, but those weren't enough. Never got into bio pellets, so can't say on them...will say I have one waiting for my new build though.

I don't believe it is a cure and a easy go around to escape husbandry, but another tool we can use to help keep our tanks cleaner and healthier.

 

[d_adler]

have you tried dosing hydrogen peroxide in your tank. i had a similar issue with brown algae and after researching and researching i saw that many people had success with dosing small amounts of hydrogen peroxide in there tank. it was recommended 1 ml per 10 gallons and within a week my tank was completely void of the algae. there are many plus sides to dosing it and it wont have any ill effect on your sps what so ever. research and try it out

 

[Panda]

have you tried dosing hydrogen peroxide in your tank. i had a similar issue with brown algae and after researching and researching i saw that many people had success with dosing small amounts of hydrogen peroxide in there tank. it was recommended 1 ml per 10 gallons and within a week my tank was completely void of the algae. there are many plus sides to dosing it and it wont have any ill effect on your sps what so ever. research and try it out

I thought hydrogen peroxide and sps don't do well together?

 

[mcarroll]

Someone mentioned vinegar not doing a lot of good if you don't figure out what husbandry issue created the problem, but I think it got missed.

You may be doing water changes and not be overfeeding per se, but the nutrients don't appear in the tank by magic nor do they leave by magic.

More than likely detritus has accumulated (maybe multiple places) to a critical mass to support algae growth.

Check the usual spots: in the sand under powerheads, around/within rocks, sump, etc. Use something to swizzle around in the sand to see if any non-white clouds pop up. Same for a powerhead in your rocks. "Blow" everything out really well.

If you don't find anything in the way of detritus, then I'd look at your makeup water and RODI filtration system for nutrient leaks.

I'm betting on detritus.