A DIY Balanced Carbon dosing system

[Maximitsurugi]

Hey @Randy Holmes-Farley . Hopefully the new projects you had mentioned are doing well.
I just wanted to ask this. I have TSP and I use vinegar for Carbon dosing but because my reef is naturally Phosphate limited, whenever I dose Vinegar, it sucks my daily phosphate addition to Zero.

I'm wondering if there is a way to work out a ratio or even mix some TSP and Vinegar together in a way where the ratio of vinegar to phosphate is balanced so my daily hand dosed phosphate doesn't move much and I can keep a stable nutrient level.

 

[SPR1968]

I can’t help but I can bump the thread for you

 

[Maximitsurugi]

Thanks a lot. Just want to know how much phosphate to carbon i should mix if the Nitrate is available.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

No, there's no way to know in advance how much phosphate is consumed except by trial and error (and it may change over time).

The reason is that some processes that use organics (notably denitrification) use no phosphate, while others (such as simple bacteria growth and tissue addition of all organisms that use it (from bacteria to corals), do consume phosphate.

The relative balance of the two will vary.