Bacto Balance

[Karliefish]

I personally do not see a reason to mess with what you are doing. If nitrate trends down more, just back off on the vodka dose.

Hey Randy thanks for chiming in here. So are you suggesting that I can achieve the same balance with Carbon dosing Vodka that I was going to try and achieve with TM Bacto Balance? I have been carbon dosing Vodka now for the past two weeks and have been bringing my PO4 down about two points a day (from .20 to .08). Nitrate has not fallen at a commensurate rate - currently sitting around 12 (down from 20.0+) So how do I use my Vodka dosing to “keep balance”?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Hey Randy thanks for chiming in here. So are you suggesting that I can achieve the same balance with Carbon dosing Vodka that I was going to try and achieve with TM Bacto Balance? I have been carbon dosing Vodka now for the past two weeks and have been bringing my PO4 down about two points a day (from .20 to .08). Nitrate has not fallen at a commensurate rate - currently sitting around 12 (down from 20.0+) So how do I use my Vodka dosing to “keep balance”?

I do not know exactly what bactobalance usually accomplishes (don't assume manufacturer claims will match your user experience), but many folks (myself included) have no problem attaining desirable N and P levels using just DIY organic carbon dosing. :)

I do not believe that dosing vodka will regularly drive down phosphate from 0.2 to 0.08 ppm without also bring down nitrate.

Your current values are fine, IMO, and backing off on the amount of vodka dosed to keep nitrate from dropping below your lower target level is a fine plan. That is how most people handle it: use one dose to reduce nitrate, then back off on the dose as you approach your target.

 

[Karliefish]

I do not know exactly what bactobalance usually accomplishes (don't assume manufacturer claims will match your user experience), but many folks (myself included) have no problem attaining desirable N and P levels using just DIY organic carbon dosing. :)

I do not believe that dosing vodka will regularly drive down phosphate from 0.2 to 0.08 ppm without also bring down nitrate.

Your current values are fine, IMO, and backing off on the amount of vodka dosed to keep nitrate from dropping below your lower target level is a fine plan. That is how most people handle it: use one dose to reduce nitrate, then back off on the dose as you approach your target.

Ok great information. So i have ~320 gallons of water and to bring down my PO4 and Nitrates I was Vodka Carbon dosing about 4-5ML of per day. That seem to be a real nice dosing amount to bring my phosphates and nitrates down to a reasonable ratio. The dosing did bring down the nitrate, but not as fast as the phosphates dropped. So if I am dosing 4-5 ml to bring down PO4 & nitrate would cutting this in half be a good starting point to see if can maintain a steady balance?