Randy Holmes-Farley
Reef Chemist
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My Tank Thread
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Adding vinegar or any other carbohydrate, has it improved the health of your corals, considering it was used to lower the nitrate and phosphate level to keep your corals happy? And why? Based on my information about increased organic carbon availability, I do not think so.
Maby it was also used to control algae growth without having thought about what could be the effect on corral health? Or used to improve kalkwasser addition by which vinegar is added to the system based on the evaporation rate without taking into account any other parameter or side effect of organic carbon addition.
On first reading it certainly did mess up your system , it did not add much stability.
Maintaining a high C:N ratio is a very effective method for removing ammonium very fast, to prevent nitrification and algae growth, but not advisable for to support the bio-load in a reef aquarium in which corals try to manage their own private carbon cycle.
I’d have to say, your entire argument is weakened by the false assertion that vinegar or acetic acid is a carbohydrate. It isn’t. It’s like saying “a yellow tang or any other tuna”. Different beasts. Yellow tangs are fine in reef tanks. Tuna are not. But that lack of tuna suitability says nothing about tang suitability.
You are reading the effect of experimental and intentional overdose in my tank. Not normal dosing.
To answer your question, I did not add vinegar to improve coral health. When I did add it, I saw no effects good or bad on corals at appropriate doses. I added it to spur filter feeders such as sponges, and as a less expensive alternative for nutrient export relative to the many watts of lit refugia that I used immediately prior to switching to vinegar. I was happy with all aspects of the apparent results of vinegar dosing except the vermitid worms which may have expanded due to more available particulate food.