not sure how to start carbon dosing in my 600g?

[sensei]

Hello all,

I would like to start carbon dosing my 600g system.
system is 2 and a half years old, BB with skimmer and a 6 cube ATS
NO3 have been climbing since fish have been getting bigger and I have not been able to reduce it, while PO4 has been consistently low ( I guess ATS is responsible for this).
they is not much algae in the tank. a couple of spots of cyano but nothing mayor.
I do 1% WC daily

I have 30 fish and 10 of them are tangs, some of them are 10" big.
NO3 = 25 to 30 salifert
PO4 = 0.0337 hanna phosphorus

I am not sure if I should just use vinager or just vodka or a mixture of both??
what should be my initial dose and how to move my way up??

Thanks a lot for your answers.

 

[RamsReef]

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php

2.4 ml first week
5 ml next week

 

[Potatohead]

What is happening in the tank that makes you want to lower it?

 

[Marc88]

Following. I'm in the same boat...but with higher nitrates at 50ppm

 

[sensei]

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php

2.4 ml first week
5 ml next week

Thanks a lot forthe link it helps a lot, however I have read that vodka dosing alone favors cyano and taht a mix of vodka vinager may work better.
do you know anything about this?

In addition dose using only vodka seems to be very small thus it makes it difficult to program in dosing pumps. maybe the mix is more convinient?

Thanks for your coments

 

[sensei]

What is happening in the tank that makes you want to lower it?

fish are getting bigger, I need to increase feedings and NO3 keeps going up to not healthy levels.
Some acros get to dark in color were you can not distinguis the real color and do not look as healthy as in my frag tank were N and P is much lower
I would like to have NO3 around 5

 

[RamsReef]

Thanks a lot forthe link it helps a lot, however I have read that vodka dosing alone favors cyano and taht a mix of vodka vinager may work better.
do you know anything about this?

In addition dose using only vodka seems to be very small thus it makes it difficult to program in dosing pumps. maybe the mix is more convinient?

Thanks for your coments

Yes look up DIY NoPox

I use 50% vinegar 40% vodka 10% water.

http://www.ultimatereef.net/threads/make-your-own-no3po4x-nopox-diy.773727/

 

[Potatohead]

Thanks a lot forthe link it helps a lot, however I have read that vodka dosing alone favors cyano and taht a mix of vodka vinager may work better.
do you know anything about this?

In addition dose using only vodka seems to be very small thus it makes it difficult to program in dosing pumps. maybe the mix is more convinient?

Thanks for your coments

I agree on using vinegar/vodka combination

When you start dosing just be sure to keep an eye on your phosphate. It is low enough that adding carbon and starting to drop nitrate may bottom it out.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I am not sure if I should just use vinager or just vodka or a mixture of both??
what should be my initial dose and how to move my way up??

Any of those options are fine and people are successful with them all.

I personally prefer vinegar via dosing pump.

Your nitrate is not that high so I'd start slow. Maybe 25-50 mL per day (if you use vinegar), spread out over the light cycle.

 

[Marc88]

Sorry to jump in on someone else's thread. I have macro algae with growth that stalled. Just tested my N per salifert 50 ppm and P .01 ppm Hanna. I'd rather promote my algae growth. Would vodka dosing help? I was adding iron slowley but that seemed to cause the cheato to desenegrate. I just added grape caulerpa which drove my P down from .07....I think at least.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Sorry to jump in on someone else's thread. I have macro algae with growth that stalled. Just tested my N per salifert 50 ppm and P .01 ppm Hanna. I'd rather promote my algae growth. Would vodka dosing help? I was adding iron slowley but that seemed to cause the cheato to desenegrate. I just added grape caulerpa which drove my P down from .07....I think at least.

I don't understand what you want to do. If you want to promote algae growth, dosing vodka is not going to assist.

Iron dosing did not cause the chaeto to disintegrate. Something else caused that.

 

[RamsReef]

Sorry to jump in on someone else's thread. I have macro algae with growth that stalled. Just tested my N per salifert 50 ppm and P .01 ppm Hanna. I'd rather promote my algae growth. Would vodka dosing help? I was adding iron slowley but that seemed to cause the cheato to desenegrate. I just added grape caulerpa which drove my P down from .07....I think at least.

Go start a new thread.

 

[Marc88]

Go start a new thread.

Not helpful. Thanks for nothing.

Seeing as how the OP and I have similar issues with similar goals in mind no harm in soliciting for a little help her versus starting another thread.

 

[Marc88]

I don't understand what you want to do. If you want to promote algae growth, dosing vodka is not going to assist.

Iron dosing did not cause the chaeto to disintegrate. Something else caused that.

Randy. Thanks for your consideration and insight. I'll search some more and try to find a solution to my problem if carbon dosing is not going to help. Thanks again.

 

[sensei]

I agree on using vinegar/vodka combination

When you start dosing just be sure to keep an eye on your phosphate. It is low enough that adding carbon and starting to drop nitrate may bottom it out.

Yes, PO4 is low compared to the NO3. I have been dealing with this imbalance but have not been able to correct it. Maybe carbon dosing can help me reduce NO3 to balance the ratio of PO4:NO3
If PO4 becomes undetectable when Carbon dosing what should I do?
I ask because I have read that if PO4 is limited that creates a problem for nutrient reduction?

Thanks again

 

[sensei]

Any of those options are fine and people are successful with them all.

I personally prefer vinegar via dosing pump.

Your nitrate is not that high so I'd start slow. Maybe 25-50 mL per day (if you use vinegar), spread out over the light cycle.

Thanks Randy,
can I know why do you personally prefer Vinegar??
I dosed a small amount of vinegar today ( 19ml in my 600g system). It was the first dose and it made the water a little cloudy after some time, but the dose was added when there was no light.
why is it better to added in light cycle?
I though it was a small dose not have any precipitation effects, but it did something although I could not see any significant ph drop in my apex.
I was thinking of dividing the dose in two additions tomorrow?

isn´t it better to use a mix of vinegar and vodka??
some say that using vodka alone cause cyano??
could it be that vinegar promotes growth of certain bacteria and vodka of different ones, ,thus a combination stimulate more bacteria growth than one alone?


thanks for your answer
best regards

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Thanks Randy,
can I know why do you personally prefer Vinegar??
I dosed a small amount of vinegar today ( 19ml in my 600g system). It was the first dose and it made the water a little cloudy after some time, but the dose was added when there was no light.
why is it better to added in light cycle?
I though it was a small dose not have any precipitation effects, but it did something although I could not see any significant ph drop in my apex.
I was thinking of dividing the dose in two additions tomorrow?

isn´t it better to use a mix of vinegar and vodka??
some say that using vodka alone cause cyano??
could it be that vinegar promotes growth of certain bacteria and vodka of different ones, ,thus a combination stimulate more bacteria growth than one alone?


thanks for your answer
best regards

I’ve never seen evidence of, or heard any convincing reason that a mixture was or would be better than a single compound.

I started with vodka and got an increase in cyano. I switched to vinegar and cyano went back to normal levels. That might go the other way in some tanks, but I’ve heard of less cyano with vinegar.

Part of the reason for that may be why I also like vinegar: because many organisms can use it, not just bacteria. Corals, sponges, etc, all can use vinegar directly. So it boosts organisms widely, and there’s little chance of a buildup of unused organic.

Acetate (as from vinegar) is also naturally the highest concentration and fastest turning over organic in the pore water of sediments, where we want denitrification to take place.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I recommend adding organic carbon during the day because it reduces O2 and pH, and to minimize that concern, I spread it out over the light part of the day.

The cloudiness you saw could only be bacteria.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I recommend adding organic carbon during the day because it reduces O2 and pH, and to minimize that concern, I spread it out over the light part of the day.

The cloudiness you saw could only be bacteria, or spawning of something .

 

[sensei]

I recommend adding organic carbon during the day because it reduces O2 and pH, and to minimize that concern, I spread it out over the light part of the day.

The cloudiness you saw could only be bacteria, or spawning of something .

Thanks Randy,
I am not sure if I understood correctly, when you say that the cloudiness I saw could be bacteria, are you thinking that the vinager dose and the cloudiness in case it was bacteria can be related or just a coincidence?

you do not think that a bolus dose of 19ml of vineger in a 600g system could have any precicipation effects?
would you divide the dose in two for tomorrow during light hours??

Thanks again