adding sugar to lower nitrate

[apu701]

i have been reading up on adding sugar (or vodka) to increase anareobic bacteria. i did notice some people from this forum also asking for more info on these threads.

my question is how has it worked for the people that have used it? that old thread is pretty old enough for the people that have tried it to say if it works or not?

i know there is people saying u can only keep a reef by doing waterchanges and skim like cracy. yes this works very well for many people. But if there is a way to make life a bit easier then why not try it out. increasing the bacteria that reduce nitrates and phosphates and letting them "export" the nutrients out that way seems similar to using cheato to "export" out the nutrients.

for those who have tried it, is there any bad side even if u use it properly (ie. dose it correcly and slowly). is there any good side to it? i had read many people say it does work. and others saying it killed everything when they overdosed.

k anyone care to give their input??

 

[seldin]

Not sure where my reply went.

I have tried this and it works. However, there does not seem to be enough information on the long term effects. It took 2 weeks for the nitrates to go to 0.

I did not have it work at first because my UV was on. So please make sure if you have one, that it is off, because the bacteria needed for dosing, does not do well with the UV on.

I have seen ads for a "nitrate reactor", which also has to be fed. Sugar, is much cheaper than any other solution. However, I still don't know the long term effects.

Hope this helps.

 

[teen]

it does work.

thing is, you cannot simply stop dosing the sugar/vodka once your nitrates reach zero. youre tank has to be weaned off or you could experience a large die off in bacteria within your tank, which wouldn't be fun.

 

[apu701]

hey sorry but i think it double posted. my bad.

ya i have been looking into this only for my fowlr tank. my only concerns was for my inverts in that tank. i feed heavly and my nitrates are high for this tank. i have no room for a sump and even a hang on skimmer as its built into the wall (by idiots). I have no room for any thing on the bottom or the short sides of the tank.

i have a cheap lee skimmer and it works. i get pretty dark cup full every week. but its not very efficient. Nitrates are always high (>60) bc i feed atleast 2x-4x a day lightly. no food hit the floor my fish are cracy when its feeding time. i cant feed them less bc "they always look hungry"

i think im gonna try 1/2 teaspoon sugar with my b-ionic dosing schedule every 2 days. i have a cleanup crew and just concerned about their long term safety. its a 70 gallon so i think that amount is a relativitly safe amount. i hope.

i have a problem with green algae also. im pretty sure my phoshate is high also that tank has been using tap water for the past 15 years. i recently got a ro/di unit and i have switched over.

i will keep posting if i get any results

 

[Monkeyfish]

I used sugar to help with nitrates in a 75 FOWLR. The sugar appeared to have zero impact on the inverts (hermit crabs, worms and turbo snails) and did help with the nitrates, although I did not have as much success as others.

 

[qy7400]

If I remember correctly you also need a good skimmer for this to work properly and like teen mentioned you have to slowly cut back the use or risk a tank crash.

apu701 have you looked into the Tunze skimmers, they are design for both sump and in tank use. The box is pretty small 4" x 5" so but may fit nicely for you.

 

[xhaust50]

You have no access to the back of the tank? Could you fit an Aquaclear filter on there? I have an AC110 converted to a refugium on both of my tanks, and I have never had any nitrates. Maybe you could look into it.

 

[apu701]

that tunze is something i have been considering. i think i will look for one. thank u.

the tank is viewable on both sides and the sides are not accessable. they built a wooden enclosure around the sides as well as the top so i cant put a skimmer bc there is a block of wood bracing the sides to the tank. the bottom of the tank has two spots in between my support beams to house 2 fluval 403 systems. no way to fit anything but two canister filters without me cutting into the support beams of my walls. beleive me i tried.

it has been running great for a while now. i had a crash 4 years ago when i tried "quick cure" to try deal with ick. i guess death is a cure for a disease turned my entire tank blue. sad day. i had most of my fish since then. it had the fake plants. i redid the tank 8 months ago and put in live rock. only thing fake in there now is my anemone that my maroon clown calls home for the past 8 months since i started putting in some inverts to help clean some of the algae off the glass and rocks. i been concerned for them bc my nitrates have always been >60.

k. i think im gonna try it... slowly.