Carbon dosing

[jmil08]

Has anyone use AquaMaxx Carbon One Activated Carbon Filter Media before? I tried using vodka but didn't if it was working. My nitrate was 40ppm, phosphorus was .30ppm and calcium was low 320ppm. My Zoas was melting away, not opening completely and two of my scolymia start dying off.

After using AquaMaxx Carbon One for one week my nitrates are at 20ppm, phosphorus 0.20 and after using Brightwell calcium for 3 days brought my calcium to 420-430ppm. Going to follow up with a 20% water change this week.

Any suggestion on helping my scolymia heal and grow back.....I don't have a healing tank and don't have any room for one

 

[paradox_of_reef]

Do regular water changes and feed less. Activated carbon and carbon dosing are two different things. Activated carbon is a filtration media that bind up chemicals in the water column. Carbon dosing is a steroid to your bacteria population that processes nitrate/nitrite/ammonia in your water. If you are having issues with po4 try GFO or a similar product that is meant to lower po4 levels.

If you do dose vodka as a carbon source you will need to monitor your nitrate and phosphate levels daily to make sure they don't drop all the way to zero because that can be bad for your corals as well.

All that aside if you do regular water changes and real in your feeding schedule your levels will stabilize and your corals should improve.

 

[Travis1787]

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

This is the format I use I'm vodka dosing as well

 

[Reefpilot11]

I am trying out vinegar dosing, just started a few days ago. Seems like it is basically the same route as vodka. Cheaper also lol

 

[Ah64av8tor]

I am trying out vinegar dosing, just started a few days ago. Seems like it is basically the same route as vodka. Cheaper also lol

Inexpensive :
Not as much as you think
$3.98 per gallon plain white vinegar which is 5% acetic acid
bottom shelf vodka @ $11.99 for 1.75 liters or 80 proof( ie 40% ethanol)

Vinegar which is 95% water is 8x weaker than 80 proof vodka. So if you are switching from vodka to vinegar for example ,you need 8 mls of vinegar for each ml of vodka you were using. So your gallon of vodka will give you the same doses as a 8 gal of vinegar. 8 gal of vinegar is now $32 and 2 jugs of the cheap vodka $24.

Depending on how cheap you go and the amount you are dosing, I think the cost is about the same but the volume of vinegar you need is more difficult to measure out, not to mention the Ph effect of vinegar when dosing high quantities.

 

[rogergolf66]

Has anyone use AquaMaxx Carbon One Activated Carbon Filter Media before? I tried using vodka but didn't if it was working. My nitrate was 40ppm, phosphorus was .30ppm and calcium was low 320ppm. My Zoas was melting away, not opening completely and two of my scolymia start dying off.

After using AquaMaxx Carbon One for one week my nitrates are at 20ppm, phosphorus 0.20 and after using Brightwell calcium for 3 days brought my calcium to 420-430ppm. Going to follow up with a 20% water change this week.

Any suggestion on helping my scolymia heal and grow back.....I don't have a healing tank and don't have any room for one

Well what u r claiming this activate carbon has done is not possible. Activated carbon and carbon dosing are completely different things.

Activated carbon remove yellowing and other types of contaminant in the water. It doesn't lower nitrate or phosphate.

Carbon dosing. Vodka, sugar, vinagar, bio pellets are sources of carbon dosing that

removes/consumes phosphate and nitrates. They work very differently. My guess is the vodka dosing you did probably started working, or water changes lowered your numbers. It takes weeks for vodka/carbon dosing to start working. U can tell if it is working by testing your nitrates regularly. Keep increasing vodka dosing till nitrates start going down. When it reaches your goal cut the dose by 50%. keep dosing that number and keep checking nitrates. Carbon dosing does a better job of removing nitrates then it does phosphate.

Hope that helped. If u have any questions ask. I have not used that brand of activated carbon but I have used other brands and still do.

As far as the Scoly keep the water as stable as possible after getting it back in good standing.it might come back.

Edited. Sorry just read second post. This was already covered
Roger