Nitrate Reduction 101 with sugar!!!

[PatrickJ]

Sweet'N' Low is differnt, C7H4NNaO3S · 2H2O

Note: the Nitrogen and Sodium, but still has carbon, with these methods of reefing why not..

 

[Peter Eichler]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7868240#post7868240 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by affan
Will Sweet'N'Low work?

Equal will work best, you will need a little more of it to get the jon done but it will make your reef substantially more delicious.

 

[affan]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7868314#post7868314 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Peter Eichler
Equal will work best, you will need a little more of it to get the jon done but it will make your reef substantially more delicious.

Cool, all I will need in that case is several boxes of Folgers and a few gallons of cream and voila! 225 gallons of low nitrate coffee on the go!

 

[PatrickJ]

You really can not beat good husbandry, as responsible aquarist you must find your own balance in your system and work with it and not hope on outside sources as means of fixing bad husbandry.

 

[affan]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7868330#post7868330 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by affan
Cool, all I will need in that case is several boxes of Folgers and a few gallons of cream and voila! 225 gallons of low nitrate coffee on the go!

On second thought, why bother with all this? I can get the same kind of coffee from my collection cup!

 

[iamwhatiam52]

Two posts mention "Randy". Who is Randy?

Also, we are admonished that "it's best to find the source of your excess nitrates rather than use quick fix solutions" and we all know this is true. BUT............. I know the source of my nitrates. I overstock, overfeed, underskim, hardly waterchange.

So.

Untill I get a little self control, or get a 3,985,983,757 gallon tank to keep all the creatures I love, I may resort to a quick fix from time to time.

 

[affan]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7868436#post7868436 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by iamwhatiam52
I may resort to a quick fix from time to time.

I, too resort to a quick fix of coffee in the morning from time to time.

PS> Randy is Mr. Randy Holmes Farley. Chemist, Reefist, Bungee Jumper, and considered to be an authority on reef chemistry here on RC.

 

[Timbor]

Here is a 36 page thread in Randy's chemistry forum about this topic:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=288714&highlight=vodka+dosing

I would be cautious using sugar, ethanol, fructose, galactose, etc etc... any source of carbon because it could have the potential of bringing your nitrates and phosphates down to a dangerous low. I know everybody strives to reduce these molecules, but it should be noted that they are also necessary for life, you just don't need much.

again, proper husbandry would be the best first step. I would not rely on carbon-dosing. There is always a chance of overdosing.

Tim

 

[PatrickJ]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7868487#post7868487 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Timbor
Here is a 36 page thread in Randy's chemistry forum about this topic:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=288714&highlight=vodka+dosing

I would be cautious using sugar, ethanol, fructose, galactose, etc etc... any source of carbon because it could have the potential of bringing your nitrates and phosphates down to a dangerous low. I know everybody strives to reduce these molecules, but it should be noted that they are also necessary for life, you just don't need much.

again, proper husbandry would be the best first step. I would not rely on carbon-dosing. There is always a chance of overdosing.

Tim

Well, put and nuff said.

 

[Cody Ray]

Form personal experience I think this is a bad idea. We don't know enough about this to be fooling around with it. I had a tank crash because of my ignorance on the subject.

 

[Clouded]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7868436#post7868436 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by iamwhatiam52
Two posts mention "Randy". Who is Randy?

Also, we are admonished that "it's best to find the source of your excess nitrates rather than use quick fix solutions" and we all know this is true. BUT............. I know the source of my nitrates. I overstock, overfeed, underskim, hardly waterchange.

So.

Untill I get a little self control, or get a 3,985,983,757 gallon tank to keep all the creatures I love, I may resort to a quick fix from time to time.

Like I said I did this to help cycle my tank faster, but I stopped once I got to where I wanted to be....

Your statement about a quick fix is one of the worst things I have heard. This is the mentaility that is taking over the medical world. Its easier to put people on meds then figure out the true problem and then fixing it...same thing here, you know what is wrong, but you chose not to fix just medicate it and hope nothing comes back to bite you in the ....

 

[affan]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7868733#post7868733 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Clouded
Like I said I did this to help cycle my tank faster, but I stopped once I got to where I wanted to be....

Your statement about a quick fix is one of the worst things I have heard. This is the mentaility that is taking over the medical world. Its easier to put people on meds then figure out the true problem and then fixing it...same thing here, you know what is wrong, but you chose not to fix just medicate it and hope nothing comes back to bite you in the ....

Yeah, I agree. But I'd rather not find the problem and cure it. Because Hydrocodone gives me this feeling of euphoria and I love everybody.

 

[xtrstangx]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7867374#post7867374 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Clouded
Carbon pulls stuff out not create more bacteria...suger creates bacteria, its like using vodka...If you do not beleive go ask Randy and see what he says...there are to many things in sugar that no one has really studied the effect of in our tanks...

I'm talking about Carbon (as in the element C if you don't understand), not activated carbon.

Sugar (specifically the carbon in it) promotes the bacteria to grow.

Common sugar (what you use when cooking, etc) is sucrose or C12H22O11. I haven't looked into it myself, but I am sure that the FDA has somewhat strict regulations about the purity required for sucrose.

Just for an example, lets say that it is 90% sucrose and 10% other stuff (by volume) and you are adding 1 tsp per day (say a tank volume of 200g). In a week, that not even 1 teaspoon of impurities in 200g of tank volume! A common conversion (not exact, but a good approximation) is 10 ml of vodka is 1 tsp of sugar. Most people (from what I've read) don't do much more than 10 ml a day.

Now consider that the FDA probably has higher regulations than just 90%. Honestly, for the small amount of sugar you are adding (fractions of a teaspoon to only 1 teaspoon), the impurities in it would be the last worry on my mind when dosing.

If you are worried about impurities, go talk to the people who dose kalk. They add a lot more kalk than 1 tsp a day and a lot of them use aquarium-grade products which can less pure than the food-grade pickling lime!

Edit- Feel like I should add a disclaimer to my post. Dosing any carbon source to your tank can be potentially very dangerous. If you rmove too much nitrogen and phosphates, corals will begin to die. Also, overdoses can lead to decreased oxygen levels in the tank from the bacteria's explosion in growth. If you decide to start dosing a carbon source (sugar or vodka), make sure to do plenty of reading and start with a low amount!

 

[Clouded]

I am not worried about it...Apparently no one read both my posts where I said I used this method to help cycle my tank quicker. However like I said before there has been no shown results of success in the run.

 

[xtrstangx]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7868905#post7868905 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Clouded
I am not worried about it...Apparently no one read both my posts where I said I used this method to help cycle my tank quicker. However like I said before there has been no shown results of success in the run.

I've read plenty of success stories of people who have dosed vodka in the long run. Whether its vodka or sugar, you are just introducing a carbon source to promote bacterial growth..

This quote makes it sound like you are worried about it, IMO:

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7868905#post7868905 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Clouded
there are to many things in sugar that no one has really studied the effect of in our tanks...

 

[Clouded]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7868922#post7868922 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by xtrstangx
I've read plenty of success stories of people who have dosed vodka in the long run. Whether its vodka or sugar, you are just introducing a carbon source to promote bacterial growth..

This quote makes it sound like you are worried about it, IMO:

Yeah in the long run...I just did not want people to take the posters word as gold.

 

[Avast Marine]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7868856#post7868856 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by xtrstangx
I haven't looked into it myself, but I am sure that the FDA has somewhat strict regulations about the purity required for sucrose.........

The FDA has an allowance of 10ppm rat feces in food for human consumption

.......the impurities in it would be the last worry on my mind when dosing.

Well it's your tank :lol:

 

[CoMMaNdeR]

Guys the sugar you are talking about is the normal sugar we use in our homes to make coffee etc ?

 

[Mike.B]

Hmm very interesting. What happens when you stop dosing sugar, do your nitrates go crazy or slowly start rising?

I honestly doubt that the amount of impurities in the sugar would be a problem considering its food grade.

 

[djc1026]

Isn't Marc Weiss's product "Coral Vital" basically sugar water, some kind of glucose/succrose concocture? It doesn't list it's ingredients, and his people won't tell you. It looks and sort of smells like apple juice. Just a thought because I know people who use that and have used it for quite some time. Most have said great things about using it in the beginning and some have had tank crashes after several years. Now, there are many other things that could have caused the crashes. But....anyone know the chemical composition of this product?

Dave