Nitrate Reduction 101 with sugar!!!

[JakStat]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12174023#post12174023 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Otogi
I have been following that thread as well. I have been confused by the post were things like that have been said. But what I am assuming of what is being said and what you might be thinking, is that I might have one of the cases where instead on my Nitrates being converted to nitrogen gas and being removed, they are instead possibly being used by a different bacteria where they may be being converted to ammonia and nitrite (hhence my sudden increase of those elements)?

sorry for any confusion!

but what i mentioned about the amphibolic pathway reversing over a concentration of 50ppm really only applied to the concept of using sulfur.

with your tank otogi, i think that either:

a) the chemical media upset the microbiological balance and your tank is currently re-equilibrating.

b) a precipitating event released decaying matter. if not a death, the release of decaying organic material that was previously sequestered.

or wait:

c) are you overfeeding?

i would do some water changes, let your fish go hungry for a few days (or a week lol), and see what happens. remove as much crap as possible from the tank, check the sump and behind rocks.

 

[Otogi]

thanks for the advice Jakstat I have a feeling more then anything that my problem is probably due to chemical upset with the bacteria and I am having a re-cycle because of it. I do not think it is decaying matter as I keep a very clean tank, I blow off my rocks with a baster every other day or so and as well as around the base of the rocks. when I do water changes I siphon right above the SB to remove and waste that is laying on the SB. I also clean my skimmer and filter media once or twice a week. I do a main feeding every other day (not heavy feeding) but a good amount for the what I have, and on the off days I give a small pinch of formula 2 pellets and flakes. I think I am actually a light feeder.

I am going to grab a new test kit tonight and do a 30g WC, will do a few more WC over the next week and hopefully all will be good after that. Thanks for all the help and sorry I derailed the thread a bit. But glad I came here, I picked up a lot of great pointers and helpful info from you all.

 

[MrTuskfish]

My attention span can't cover the length of this thread; could someone advise me how long the sugar dosing continues? Forever? Until nitrates start to climb? ??? This does work; I've tried it in my small (55) retro tank. This tank has skeletal coral, no LR or LS and no inverts. It just reminds me of my "old days" in the hobby. My nitrates hang around 80ppm; this isn't a dangerously high reading for fish only, but the nitrates can contribute to a diatom problem in this tank once in a while (along with phos& silicates). I used sugar and it went from 80 t0 40 ppm in 4 days. Thanks!

 

[Zoom]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12718936#post12718936 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MrTuskfish
My attention span can't cover the length of this thread; could someone advise me how long the sugar dosing continues? Forever? Until nitrates start to climb? ??? This does work; I've tried it in my small (55) retro tank. This tank has skeletal coral, no LR or LS and no inverts. It just reminds me of my "old days" in the hobby. My nitrates hang around 80ppm; this isn't a dangerously high reading for fish only, but the nitrates can contribute to a diatom problem in this tank once in a while (along with phos& silicates). I used sugar and it went from 80 t0 40 ppm in 4 days. Thanks!

The nitrates went down really quick for me also but mine was not high as your at all .
You just need to go slow till you get the nitrates down to normal range and then you just need to slow the dosing down to once a week .
It work for me with no bad side affects at all.

 

[MrTuskfish]

Correction: I have 3 things going at once, I can barely handle 0ne. Nitrates went from 80 to 60ppm in 18 hours.

 

[lifesaver7887]

can i use white sugar. or should I go out and buy all natural sugar. or does poweder sugar work?

 

[pledosophy]

I dose with sugar packets from Starbucks. $4 for a coffee I'm going to get some denitrating material for my money as well.

 

[CyanoMagnet]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12167052#post12167052 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JakStat
ideally, the alcohol or sugar should be dosed directly into the localized anoxic environments where denitrification is occurring.



!!!

Would it be a good idea to "inject" the dsb with some sugar water? Is this waht you meant?

 

[Zoom]

I put the sugar right in the high flow area of my sump .
I only dose 1/2 TSP a week now to keep nitrates at O.

 

[CyanoMagnet]

Hey zoom. Finaly caught up to the end of this thread. Thank you for your contribution.

OK. Heres my situation. I added a full table spoon(thats right, 3 teaspoons) last night to my 75 net gallon system. Its an obvious overdose and not something I intended. I simply misread.

I have slightly cloudy water atm . Added the sugar 18 hours ago along with 2 capfulls of vinegar.

I am skimming very aggresively right now. What is my correct venue atm? Add more sugar tonight? Wait for a clear up and add no sugar?

Plz advise, thank you.

 

[Zoom]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12754116#post12754116 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by CyanoMagnet
Hey zoom. Finaly caught up to the end of this thread. Thank you for your contribution.

OK. Heres my situation. I added a full table spoon(thats right, 3 teaspoons) last night to my 75 net gallon system. Its an obvious overdose and not something I intended. I simply misread.

I have slightly cloudy water atm . Added the sugar 18 hours ago along with 2 capfulls of vinegar.

I am skimming very aggresively right now. What is my correct venue atm? Add more sugar tonight? Wait for a clear up and add no sugar?

Plz advise, thank you.

3 TSP O man the is to much just wait for the tank to clear up i will not put more than a 1/4 TSP every other day in a 75 G tank.
Even better 1/8 TSP every day for as long as you need to see a drop on your No3 soon as it start to drop go with lower dose .
I never dose any vinegar, only sugar so that one is on you, sugar did me good just by it self.
Try to go very slow you really don't need much at all .
keep testing and adjust the dose as you need .
Good think comes very slow in the reef hobby.

 

[CyanoMagnet]

Yeah the tank is getting pretty cloudy now. Hope it doesnt crash.

Tested the nitrates a little it ago, they were actualy higher than before I think. 50ppm. This could be because the DSB was disturbed a little, or maybe because I was cleaning out the powerheads of debree and food..

Anyway, it is deffinetaly getting cloudier as we speak. The skimmer is still not doing much.

Ok so I am just going to sit tight and wait for this to clear up. Not adding any more sugar.

I realy realy hope this skimmer can airate this tank enough to keep everything alive till the bloom dies off

 

[spankey]

Not trying to dig an old thread but how do you add this? Just place it in the sump? I would assume you can NOT run a UV also?

Thanks for the info!

 

[Zoom]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12789161#post12789161 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by spankey
Not trying to dig an old thread but how do you add this? Just place it in the sump? I would assume you can NOT run a UV also?

Thanks for the info!

Why you need to add sugar to your tank?
Answer that first.
My reason was my tank is 15 years old tank / rock full of PO4 and NO3 sugar/ carbon dosing clear this up for me.
I try different ways to eliminate NO3 /PO4 out of my system but for me did not work.
Carbon dosing Sugar/ Vodka/Vinegar, is not for everyone, small tanks will safer form C/D, ORP and Oxygen levels will take a dive.
But it works if you go slow and be very careful with it.

 

[Lonnie]

I'll give my experiences.....

I do not claim to be an expert by any means, but I've been doing this safely for over a year now.

My system is 300 gal & I use 1 tablespoon (using a measure, not a kitchen spoon) per day for 3 days to wipe out the nitrates. This will take it from around 10ppm to zero.

I typically dose at night before bed.

I've found it does nothing to reduce nitrates the first day but it does make the water cloudy for approx 12-14 hrs. The protein skimmer goes crazy & the huge filter sock I have will become clogged with deposits daily.
The second day, there is less cloudiness & the tank clears up after approx 8hrs.
The 3rd day it is clear in approx 6hrs.

NOTE: I've slowly increased dosage & reached this number by experimentation over the course of a few months. Now it works consistently every time. Even a small dose will cloud the water, so this is not a sign that it worked.

If you do this, start with approx 1/8th teaspoon per 100 gal or less, & repeat for approx 3 days, then check your results. If it does not start to drop gradually, increase the dose slightly & repeat the procedure. Once you see a decrease, continue with this dose.... do not get greedy.

I've found that daily testing just wastes my test kit.

FYI,
I do this dosing not because I am too lazy to change water, but the fact that I have an aggressive tank & it gets polluted rather quickly since it is hard to get everyone fed without certain fish trying to grab all the food. I typically do monthly 50% changes & use sugar every other week to keep the water quality up.

This may not work for everyone, but for me it works well. Use at your own risk.

Lonnie

 

[CyanoMagnet]

Well I have been adding 5ml of absolute for 4 days and no results, tank is perfectly clear. Nitrates are stuck in a 10-25ppm range and have not budged.. Phosphates undetectable. I am going back to some sugar where there were results. Will add 2 ts,90 gallon tank. Some say its too much but every tank is individual. I do have a big skimmer and can afford to .

 

[Zoom]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12797926#post12797926 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by CyanoMagnet
Well I have been adding 5ml of absolute for 4 days and no results, tank is perfectly clear. Nitrates are stuck in a 10-25ppm range and have not budged.. Phosphates undetectable. I am going back to some sugar where there were results. Will add 2 ts,90 gallon tank. Some say its too much but every tank is individual. I do have a big skimmer and can afford to .

I big skimmer will not help your tank when the oxygen levels drop and the ORP take a dive . A 1 TSP of Sugar drops my ORP from 320 to 185 for three hours in a 235 gallon water.
Go slow try 1/2 TSP of sugar every day for a week and see the outcome .
What test kit are You using to test the NO3 ?

 

[CyanoMagnet]

Salifert.

 

[spankey]

My tank is a 75g packed with SPS. I have an oceanic 30g sump filled about half way so I would be safe to say that I have about 80 gallons of water volume with LR.

I have noticed lately that my nitrates have gotten to about 40ppm and are slowly down to about 20 but won't budge below that. My real question is this guys. I run UV and would imagine I can't if I do this method? Can anyone confirm this? Also one last question? What are you all feeding the bacteria that this method increases? Doesn't the bacteria need something to feed on? Correct me if I am wrong but isn't this how Prodibio and zeo works? Creating and feeding bacteria?

Thanks
Spankey

 

[mlbarry]

If I dose 1/8 tsp per 100g will it cause my water to cloud? I accidently got bubble counter fluid in my tank (which is a sugary substance) and it caused my water to get extremely cloudy. My skimmer went crazy for a day or 2 and then it was fine. The good news, my nitrates were 0! Now they are creeping up again. Currently at 20ppm. The highest they have ever been is 40ppm. I have done everything else that there is to do to reduce nitrates and nothing is working. I wanted to give sugar doing a try since I know it worked when I got the bubble counter fluid in there!