Nitrate Reduction 101 with sugar!!!

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12854282#post12854282 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 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! :)
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I don't think 1/8 TSB per 100g of tank water a day will do any harm.
But you need to keep testing and go lower dosing when the NO3 start to go down.
And the other way around if the NO3 don't start to go down you can add some more.
The NO3 redaction in my tank when i first stared using sugar was very rapid so you need to be very careful you don't shack everything in the tank .
 
So once you start noticing a reduction in nitrates you need to start reducing the amount of sugar you use, correct? Then, when the nitrates get to 0 you should stop dosing completely?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12887442#post12887442 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mlbarry
So once you start noticing a reduction in nitrates you need to start reducing the amount of sugar you use, correct? Then, when the nitrates get to 0 you should stop dosing completely?
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I then try to see how fast my N03 start to go up .
Mine goes up some in a week so every week i dose about 1/4 TSP in a 250 gallons of water that keeps mine about 0 .
You need to experiment some, some tanks need some more some a little last.
It is better to start early before the N03 gets to high i had very little N03 on my tank when i first stared to dose in a week mine was 0.
Even if you have high N03 you still need to go slow it will take a little longer but you will not shack the system and it is very easy to do that :rolleye1:
 
Thanks for the info Steve. I have a 150g total water volume. I have read 2 different suggestions - 1/8tsp per 100g for 3 days, then test OR 1/8 tsp per 25g every other day. Right now my nitrates hover at around 20ppm. The highest they have ever been is 40ppm. Do you suggest I start with the lesser one (1/8 tsp per 100g)?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12891368#post12891368 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mlbarry
Thanks for the info Steve. I have a 150g total water volume. I have read 2 different suggestions - 1/8tsp per 100g for 3 days, then test OR 1/8 tsp per 25g every other day. Right now my nitrates hover at around 20ppm. The highest they have ever been is 40ppm. Do you suggest I start with the lesser one (1/8 tsp per 100g)?
Click to expand...
I will start with a 1/4 TSP a day and keep checking the N03 every other day, soon as it start to go down cut back the dosing to 1/8 TSP a day and keep it at that till goes to 0 and then you need to check the N03 weekly and make adjustments to how much you need a week to keep it at 0.
I know some work is involve but you need to keep your tank safe .
Ps.... if you see no drop to the N03 after a week you can increase the dosing some but no more than 1/2 TSP a day.
 
Just wanted to chime in. Using this method I got my nitrates down around 5ppm (from 50) in about a month?

I did buy a sulfur denitrator which I have not installed yet but this method realy works.
 
I ended up trying this method at only 1/2 teaspoon every three days. My nitrates starting out were around 30ish according to salifert. They are now down to 10. I made a fatal mistake of dosing the tank with coral vitalizer and reef roids the same night and a week's worth of skimmate overflowed into the tank!! OUCH!!! Did a water change and its all good now........

:)
 
I got to get me a small skimmer to do my 12g nano tank is getting up to 40ish now .
Is no room for a skimmer in that tank but i think i can open the top and use a small skimmer for two days and i can do some damage to the N03 with some sugar .
 
bumping an old (and seemingly controversial) old thread...looking for long term results from some of the original contributers to the thread.
Thanks!
 
ludi i am no expert, but for a 10gl tank i would just do water changes...i would never put sugar in a tank that small...but that's just me.
I bumped the thread because i have a nearly 6yo reef that is stocked with only 3 fish and a few softies and some snails. I am doing everything i 'should' but still have nitrates. Aside from taking apart the tank and starting fresh (just not willing to do that!) i am looking for a way to get the nitrates to zero...if sugar will get me there safely, i would like to try it...then continue with my water changes as usual hoping to keep the nitrates at bay...i am not looking to do this long term, because there doesn't seem to be enough data on the subject....my 3yo nano is always 0 nitrates and i do the same water changes etc...my nitrates in my 72 were always within reason but the older the tank gets the higher the nitrates...even with my good husbandry =(
 
I was only dosing sugar and vodka in my old 90G with a total volume of 120G. Nitrates hovered around 10. Now that I downgraded to a total water volume of 60G (while keeping all my equipment the same), my nitrates never go above 0.2.

My guess is because my skimmer is now oversized for my tank, and I now have over 2.2 pounds of liverock per gallon, which I assume do some work on denitrification. I feed 2x a day and have 11 fish, and a heavily stocked sps tank. I change 10% water once a month.

Dosing sugar/vodka did cause some ich and popeye outbreaks and I did lose some fish because of it.

So my advice is find the cause of your nitrate problem. Mine was simple, my skimmer was too small, and I needed more liverock.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13035196#post13035196 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lisajulia
bumping an old (and seemingly controversial) old thread...looking for long term results from some of the original contributers to the thread.
Thanks!
Click to expand...

I'm still using sugar twice weekly for nitrate control. A teaspoon each time (I actually use the pre packaged sugar packets but they measure out a teaspoon). I switched from Vodka to sugar about a year and a half ago.

All is well. No unexplained fish or coral losses.
 
Ive used it off and on for a year or so. Just to help out when needed. Sorry the tanks a bit dirty in the pic :o

fts.jpg
 
I bet there are some locals to you who would love to have some pulled xenia =) No flushing those guys down the toilet! I read that on another thread and i almost cried...poor lil corals lol!
 
After a week or so sugar dosing, I lowered my nitrates from 15ppm to 5ppm. That was with 1/8 tsp of sugar a day on a 45g tank. After my last water change yesterday, my nitrates are now almost undetectable. It works!
 
Does everyone still feel that this is a safe method?? Or is there possible side effects? Notabun, you say it worked well for you then.......can you explain any further?
 
I ga a nitrate issue about 6 months ago where I got too lazy with my testing and corals began to look bad... I tested and my nitrates were off the charts! very embarassing to admit since I have been doing this for a number of years. Anyway, started slowly dosing sugar along with more regular water changes....nitrates began to drop, corals began to get all their color back and show polyp extension again... I still dose a maintenence dose everyday...AND test more often...for me, this method works with no ill effects to anything. the key is to go slow, do NOT overdose... you do NOT want to have a cloudy bacterial bloom, a sign of overdosing, you just want to slowly lower the nitrates.

As a side note... did I talk to you about this in Sea Dreams???
 
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