Nitrate Reduction 101 with sugar!!!

this is very interesting i want to try but i dont know i have got a 100 gal tank first day i will add ?/? teaspon second day ?/?...
and how many day i use this method when its stop??
Thank you
 
ok i've tried dosing about a thimble full every few days cuase my nitrates refuse to go down, i have yet to see cloudy water from the bacteria boom im supposed to get, my system is 40gl total with a Coralife super skimmer 65 in my sump. I've been useing cane sugar. Is there something im doing wrong? i have a thread about this which can be seen at:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=920209

Let me know any suggestions...
Ryan
 
Just because you didn't have an algae bloom doesn't mean it's not working. I can now add 1 teaspoon to m 92G every day without getting an algae bloom, but it still works. I am currently working on the phosphate reduction 101 too ;) Maybe if you try adding 1 teaspoon of sugar every day but be careful if it is a reef, many corals need a few nitrates to feed off of. I have a fowlr so I can pretty much strip the water clean without problems. Let me know if there are any questrions

edit: clkwrk I saw in your gallery that you have SPS in that tank. In that case I would continuosely do what you are doing and do it long over a period of time. If it doesnt work, slowelyy increase it over time, dont do it all at once
 
I thought it was a bacterial bloom not algae? I have been doing this for a while now, its only had a minor effect so far so should i increase the dosage? My NO3 is still at at least 40ppm, so im not worried about over doing it at this point.
Ryan
 
My NO3 is.... 1
My PO4 is... 0.01
I spend $10 at MY LFS to check this with a new $850 lemotte colorimeter because i had some Cyno and some green short algae in my tank.
I have a fuge with some tumbling Ceato i have no DSB alat of circulation and i don't use anything to get this parameters this low .
i use A Deltec 902 skimmer .
And still have some algae .
I was going to try to use the sugar method but i have no high NO3 or PO4.
I need a drink................
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8092730#post8092730 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Ryanqk
I thought it was a bacterial bloom not algae? I have been doing this for a while now, its only had a minor effect so far so should i increase the dosage? My NO3 is still at at least 40ppm, so im not worried about over doing it at this point.
Ryan
Click to expand...

Ok if you are doing a full teaspoon every three days, I would consider doing 1/2 of a teaspoon every day. But be really careful with the stuff, You don't want to kill the tank. Let me know how it goes. :)
 
Fishykid: "Ok thanks, I think once my nitrate hits zero, I'll continue to dose it to bring down the phosphate"

May not be a good idea. You need certain ratio of nitrate to keep phosphate in check. If nitrates hits absolute zero your phosphate will climb back up. Phosphate reduction depends on nitrogen fixing. So you never really want your nitrates to be perfectly zero. So I guess ideally a minimal ratio of nitrates just enough to feed the chaeto and keep phosphate in check is in order. I am not a chemist or any kind of expert so take this as food for addtional thoughts.
 
Ohh ok thanks, so you mean, if my nitrates are at 0, and my phosphates are at 1 There is no way I can get the phosphates down, even if I continuosely dose the sugar? thanks
 
I am considering using this method in my 120 gallon mixed reef.

My nitrates always measure very low - two shades up from zero on the salifert test viewed sideways, I forget what the number is. My phosphates are also just above zero.

There is no algae at all in the tank thanks to a Yellow Tang and snails.

However I have a minor plague of Anthelia which has been present for a long time and invaded and wiped out some beautiful zoanthid colonies. Other than the Anthelia my tank is going perfectly.

I am thinking of slowly and carefully dosing sugar and seeing if the Anthelia recedes.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8099213#post8099213 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by trilinearmipmap
I am considering using this method in my 120 gallon mixed reef.

My nitrates always measure very low - two shades up from zero on the salifert test viewed sideways, I forget what the number is. My phosphates are also just above zero.

There is no algae at all in the tank thanks to a Yellow Tang and snails.

However I have a minor plague of Anthelia which has been present for a long time and invaded and wiped out some beautiful zoanthid colonies. Other than the Anthelia my tank is going perfectly.

I am thinking of slowly and carefully dosing sugar and seeing if the Anthelia recedes.
Click to expand...
I don't think you should do it if your N03 and PO4 is so low You need some other way to take care of the Anthelia.
 
I have been trying to reduce nitrates for 2 months now.I got them from 50 ppm to 3 now back to 20.I have switched to bb.I removed all my sand from my sump.I also used the de-nitrator medi.I am running the nitrate sponge media in 2 phosban reactors but still.I spent so much money on these products and they don't work.I think I will try this.I have no room for a remote DSB.I do think that would be the best way to go.I do have some psots in my tank that I can't get to so there is a bit of detrius.I removed all the bioballs from the sump aswell.I am fed up of trying to solve this problem.For now I think this will work.I will start with a low dose.Once nitrates go down to a low level what then?I would imagine you still have to dose.
 
so another question, does this sugar dosing require anoxious areas like a DSB to work properly? Since it appears that the reaction works best in the absence of oxigen....? Do you just pour the sugar in the tank or how is it administered?
Ryan
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8100163#post8100163 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Ryanqk
so another question, does this sugar dosing require anoxious areas like a DSB to work properly? Since it appears that the reaction works best in the absence of oxigen....? Do you just pour the sugar in the tank or how is it administered?
Ryan
Click to expand...
The Sugar or Vodka provides carbon source for the bacteria to multiply and consume the NO3 and PO4 , you don't need a DSB to work.
 
You don't need anything to do this, all you do it add the sugar to the tank, if you have corals then I would consider dissolving it in some water then add it to your tank. Nothing very complicated
 
"Ohh ok thanks, so you mean, if my nitrates are at 0, and my phosphates are at 1 There is no way I can get the phosphates down, even if I continuosely dose the sugar? "

Exactly. Once you run out of nitrates you will be stuck with removing phosphate with other means like Rowaphos, Phosban and so on. Since our Chaeto stops functioning at zero nitrates it will cease to export all nutrients. In fact it will simply fade into oblivion.

For the newbies reading this thread: Just go real slow with low concentration at first. From there you'll learn more from sugar/vodka's reaction on your system. It's NOT like you add a few drops then presto you see results instantly. The danger of this is that some of you might say "I don't see nuthin so I'll add more....". So BEWARE ;)
 
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