Sugar dosing help!!

[waldyrulez]

i have a 125 gallon and a 25gallon sump so around 150 gallon aquarium. Its been 2 months since setup and about a month since cycled completely. the main problem is the nitrates. they were around 40ppm after the tank cycled and now they are about 80ppm i have no corals or inverts and have 2 fishes (1 regal tang 2.5 inch and 1 yellow tang 3.5 inch) since a month and both are doing good. i read a lot on rc and made a decision of carbon dosing using sugar . its been 3 days i have been dosing about 1/2 teaspoon sugar (the recommended dosage is around 1/8 per 25gallon) so i should dose about 3/4 for 150 gallons every other day but as im dosing daily i dose about 1/2 teaspoon which results in a very very slight cloudiness in the morning i dose in the night with the air pump on which does a good job of providing oxygen at night and i run skimmer in the morning as soon as i wake up . the skimmer is kept on wet as it doesnt skim dry cause of very less bioload. my main question is its been 3 days and my nitrates have not moved a bit from 80. just wanted to know shall i dose more or there is something wrong with the skimmer. i have about 50 gallons of fresh mixed saltwater ready. i though of giving carbon dosing a try . have heard ppl with great success with it in just a week or max two. i have nothing in my refugium as tried chaeto it does nt grow two batches died on me the second batch i changed the light to warm white 20w led flood light but im sure it died before the lights came so i will give a last try with new batch of chaeto. and my test kits are not bad its api and checked fresh saltwater for nitrates and both show 0. so im damn sure they are good. so please suggest a way.

 

[ryeguyy84]

I carbon dose with vinegar (actually zeostart but it smells a lot like vinegar) and I can tell you the results aren't immediate, in fact I don't know anything good in this hobby that is. not knowing anything about sugar dosing I have to ask what made you choose sugar Vs. Vodka or Vinegar?

 

[Breadman03]

Carbon dosing operates on the theory that our tanks have enough nitrate and phosphate for bacterial growth, but are limited by a lack of organic carbon. We provide this carbon, which allows that bacteria to grow, and remove the bacteria via skimming. The skimmer is a vital part of the process, as the removal of the bacteria is what actually removes the nutrients from the tank.

I would run the skimmer 24/7 for now. This will help you to ensure maximum effect from your dosing. Also, API tests aren't the best. You get a pretty decent result, but you will want to look into Salifert or Red Sea when you want to look at low levels like 0-2ppm of nitrate.

Here is a good chart for using vinegar. You could do the math for the sugar dosing, but it still gives you an idea of how long it may take to be effective.

And here is the article.

This thread offers a pretty good explanation of organic carbon dosing.

 

[Sk8r]

Your tank is very young to be needing this. Watch your feeding levels, and also take a look at your skimmer: if you get a skimmer potent enough, it can hammer a high nitrate down practically overnight.

 

[waldyrulez]

Thanks for the reply will definately look into it now. Sorry for the late reply. Kinda New to reefcentral posting.

 

[sde1500]

On a brand new tank I sure wouldn't resort to dosing to limit nutrients. Skimming 2/47 and a few large water changes should do better to push them down quickly. After that, first see if your fuge can keep up.