Sugar dosing???

[dvmkv]

I was wondering if anyone has done sugar dosing to help bring down nitrate in the tank. I read on it and tried it out. I been doing it for a week now and yes i was being lazy and they went to 80. Now i have them down to 20 with no water change yet. Has anyone tried it and got the same results.

 

[ZachB]

I've had good luck with vodka dosing, both are carbon sources.

 

[sharrison]

Fixing your nitrate problem by adding vodka and or sugar, I would consider risky. One, I would not add vodka or sugar because of other contaminates. Two, I would be concerned with is the decrease in oxygen as the bacteria uses the O2 to metabolize the ethanol or sugar.

Why don't you grow some macroalgae or more of it? There are easier ways to reduce Nitrates without dosing these things.

If I were you, and please don't take this the wrong way, but I would start reading some chemistry sites and see what natural ways you can go about rectifying your issue.

 

[ZachB]

Vodka dosing is highly effective. If you don't want to set up a full refugium, and do it properly, it is a viable method.

 

[sharrison]

Well having macroalgae is something that anyone with a aquarium should have in their system. It's just part of the game. In reality with regular regiment RO/DI water changes and good quality mix there should be 0 Nitrates. It really doesn’t get any simpler than that.

There Ammonia -> Nitrites -> Nitrates
Something is creating the Ammonia so I’m going to guess the bio load is quite high either due to livestock or die-off. Either way scheduled water changes and macroalgae will resolve that issue. The water changes will have the greatest impact and the macroalgae will make the nitrates not come up as fast.

 

[dvmkv]

I did it for a quick fix and it was faster than doing water changes over and over. everything else is 0 but now my nitrates are at 10 checked today for the sugars doising worked great in just over 1 week of dosing and it such a small dose and so far nothing has changed color,sick or died. So must be doing it right. There are only 11 fish today in the tank with 170 of rock and I do Have lots of miroalgae in sump growing, I dont plan on doin it again when they hit 0 back on track and i know how it got there to start so it wont happened again

 

[lori13]

I have to ask...do you vodka dose the tank and yourself at the same time? It might interesting to me at that point. HA

 

[DMBillies]

I have to ask...do you vodka dose the tank and yourself at the same time? It might interesting to me at that point. HA

Usually people dose their tanks with the cheapest vodka they can find (and who can blame them), so unless you are really into Popov vodka and the accompanying headache the next morning, simultaneous tank and tank-keeper dosing is generally frowned upon. :lmao:

 

[ZachB]

Usually people dose their tanks with the cheapest vodka they can find (and who can blame them), so unless you are really into Popov vodka and the accompanying headache the next morning, simultaneous tank and tank-keeper dosing is generally frowned upon. :lmao:

I dose with Ketel One, Grey Goose, etc. Such small amounts are used for the tank so I just dose what I drink. Just easier that way for me.

So yes, shot for me, a few drips for the tank :wildone:

 

[andywe]

SO here is another interesting question for this topic:

1) DO you drip your vodka/sugarmix or add it all at once?
2) Do you suspend skimming for 2-6 hours or just run it right along?

I have heard of both and also have what I do..but interested in what others are doing.