vinegar dosing
- Thread starter biecacka
- Start date
I'm still adding the start up dose and I swear I can already see a difference. I know it sounds like I'm full of it. My corals look darker, polyps are really extended.
Right now I run GFO constantly and I also run a turbo twist 18 watt 8 hours. I bought this to really make the water look pristine. Do you guys recommend leaving these on the same schedule. The reason why the uv sterilizer has been cut down, I felt the water was too clean, maybe I'm wrong since I had hair algae.
Right now I run GFO constantly and I also run a turbo twist 18 watt 8 hours. I bought this to really make the water look pristine. Do you guys recommend leaving these on the same schedule. The reason why the uv sterilizer has been cut down, I felt the water was too clean, maybe I'm wrong since I had hair algae.
Last edited:
gary faulkner
New member
IMHO uv sterilizers are very limited in what they can accomplish in a marine tank, and I believe they are a waist of money. Money well spent on something else that actually accomplish something.
I took my uvs off line when I started vodka and vinegar dosing 3 yrs ago. Never missed them. Just seemed counterintuitive to be enocuraging bacteia to grow via organic carbon dosing and trying to kill at least the planktonic strains via uv at the same time.
I cut the amount of gfo used by half and that works well with a monthly change.
I cut the amount of gfo used by half and that works well with a monthly change.
My experience with vinegar dosing has bee great. I have a 150G cube with quite a bit of older rock that has been with me over a decade. Anyway, Cyano & bubble algae started popping up on my rocks and sand bed. I was reading about .15 on phospate meter at the start of dosing. I am now 5 weeks into it and have been real happy (dosing 27 mL a day right now). My water is crystal clear and my SPS coral growth has visibly taken off.
I stopped dosing GFO just to see what the effect the vinegar is actually having on my phospate readings. I am now at about .35, but it is true phosphate reading of what my rock & sand bed are leaching into the system. The Cyano is completely gone and I have been manually removing the bubble algae and have purchased some emerald crabs to help with the bubble algae. I will keep increasing my dosage about 4 mL each week until my phosphate reading get down under .05 and then I will go to a maintenance dose.
I stopped dosing GFO just to see what the effect the vinegar is actually having on my phospate readings. I am now at about .35, but it is true phosphate reading of what my rock & sand bed are leaching into the system. The Cyano is completely gone and I have been manually removing the bubble algae and have purchased some emerald crabs to help with the bubble algae. I will keep increasing my dosage about 4 mL each week until my phosphate reading get down under .05 and then I will go to a maintenance dose.
How do people feel about vinegar dosing as a carbon source as well as a way to increase your Kalk concentration in ATO water? Right now my 120g tank (which I would call ight to medium load) is consuming around 100mls each of ca and alk, with my normal kalkwater at saturation. Wondering if I can kill two birds with one stone, by doing this. reduce my need for dosing and carbon dose.
My kalk container has a seal on it, so very little evaporation.
That is not a concern. A simple trash can lid is adequate. The vinegar in limewater is less likely to evaporate than is normal vinegar, and vinegar (the acetic acid in it, anyway) is less likely to evaporate than is pure water.
Question, I need to change out my filter socks daily,as they are overflowing in the morning. They are 100 micron 7"x14" and do not appear to be ultra dirty, but have slime on the outside of the bag that when I touch with my finger it allows the bag to drain so I can remove the bag. This as I said is daily operation. Am I dosing to much vinegar or is this the results of the algae die off? Thanks---Rick
Neither is necessarily the case. Bacteria need to grow somewhere, and we just hope it is in places that are OK. In my case it is all out of sight and partly on my GAC.
Randy, are you saying that the slime on the filter socks is the vinegar bacteria,and is just an after affect of my vinegar dosing? I have noticed also my GAC has a little slime , and seems to clog up kind of fast. I have it in my sump with water flowing through it before it hits the return pump, after a few days the water tends to flow over the top of GAC. I'll keep my eye on it.
I think that is likely, yes. 
I think that is likely, yes.
I'm at 1/2 ml @ gal. Should I cut back the vinegar? or is the lite slime coating come with the territory in vinegar dosing?
?
I would not judge the dose by slime, unless it is in the display tank in which case I'd reduce or stop it entirely. Judge by the same things that were your goal in using it in the first place, whatever they are.
Steveb
Premium Member
I was wondering why my filter sock was getting slimy and overflowing so quick... My kalk ato which has vinegar in it drains right behind the filter sock... Its usually slimy in 2 days and overflowing in 4.
Randy, do you change out you GAC? I would figure you wouldn't want to lose the bacteria culture.
I get maybe two days on mine before they are overflowing. The slime seems to grow on the outside of the sock. I have to just touch the outside of the sock near the bottom to get the water to drain so I can change it. If I rub the inside, nothing, touch the outside it will drain immediately?
