vinegar

[rossi]

Hi I started a 65gal tank I have 50lb of liverock from the sea two power heads
Skims skimmer a uv that is tee off the pump that returns the water to the tank from the sump I was told to dose vinegar not too use a biopellet reactor
when should I start doseing vinegar the only thing in the tank at this time is
liverock. I don't want the algae too get a start thank you

 

[top shelf]

How old is the tank? If it's newly set up you don't want to run any vinegar yet. You need to let it go through the cycle and all the "ugly" phases that come with it. As long as you stay up on a maintenance schedule, don't over feed, and maintain proper water chemistry it will all pass as the tank matures. If you start dosing vinegar now it can lead to problems later down the road as your tank wasn't allowed to properly cycle. So just be patient for now and take things slowly, nothing good happens fast in this hobby.

 

[mcgyvr]

Carbon dosing with vinegar or other is one method to help reduce nitrates and phosphates when your current water change schedule is not capable of maintaining acceptable levels..
As it seems you are just starting a tank there is really no reason you should start that now and never may need to... Get your tank up and running for a while and see how things go..Then if carbon dosing is needed you can start. For now forget about it

 

[rossi]

vineager

vineager

Thanks for now I will just do water changes will not dose any thing
Maybe I wont need too dose down the road.

 

[PatW]

Carbon dosing is a way of lowering nitrates and phosphates in the tank.

The way it works is you add a source of carbon: sugar, vodka, or vinegar to your tank. Bacteria use the energy from the food sources to multiply like crazy. In the process of multiplying, the bacteria use nitrates and phosphates in the water. The skimmer will skim the bacteria out of the water. In the process, the nitrates and phosphate levels are reduced.

You do need a skimmer that has ample capacity for you tank size and bioload.

But you are just starting. First, you need to let the tank cycle. Once the cycle is complete, you can figure out if you want or need to mess with vinegar dosing.