Vodka, vinegar,biopellets and other organic carbon dosing

[david00061]

Nevermind I was thinking you were dosing vodka

 

[Piper27]

I dose 50ml vodka and 50ml of vinegar a day in a 400 gallon system. I have a 40 breeder tank filled completley with live rock which my skimmer exit runs through to keep it cycled on the system without adding a lot of detritus to it. This is where I dose my carbon sources. This tank gives the bacteria a large area to operate before it goes through the tank. I can increase my dose very easily to drop nutrients quickly without bacteria becoming a problem. Bacteria will build up right in the tank where the drip is and I can remove it once I lower the dose back to normal. I drip the carbon source mix steadily night and day which I think probably helps as well.
So on a 100 gallon tank you would probably need a ten gallon tank filled with live rock to accomplish the same results. The tank should be packed with rock but enlighten where flow can move all the water. I use 1 powerhead in the tank to gently move the water around. Too much flow and the bacteria will be blown loose off the rocks and into the sump and display system.
It's all about providing a controlled place for the bacteria to work.

 

[Scooby1]

I dose 50ml vodka and 50ml of vinegar a day in a 400 gallon system. I have a 40 breeder tank filled completley with live rock which my skimmer exit runs through to keep it cycled on the system without adding a lot of detritus to it. This is where I dose my carbon sources. This tank gives the bacteria a large area to operate before it goes through the tank. I can increase my dose very easily to drop nutrients quickly without bacteria becoming a problem. Bacteria will build up right in the tank where the drip is and I can remove it once I lower the dose back to normal. I drip the carbon source mix steadily night and day which I think probably helps as well.
So on a 100 gallon tank you would probably need a ten gallon tank filled with live rock to accomplish the same results. The tank should be packed with rock but enlighten where flow can move all the water. I use 1 powerhead in the tank to gently move the water around. Too much flow and the bacteria will be blown loose off the rocks and into the sump and display system.
It's all about providing a controlled place for the bacteria to work.

Hi thanks for the advice, makes sense, I do not have any space for a 10 gallon tank, so could add some live rock to the sump.i am dosing into the first section of the sump so could add the rock here and also in the second chamber where the skimmer and reactor are placed. Do you think I should remove the inlet for the reactor from the second section to the third/return section?. It also sound like I could up my dose as Vodka is more concentrated than vinegar?
Thanks Nick

 

[COBRA201]

Hello everyone!
I don't know if someone has asked this in the forum before. So much reading this can now be a book lol.
I recently had my tank crash and still going down the drain as I write. SPS all going and at one point were growing. LPS are starting to die on me now. Soft are very upset. I have tested my water and it came to be:

7.5 alk Red Sea, 7.4 Hanna, 8.3 Salfert ( huge difference)
1350 Cal Red Sea, 1350 Hanna, 1470 Salfert ( Huge Difference)
pH 7.8 Salfert
0 Phos
NO3 very little.

I have spoke with my community and I was told that I striped my nutrients out of the water. To the point that corals cannot handle it any more and parameters been a little low. All I did was a water change then all this happen. I guess that is what broke the camels back. I believe this because I have always been extra clean because of my SPS. RODI, change 10% every 3 weeks, carbon, and feed 2 times a week and daily my fish but not too much. But I think what cause the issue was that I sues Reef Bio (organic carbon bacteria) Fuel from brightwells that did it. I have learned a good lesson not to be too clean.
But I have question if its low nutrients that is killing all my corals. I am also thinking that it can be the Kalk that I am adding to my reservoir with my auto top off. The way I mix kalk is by deluding 1tsps of kalk per gallon in a 1g jar like instructions say. Then after it settles, I extract the top part out and empty it in another 1g container let that settle and do it again so I can only get the good stuff. I then dump it in my reservoir. after all this, over time, I still have some kalk at the bottom of my reservoir. What I am think is, can this has been affecting over time and killing my tank? Am I preparing the kalk right by doing all those containers?

I just don't know what it is or what I can do at this point. I have asked my friend to do a water change on his reef and give me the water so I can add it to mine just in case is nutrients.

Thanks if anyone has any ideas.

 

[mindi]

Cant see any of those readings being responsible even though it doesnt look right for the Salifert ones to be so far away from the Hanna and RedSea. Also starvation by ultra low nutrient environment would be very slow to work. There is possibly something else going on you are not seeing yet.?

 

[COBRA201]

Believe me I have been thinking what I did wrong. All I did is a water change before Memorial and came back on Monday to see my bird nests all dead. From there all other sps. I only did a water change because I treated my thank with kick ich reed safe.

 

[sensei]

Hello all,

I would like to start carbon dosing my 600g system.
system is BB, skimmer and a 6 cube ATS installed
I have 30 fish in my system and 10 of them are tangs, some of them are 10" big.
NO3 = 25 to 30 salifert
PO4 = 0.0337 hanna phosphorus

I am not sure how to start dosing?
not sure if using just vinager or just vodka or a mixture of both and I am not sure what should be my initial dose and how to move may way up.

Thanks a lot for your answers.

 

[davidwillis]

Calcium hydroxide will rasie the ph.
See the earlier posts on kalk and vinegar. The calcim hydroxide, kalk propvides alkalinity and calcium. It also has a ph of 12.4 at full saturation( ie two tsps per gallon of fresh water) . This is high enough to keep bacteria from growing .

I am sorry, I am only on page 4, so this may have already been answered, and also I know this is an old thread. But I am really looking for this answer.

Can you mix a small amount of calcium hydroxide in vinegar (no added ro water) and dose it? From what I am reading, I think you could, but it would have to be a very small amount (not to raise the ph too much) or enough to raise it up to 11. Otherwise the ph would be in the range bacteria would grow and consume the vinegar in the container before it was added to the tank..?

Do you know what the ranges are? How much can I add (of calcium hydroxide) before the ph is high enough for bacteria, and how much until the ph is high enough that is can't grow?

By the way, this is an amazing thread so far.... Thanks!