vodka or sugar dosing

[rottingsoul492]

1 week ago i removed the horrible bioballs from my 29 biocube and replaced it with a media filter stocked with filter floss ,purigen, and chemi pure elite. Ive been doing water changes every few days with RO water (cant get my hands on RO/DI yet) and cut the feeding down to every other day for now. As of 2 days ago my nitrates where still reading 40ish. Im wanting to get my nitrates down asap so i can have a healthy tank so ive been considering vodka/sugar dosing.anyone have options on my situation? Thanks

[TheKleinReef]

I'm assuming you have a protein skimmer.

[JavaJacketOC]

1 week ago i removed the horrible bioballs from my 29 biocube and replaced it with a media filter stocked with filter floss ,purigen, and chemi pure elite. Ive been doing water changes every few days with RO water (cant get my hands on RO/DI yet) and cut the feeding down to every other day for now. As of 2 days ago my nitrates where still reading 40ish. Im wanting to get my nitrates down asap so i can have a healthy tank so ive been considering vodka/sugar dosing.anyone have options on my situation? Thanks

 

Just keep doing water changes, just do larger volumes, it's the fastest way to reduce nitrates. 15 gallon water change = 20ppm nitrates gone

[seabass]

I'd add that the skimmers available for a BC29 might not be powerful enough. But if I were to choose a carbon source, I'd pick vinegar.

That said, with a good water source, it should be relatively easy to manage nitrate in a nano. What's the nitrate level of your source water? When I started, I used RO water from one of those self serve stations. It turned out it was 40ppm (so water changes didn't help).

Im wanting to get my nitrates down asap so i can have a healthy tank...

If you don't have your own RO/DI unit, I'd use jugs of distilled water. A large water change will lower nitrate much quicker than dosing carbon.

[Clown79]

Use distilled water. Its more expensive but its pure.

 

What other routines are you doing besides water changes and less feeding?

 

Do you change filter floss 1-2x a week

Clean out filters/pumps/powerheads

 

Vacuum sand bed

 

Bioload?

 

Larger frequent Water changes will help but only if the cause is corrected.

[rottingsoul492]

Use distilled water. Its more expensive but its pure.

 

What other routines are you doing besides water changes and less feeding?

 

Do you change filter floss 1-2x a week

Clean out filters/pumps/powerheads

 

Vacuum sand bed

 

Bioload?

 

Larger frequent Water changes will help but only if the cause is corrected.

im using jugs of water thats RO.i need to check it for nitrates when i get home late. And yes i change filter floss atlease twice a week and vacuum the sandbed every water change.over the weekend i cleaned the sump out really well and the pump. .as for the bioload i only have 2 fish, a damsel and clownfish

[rottingsoul492]

I forgot to add that i have a Ricordea mushroom, some candy cane coral a rose tip and 3 frogspawns

[TheKleinReef]

I wouldn't carbon dose. Especially without a proper skimmer. There's other ways to achieve it, a rigorous and steady maintenance is probably the best IMO.

[Tamberav]

1 week ago i removed the horrible bioballs from my 29 biocube and replaced it with a media filter stocked with filter floss ,purigen, and chemi pure elite. Ive been doing water changes every few days with RO water (cant get my hands on RO/DI yet) and cut the feeding down to every other day for now. As of 2 days ago my nitrates where still reading 40ish. Im wanting to get my nitrates down asap so i can have a healthy tank so ive been considering vodka/sugar dosing.anyone have options on my situation? Thanks

 

You will need a powerful skimmer to carbon dose. Like this one: http://www.marinedepot.com/AquaMaxx_HOB_1_Hang_On_Back_Protein_Skimmer_Hang_On_Venturi_Needle_Wheel_Protein_Skimmers-AquaMaxx-UJ1151-FIPSHONW-vi.html

 

However it takes funds $$$ and carbon dosing isn't really something beginners should be doing, it can crash your tank.

 

 

The Nitrates are coming from somewhere. I would probably just replace the sand bed entirely if nothing seems to be working.

[rottingsoul492]

 

You will need a powerful skimmer to carbon dose. Like this one: http://www.marinedepot.com/AquaMaxx_HOB_1_Hang_On_Back_Protein_Skimmer_Hang_On_Venturi_Needle_Wheel_Protein_Skimmers-AquaMaxx-UJ1151-FIPSHONW-vi.html

 

However it takes funds $$$ and carbon dosing isn't really something beginners should be doing, it can crash your tank.

 

 

The Nitrates are coming from somewhere. I would probably just replace the sand bed entirely if nothing seems to be working.

a whole new sand bed isnt what i wanted to hear?

[seabass]

How old is this tank?

[rottingsoul492]

How old is this tank?

a little over a year

[seabass]

While it's possible that the sand bed is saturated and causing your nutrient problems, I suspect it was the bio-balls and/or your source water. You've already addressed the bio-media, and will be testing your source water. Let's see where that takes us to start off with.

 

If, however, you bring the nitrate level down to 10ppm, and it quickly climbs back up to 40ppm, then we have to start looking at other reasons for high nitrate (like your sand bed).

[rottingsoul492]

While it's possible that the sand bed is saturated and causing your nutrient problems, I suspect it was the bio-balls and/or your source water. You've already addressed the bio-media, and will be testing your source water. Let's see where that takes us to start off with.

 

If, however, you bring the nitrate level down to 10ppm, and it quickly climbs back up to 40ppm, then we have to start looking at other reasons for high nitrate (like your sand bed).

ive been doing a 5 gallon water change every other day. Should up my water changes/more water?

[seabass]

Here's a couple different things to think about. If your source water contains 40ppm of nitrate, no size or number of water changes will lower the nitrate level.

 

If however, your water source is free of nitrate, then the more you do, the lower it will go. But larger water changes will be a little more efficient than more frequent smaller water changes. For example, one 50% water change will lower nitrate from 40 to 20ppm. However, doing 5 gallon water changes (17%) will lower nitrate from 40 to 33, another will lower it to 28, another will lower it to 23, another will lower it to 19. That's 20 gallons versus less than 15 gallons to do about the same thing. But it's your call (whichever is easier for you).

 

Once under control, I would think that 5 gallon weekly water changes would be sufficient to keep nitrate within your target range (which is usually 10ppm or less).

[rottingsoul492]

Here's a couple different things to think about. If your source water contains 40ppm of nitrate, no size or number of water changes will lower the nitrate level.

 

If however, your water source is free of nitrate, then the more you do, the lower it will go. But larger water changes will be a little more efficient than more frequent smaller water changes. For example, one 50% water change will lower nitrate from 40 to 20ppm. However, doing 5 gallon water changes (17%) will lower nitrate from 40 to 33, another will lower it to 28, another will lower it to 23, another will lower it to 19. That's 20 gallons versus less than 15 gallons to do about the same thing. But it's your call (whichever is easier for you).

 

Once under control, I would think that 5 gallon weekly water changes would be sufficient to keep nitrate within your target range (which is usually 10ppm or less).

i tested my RO water and the nitrates were 0. Im gonna to do a 5 gallon water change tonight then test the water and ill check back in with the results

[seabass]

You won't be able to see the difference (between 40ppm and 33ppm) on a typical nitrate test kit.