Im an idiot noob, plz help: DSB

[JayOSparX]

Ok so about a week ago now, I decided to rip out my 10 gallon sump refugium in order to install a acrylic separator. I don't remember what was my reason to smh, but I took the 20 ibs of live sand I had in the refugium and rinsed it, guess it was dirty looking or something.

 

After I finish the sump, I put the sand in chato on one side with a rock and protein skimmer heater and return pump on the other and let it rip. I don't think my coral frags liked that, the daisy polyps won't open and the green star polyps look like $%!*. Im guessing I killed off all the good bacteria, introduced phosphates, idk.

 

What should I do, I tried moving more live rock to the sump to try and seed the bed, should I buy a bottle of bacteria. Im also currently vodka dosing. Please help me...

[seabass]

Did you use saltwater to rinse it? What's the ammonia level?

 

 

Im also currently vodka dosing.

Hmm... Do you have a powerful skimmer? When did you start this? Are you closely monitoring your parameters to determine the dosing level?

[aquatect]

I would immediately stop the vodka method.

 

It's a clever way to do things but it should never ever be necessary if you keep up with maitenance and it is dangerous and easy to overdose.

[JayOSparX]

Nope, used tap smh, no ammonia, skimmer is a trash sea clone 100, start like 3 weeks ago and nitrates are going away, went from 20-30 down to 5ppm so I guess after this week I found my maintenance dose.

 

Did you use saltwater to rinse it? What's the ammonia level?

 

 

Hmm... Do you have a powerful skimmer? When did you start this? Are you closely monitoring your parameters to determine the dosing level?

 

 

blowing detritus off the rocks and vacuuming my sand bed wasn't working, nitrates was rising if anything.

 

I would immediately stop the vodka method.

 

It's a clever way to do things but it should never ever be necessary if you keep up with maitenance and it is dangerous and easy to overdose.

[tinctorus]

Nope, used tap smh, no ammonia, skimmer is a trash sea clone 100, start like 3 weeks ago and nitrates are going away, went from 20-30 down to 5ppm so I guess after this week I found my maintenance dose.

 

 

 

 

blowing detritus off the rocks and vacuuming my sand bed wasn't working, nitrates was rising if anything.

Did you do ANY research before you started Vodka dosing?

I currently dose vinegar because it is a less risky form of carbon dosing, HOWEVER one of the VERY IMPORTANT THINGS when vodka/carbon dosing is a GOOD QUALITY SKIMMER!!!

 

You should NOT be carbon dosing if you are using a skimmer that doesn't work worth a damn man thats a real good way to wipe out your entire tank

 

Im all for carbon dosing and it has really done wonders for my tank but you really need to read ALL information and follow the instructions TO A T in order for it to give you the most benefit and not have the drawbacks like wiping out your tank because you are using a poor quality skimmer and not skimming out what builds up when dosing

[JayOSparX]

I mean I did follow the instructions, even have the weekly chart thumb tacked on my wall, I thought the skimmer was kind of ok since I only have a 20L display and 10 gallon sump/refugium and the skimmer was rated for 100 gallons. Let me ask this, what makes the sea clone a bad skimmer? I always hear mix reviews about it. when I leave mines alone, I get some dark green skim mate.

 

Did you do ANY research before you started Vodka dosing?

I currently dose vinegar because it is a less risky form of carbon dosing, HOWEVER one of the VERY IMPORTANT THINGS when vodka/carbon dosing is a GOOD QUALITY SKIMMER!!!

 

You should NOT be carbon dosing if you are using a skimmer that doesn't work worth a damn man thats a real good way to wipe out your entire tank

 

Im all for carbon dosing and it has really done wonders for my tank but you really need to read ALL information and follow the instructions TO A T in order for it to give you the most benefit and not have the drawbacks like wiping out your tank because you are using a poor quality skimmer and not skimming out what builds up when dosing

[longbeach]

Also you should never ever introduce regular tap water into your tank now you have chlorine in it and who knows what else .

 

I would do a huge water change with quality water from a lfs add the bacteria and maybe even some chlorine buffer I think that should fix it before you whipe out your tank.

 

Don't be scared to do a huge water change I do 2 gallons in my 3 gallon on a regular basis and dosent seem to bother anything.

[JayOSparX]

Thanks, Im going to do that tomorrow, what kind of bacteria should I add. And also, how can I help seed the dsb.

 

Also you should never ever introduce regular tap water into your tank now you have chlorine in it and who knows what else .

 

I would do a huge water change with quality water from a lfs add the bacteria and maybe even some chlorine buffer I think that should fix it before you whipe out your tank.

 

Don't be scared to do a huge water change I do 2 gallons in my 3 gallon on a regular basis and dosent seem to bother anything.

[Whys]

If it was a functional DSB, then you killed it. Most hobbyists would throw it out and start over with fresh sand.

 

Personally, I find the best way to seed livesand is with a quality piece of liverock. For a healthy DSB, you want a lot of spionid worms, burrowing amphipods, and baby stars. You'll also want to add some cerith snails to help keep the surface tilled.

 

Never wash, vacuum, or stir your DSB, unless you do so only a small portion at a time spanning several weeks. Otherwise, it won't become or remain functional.

 

For reference: Deep Sand Bed -- Anatomy & Terminology, An easy introduction

[longbeach]

I use seachems stability for bacteria I like it because you can't over dose