Sugar dosing works!!.. No mor water changes due to Nitrates!

[Tommy Gether]

You will still need to do water changes to replace nutrients but no longer would you have to change water for Nitrates if you did sugar dosing like I did here in this video.

Have heard you can also use Vodka or Vinegar.

[gambs]

This work on freshwater? My 125 gal has really high nitrates.


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[mnemenoi]

Hmmm... I have seen quite a few articles on what is occurring during this process and possibly severe side effects. I am glad it works for those SW folks who decide to try it, but I would caution any FW keepers to avoid it. The chances for disaster in FW systems is far greater and most tanks lack the requisite DSB/Anaerobic bacteria colonies that would be needed to utilize it in that regard. Bacterial blooms after are a side effect that should be considered prior to dosing as this can and will cause full tank crashes, diseased livestock, and a variety of unforeseen issues that a majority of hobbyists have never seen, nor dealt with.

[Andrew_B]

Does sugar actually reduce nitrates? Or does it just mask them and trick the test kits.

[mnemenoi]

Sugar, Vodka, ect. are acting as carbon sources for anaerobic bacteria (though it increases all bacterial activity indiscriminately) that utilize the organic carbon in the nitrification process to bind and produce gas, thus eliminating the Nitrate from the system. The increased bacterial activity has crashed systems and is impossible to test for a proper amount. What works in one tank, might crash another. Can be very risky, as opposed to water changes or allowing systems to fully mature and handle the Nitrates via Live rock and deep sand beds. There are quite a few articles online that are worth the time to read and get fully informed prior to deciding if such a tactic is something your are willing to undertake.

[Geral]

Sound risky, after time using this tactics I read a lot of tanks crash . But every tank is different. I wont risk a dp tank , let ur tank mature is the way to go for me. Still really interesting articles.

[Roshan8768]

I wouldn't do it for freshwater, but it works well for my reef tank... been doing it for over a year and a half and it works really well. You will need a really good skimmer that can pull out all the dying bacteria though. Also, skim wet. I have since switched to vinegar dosing and it works a lot better now.

If you wanted to reduce nitrates for freshwater just get a bunch of hornwort, elodea and other fast growing plants and let them do the work for you. I have upwards of 30 fish in my 20H and my nitrates never read above 0 on any test kit

[Tommy Gether]

Yes a huge skimmer is the key to not crashing, I have a skimmer for a 250 on my 150 and have it slighting over skimming. I read all about dosing for a couple months now and decided on January first to try it, and document it along the way with videos.,, long as you do your homework first and read up on what you are doing, and have a full understanding of how it works you should be just fine. But like posted you nee a good skimmer and you will need alot of movement with power heads and such, cause you will need to replace ALOT of oxygen in the water... far as freshwater just add plants and your nitrate problem is solved.

[myjohnson]

Carbon dosing works for sure. Key is to have good skimmer bc that removes the nutrients from the system.

I use to dose vodka and of worked but it was time consuming.

Now I run a bio-pellet reactor and my levels have been low. Not zeroed out but acceptably low.

[Andrew_B]

I did a few months of peroxide dosing, but realized my laziness would harm my tank in the long run. Instead of measuring properly, I just poked a hole in the foil seal over the peroxide mouth and just squeezed it into the tank with no sense of quantity, so yeah.
Bio pellets are amazing, just takes 4-6 months for them to really kick in. I remember the moment when my biopellets fully established. Left for vacation with a mountain of chaeto in my sump, came home to nothing!