Sugar to lower nitrates

G

Guest

Guest
I cant remember who i was talking to but here is the thread for lowering nitrates with sugar..Some people use vodka or glucose i just use plain ole sugar packets i grab from mc d's or 7-11. been doing it for two weeks and nitrates are lowering but i am very slowly dosing a small amount



http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=898931&perpage=25&pagenumber=1
 
Can't get away with Vodka in my vicinity quite yet... Nor would I want to really, sounds like a good plan though. I think I should check my nitrates and see if thats really needed or not. Probably will need it when I upgrade tanks and everything screams at me for changing things around.
 
this is the first I've heard of using sugar packets for Nitrates, I tried using the vodka, but every time I dose, I have to drink such large quantities it's hard to read the charts right :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
All joking aside, this is the second time (that I remember) that this subject has come up in the hobby. It gained some following in the mid-90s, then again a couple years ago. If I'm not mistaken, people were trying this in the 70s, too. The tried and true method of reducing nitrates (besides good husbandry) is to identify and eliminate/reduce the sources of this imbalance and, if necessary, do a large enough water change to get it down to an acceptable level (instead of incremental changes-- see melevsreef.com (forgot the article)).

This is only supported by anecdotal evidence, i.e. "the people I've talked to have lowered their nitrates and seen marvelous coral growth."

Heck, the original poster in the RC thread said:

@fishykid9212 wrote:
Well said:
Doesn't exactly give me a lot of confidence. I know a number of people with that have kept amazing tanks for ten years or more and attribute it to a good DSB(or not), lighting, flow, and husbandry. I haven't heard from anyone who has poured liquor in their tank for ten years.

Rant's over now. I hope this works for anyone who tries it. Just ask yourself if you're treating the symptoms or fixing the problem.
Click to expand...
 
Okay Pampee -

We've jumped on the bandwagon and I put the first dose of sugar in the tank today. I've tried everything and am to the point of beating my head against a brick wall with the nitrates in the tank. I've got lots of macro in the sump, de-nitrate pouches strategicly placed, water changes out the wazoo, but nothing else is bringing them down. Hope this works...


Tracy
 
my nitrates have lwered and I think my water clarity has improved....on one tank I have ozone generator and it seems to be as clear as that one...first couple of weeks my skimmate production was lowered, now i have to clean it out every day as my cup is half full or some might say half empty :lol:
 
Thought I'd add my two cents worth to this thread. I came back from vacation 3 weeks ago today to nitrates through the roof (definitely over 100, probably higher -off my color chart scale)

My tank is 90 gallons. I did 3 20 gallon water changes within 8 days time and got the nitrates down to about 60. I then started dosing sugar, just 1/2 teaspoon every other day. Today my nitrate reading is 20 PPM! I"m a convert!

Now I will say I don't think this solves the problem but may help "fix" the problem. I believe my nitrate problems resulted from overfeeding/perhaps not removing a dead fish in my absence.

I"m just so thrilled that nitrates are coming under control...
 
I thought I put this article out to read to anyone contemplating adding these simple sugars to their tanks to lower nitrates.
http://www.accessexcellence.org/WN/SU/coral_bact_oct06.htm
 
I tried sugar dosing, and it did kill some of my SPS off. :sad:

I dosed half a teaspoon 3 times a week. After about 2 weeks brown algae started growing on the SPS frags, and it ended up killing it.
 
@Rick wrote:
I thought I put this article out to read to anyone contemplating adding these simple sugars to their tanks to lower nitrates. http://www.accessexcellence.org/WN/SU/coral_bact_oct06.htm said:
Thanks Rick.

Sounds like they need a huge skimmer to battle those DOCs. :roll:
Click to expand...
 
GREAT article Rick. That one CONFINCED me NOT to add anything like this in your tank...IMOP. My large 250 gallon tank has a nitrate value between 10-15 (yes...a little high), but 10% water changes weekly continue to bring this down.

A risk of using sugar? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? After reading this, forget it. My fish AND corals look fantastic, and anything 'experimental' is out of the question......but once again, this is IMOP.

Thanks for posting that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top