Lowered my nitrates

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by Baker

I havent tested for either of those but should probably do that just incase. I doubt there are any as everything is looking very healthy. The only other thing I have tested for is phosphates and it was down at .4 ppm. I havent done any WC's yet as I wanted to build a bit of bacteria before I do so. Probably do one next week just to replenish. I have used a bit of zeobak but only 6 drops over the week. This could be part of it as well. I have read a bit about vodka dosing and I read that this shouldnt be used on a new tank. Im just going to keep it simple at this point.

your waterchanges wont really remove bacteria ,not the ones your looking to expand on anyways, the bacterias your looking for only resides on solid surfaces like substrates, rocks , etc. and is rarely found in the water column.

products like the one you used , carbon dosing , pellets etc dont bind nitrates or phosphates, they fuel bacteria which can then be skimmed out or removed via polyfibre,foam, etc. theres alot of ways to approach this but most use the same basics.

i dont think carbon dosing is a bandaid fix at all , fact is the bacteria is doing its job in all systems regardless and is a natural process.