Carbon (VSV) dosing volumes

[Aquattro]

For those dosing VSV or vodka, what amount are you dosing? I'm doing 2ml daily and I'm starting to suspect that someone replaced my VSV with NO3 juice..

[Wheelman76]

When I was dosing vinegar I was doing 20 ml a day in a 100 g system. Vodka is 8 times stronger than vinegar , so that would be equivalent to 2.5ml a day of vodka.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by Wheelman76

When I was dosing vinegar I was doing 20 ml a day in a 100 g system. Vodka is 8 times stronger than vinegar , so that would be equivalent to 2.5ml a day of vodka.

So not way far off what I'm doing. NO3 is creeping over 20ppm today. Damn fish!! lol

[Wheelman76]

Have you ever hit a peak where you got it right down to 0 or close? When I started I climbed up to 40ml a day over the course of 4 to 5 weeks , once I got to 0 I cut the dose to 20 ml and found it maintained the no3 around 0.5 to 1 From there I could tweak the dosage a little here and there to maintain where I wanted to be depending if I added any new fish.

[Aquattro]

Ya, I was at 0 before adding the MIs. They're just hyper metabolic, eating and pooping all day. I've been way over feeding to try and get them to stop eating my acros, but turning everything brown in the process.

But I know a guy with a 120 and about 80 fish, 0 across the board for nutrients, so figured I might be able to find a balance. I'm probably mistaken

[input80]

Hey Brad, could it be time to make a tough decision & start another tank or get rid of something?

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by input80

Hey Brad, could it be time to make a tough decision & start another tank or get rid of something?

Ya, it's that time. I have a complete 90 breeder setup that I'm trying to sell the wife on, but not sure I'm sold on it either.

The MIs are amazing fish and I don't trust anyone locally to keep them alive, and that kills me. Honestly, they have to go, they're stripping branches bare.

I'm stuck with hard decisions both sides. But my reef won't be a reef much longer at this rate. Can't even bring myself to test PO4!!

[Wheelman76]

Seems like it takes a while sometimes to balance out. My frag tank is only about 19g but I have another 40 g of water or so in my sump. I only have two clown fish in this system and for months I couldn't get the no3 below 10 which is pretty crazy considering I have only 2 fish. I started dosing vinegar and got it down to 0 after 4 to 5 weeks. Now I'm trying to raise the no3 because it's dead 0 , like no pink at all on a Salifert test , and since my FT is mostly acans and zoas I don't like them that low. I dropped the vinegar down to less than 5 ml per day and started feeding heavier and more aminos and it still didn't help , so for now I've stopped dosing vinegar completely and I'll see if I can maintain levels where I want now.

[input80]

Understood,,,,,, Gonna be rough,,, Obviously you're the only one to make that answer,,,,,, although it may be completely unaesthetically (my word of the day) pleaseing & impractical, have you thought of separating them within the tank (maybe eggcrate or something??

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by input80

Understood,,,,,, Gonna be rough,,, Obviously you're the only one to make that answer,,,,,, although it may be completely unaesthetically (my word of the day) pleaseing & impractical, have you thought of separating them within the tank (maybe eggcrate or something??

Not really possible, and that pretty much wrecks the tank

Jess, while I may be able to get a handle on levels, I still have the coral eating issue, and less food means more coral snacks.