Accidentally dosed too much acetic acid.

[cb684]

I dose ZeoStart from Zeovit system as carbon source and usually use 3.4 mL / day. This afternoon after organizing the electrical panel in my tank I plugged the doser in the wrong controller outlet. It probably dosed 10 times what I dose daily throughout 6 hours.
What should I expect, and what can I do to minimize the problems.
Thank you.
CB

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

Check your pH if you haven't already. Maybe dose some limewater to adjust the pH. Can you make a water change to get some of the acetate out of the tank?

 

[cb684]

Thank you for your reply...pH is ok at 8.3 it did not get lower than yesterday. Peaked at 8.36 and now the lights are out it is coming down. Here the two curves:

 

[redfishbluefish]

I can't offer much help. However, for those who can, I'm sure they would like to know your total volume.

 

[cb684]

I can't offer much help. However, for those who can, I'm sure they would like to know your total volume.

Net volume: 400 gallons
Dosing: 2 part (BRS reagents)
Alk: 7.5
Ca2+: 440
NO3: 5
PO4: 0.02
Mostly SPS, few LPS and zoas

 

[tanklife3]

Edit_ how hard would it be for you to do a 25% water change?

 

[cb684]

Edit_ how hard would it be for you to do a 25% water change?

I probably could do a 15% using the mixed saltwater and RODI water I have now.

 

[tanklife3]

I probably could do a 15% using the mixed saltwater and RODI water I have now.

I would say that's your best bet to be safe. I've overdosed a carbon source before and a water change helps A LOT

 

[bobman]

Vinegar is more forgiving than other carbon sources like vodka. Depending on your size tank it probably wont do much but create some burnt tips on SPS (maybe) and possible bacterial out break. If possible do 25%-50% water change and stop dosing for a couple days to let every thing level out. Your skimmer should do the rest.

 

[cb684]

I would say that's your best bet to be safe. I've overdosed a carbon source before and a water change helps A LOT

Warming up the water... Did you see any changes right after overdosing or it was a delayed response? My corals appear to be happy with great PE right now.

Vinegar is more forgiving than other carbon sources like vodka. Depending on your size tank it probably wont do much but create some burnt tips on SPS (maybe) and possible bacterial out break. If possible do 25%-50% water change and stop dosing for a couple days to let every thing level out. Your skimmer should do the rest.

Skimming wet... Thank you.

 

[cb684]

Would it be a good idea to dose beneficial bacteria? My reasoning was that if I dose it might outcompete other non-beneficial organisms...

 

[tanklife3]

Warming up the water... Did you see any changes right after overdosing or it was a delayed response? My corals appear to be happy with great PE right now.



Skimming wet... Thank you.

It was a little bit of a delayed response 24-48hrs later was the danger zone in my case

 

[bobman]

IMO no it would be useless to dose additional bacteria at this point but I am not an expert on this. I would just do a large water change and let it be. Sometimes the solution to pollution is dilution when it comes to reef keeping.

 

[biom]

Don't worry about organic carbon, ZeoStart3 actually contains quite minimal amount of organic carbon. Ammonia and nitrates is something you should be aware of. If you have ammonia and nitrate kit - check your parameters for several days, especially ammonia. If you have Zeobac, dose some according instructions next 3 days. I don't think 34 ml in 400 gal is very dangerous but to be on the safe side do some WC. Good luck!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I agree that if the pH is OK, there's no concern.


I'm not sure how big your tank is, but I dosed more than 2 mL vinegar per gallon per day for a long time as I was experimenting with different doses. IMO, that was too much so I reduced, but it caused no lasting harm.

 

[cb684]

Don't worry about organic carbon, ZeoStart3 actually contains quite minimal amount of organic carbon. Ammonia and nitrates is something you should be aware of. If you have ammonia and nitrate kit - check your parameters for several days, especially ammonia. If you have Zeobac, dose some according instructions next 3 days. I don't think 34 ml in 400 gal is very dangerous but to be on the safe side do some WC. Good luck!

Thank you. Fish are doing well so I believe I did not have a NH4 spike. I will measure NO3 and see if it went up.

I agree that if the pH is OK, there's no concern.


I'm not sure how big your tank is, but I dosed more than 2 mL vinegar per gallon per day for a long time as I was experimenting with different doses. IMO, that was too much so I reduced, but it caused no lasting harm.

Thank you Randy. The system has a net volume of 400 gallon. I was worried because it was 10x more than my daily dose. In the end, I just watched thorough out the night and since all fish, corals and other inverts were doing well I decided not to act. The only change was to start skimming wet. pH minimum during the night was similar to the day before, and ORP maximum was a little lower (day before: 353 vs 349). I will do an extra feeding today so my PO4 does not get to low...

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

FWIW, I do not know how concentrated Zeostart is, but even if it is 100% acetic acid,, 34 mL in 400 gallons is less than I have dosed daily to my system (per gallon).

 

[Myka]

My tank has suffered burned tips from sudden vinegar (my situations were different than yours), but it's not the worst that could happen.

 

[cb684]

My tank has suffered burned tips from sudden vinegar (my situations were different than yours), but it's not the worst that could happen.

All well so far... If all good tomorrow I will get back to dosing on Friday. Thanks all for the inputs...

 

[cb684]

Just a final update.
NO3 went from 5 to 0.2 (salifert)
PO4 went from 0.02 to 0 (hanna ultra low phosphorus)
I could not see any bad effects on corals or fish.
Yesterday there was an abrupt drop in ORP and it took about a day to come back up. I could not find any decaying matter or dead livestock to explain that. I did not change anything to make it come back up. Any ideas?