Carbon dosing frequency for bacterial growth?

[Miami Reef]

Is there a difference in weekly vs daily carbon dosing for bacterial growth?

Would splitting the weekly dose daily yield better results?

 

[Rmckoy]

Is there a difference in weekly vs daily carbon dosing for bacterial growth?

Would splitting the weekly dose daily yield better results?

I was always to the understanding smaller , daily doses of anything is better than one larger dose .

I’d dose daily ! That’s my $0.02

 

[Rmckoy]

Split the dose up multiple times a day .
But ….. if dosing vinegar , ideally you want to dose at a time that won’t effect ph

 

[Miami Reef]

Daily dose it is.

I’ve always been a fan of vodka. I don’t have any studies to back me up. I just get a sense that it’s more pure. It also wont directly lower PH like vinegar. I also like how it’s more concentrated and can be dosed in one shot and wont negatively affect PH.

This is just my opinion though. I know some people like vinegar better. But for a 250 gallon I think that’s the best for me.

 

[Miami Reef]

edit

 

[Miami Reef]

Last question about vodka dosing: will vodka eat my dosing tubes? I’m setting up an auto doser and the vodka will be sitting in the dosing tubes in between doses.

It’s an automatic doser with a doser reservoir

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Do you know the kind of tubing?

High concentration organics may pull out plasticizers from tubing, making it go white and make it more brittle over time.

Diluting it may help.

 

[Miami Reef]

@Randy Holmes-Farley

I decided I’m going to make my own version of NOPOX (vodka and vinegar).

Is there a recipe for diluting it for an auto doser?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

@Randy Holmes-Farley

I decided I’m going to make my own version of NOPOX (vodka and vinegar).

Is there a recipe for diluting it for an auto doser?

The only issue of diluting it is potential for bacteria growth. There's no special recipe for dilution, and I'm not sure exactly how much it can be diluted before that can happen.

 

[Miami Reef]

The only issue of diluting it is potential for bacteria growth. There's no special recipe for dilution, and I'm not sure exactly how much it can be diluted before that can happen.

Ok. I’ll just make a DIY NOPOX without diluting it. I’ll make my own glass container and replace tubings when worn out.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

When I dosed vinegar, I dosed straight from the plastic bottle it came in.

 

[Miami Reef]

When I dosed vinegar, I dosed straight from the plastic bottle it came in.

Sounds smart. I can use a vinegar bottle to create my NOPOX solution.

 

[Miami Reef]

edit

 

[Miami Reef]

Just to make sure…a vinegar bottle can handle a DIY NOPOX, right?

And can silicone tubing handle DIY NOPOX?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Just to make sure…a vinegar bottle can handle a DIY NOPOX, right?

And can silicone tubing handle DIY NOPOX?

I expect that is fine. I do not have one to check the material, but the 1 gallon containers may be HDPE, which is fine.

 

[Miami Reef]

Does carbon dosing help increase the bacteria that will weigh down the sand? Or is that the nitrifying bacteria?

Also, does running GAC remove my carbon dosing? I’m keeping it simple and dosing vinegar once a week as it’s more sustainable for me.