Carbon dosing & lighting?

[Cornerboy]

I'm wondering if there is any difference in dosing carbon

1)when your display tank light is on or,
2)when your refugium light is on, or
3) both

Also,

I'm wondering when might be the best time to introduce carbon dosing when setting up a new tank. I was thinking when you start to introduce corals. I understand that you can have problems when you have an established sand bed and you start dosing carbon. When you're setting up a tank what is the soonest you would recommend starting carbon dosing?

What are people's thoughts?

 

[DLHDesign]

Dosing in carbon basically aids in bacterial growth, which then leads to an increase in consumption of nitrates and phosphates (so, net result is reducing - and/or stabilizing - their values). This is not an immediate effect, so I don't think that the light schedule is going to play a significant role. So long as you consistently dose, it should be fine whenever. (Note that there may be some small benefit to "seeding" the water with a carbon source at or just before the height of the target bacteria's optimum growth time, but this would be hard to really nail down given that you're targeting multiple bacteria strains.)

I wouldn't start carbon dosing until you have the ability to measure nitrates and phosphates over time and get a sense of their values. Until you can determine the trends in these, any dosing you do will be "blind" - you will simply be guessing at the impact the dose will have.

Note that the Red Sea "Reef Mature Starter Kit" begins dosing in No3POx pretty much right away. But this kit also seeds in bacteria in a bottle, so the dosing in that case is being used to feed the bacteria that were added manually so that they propagate. This just illustrates how many different ways there are to cycle a new tank, so there is not going to be a single answer on when to start dosing. Measure, measure, measure - and react to what you find.

 

[Rakie]

I'm wondering when might be the best time to introduce carbon dosing when setting up a new tank.

What are people's thoughts?

You're doing too much theoretical reading here, and applying things you aren't knowledgeable about, for problems you don't have.

In your defense -- I used a bit of carbon dosing and bacteria dosing when cycling my rocks in a trash can. It worked great, and it had a purpose.

To answer your question -- I would say you won't need to carbon dose for about a year or more. You have no reason to, and nothing to keep your tank in balance. Dosing carbon can cause cyano, which is fine just an eye sore.

Why do people dose carbon -- To solve a problem they feel is necessary to fix. You don't even have a problem yet, what are you trying to solve, and why are you trying to solve it?

You have no reason to be thinking about carbon dosing whatsoever. Learn the knowledge and sit on it. You'll need it in the future.