Carbon dosing - only half of the week?

[Ky_acc]

Hi everyone, I am interested in carbon dosing but hesitant to start as I travel for work M-Th (when not in quarantine)

I don’t have enough space to put a carbon dosing product on a separate dosing pump but I have been reading about the benefits of carbon dosing and was wondering if there would be Negative side effects from dosing only Th, F, Sa, Sun and then not at all M-W while I’m out of town.

I don’t want to create an Imbalance dosing in this manner so just wanted to get some thoughts.

I have been looking into Tropic Marin NP Bacto balance as my phosphate hovers around .05

@Lou Ekus @Hans-Werner any thoughts from you guys as I know you have the best insight into this product.


Thanks!

 

[minus9]

Tropic Marin is hosting a live stream on carbon dosing on the 21st. They are now a sponsor here on R2R.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I do not think it is a problem to take a few days off. Is it perfect? No. Neither is risking a problem when you are away.

What are your reasons for dosing it? Phosphate at 0.05 ppm doesn't look to be a reason to me. it is fine.

If nitrate is high, that could be a reason, or just to generate food for filter feeders.

But you should ensure you do not drive nitrate or phosphate too low.

 

[Ky_acc]

I do not think it is a problem to take a few days off. Is it perfect? No. Neither is risking a problem when you are away.

What are your reasons for dosing it? Phosphate at 0.05 ppm doesn't look to be a reason to me. it is fine.

If nitrate is high, that could be a reason, or just to generate food for filter feeders.

But you should ensure you do not drive nitrate or phosphate too low.

Thanks for the reply!

I have been looking into carbon dosing as I have been hearing more about the benefits -- primarily making phosphate uptake easier/more available for the corals.

also I think that carbon dosing could help bring my nitrates down a bit to be more in line with my phosphates.

My nitrate hovers around 5-10, while my phosphate sits around .05

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Thanks for the reply!

I have been looking into carbon dosing as I have been hearing more about the benefits -- primarily making phosphate uptake easier/more available for the corals.

also I think that carbon dosing could help bring my nitrates down a bit to be more in line with my phosphates.

My nitrate hovers around 5-10, while my phosphate sits around .05

I'd just be careful as those numbers look close to perfect to me and you might end up worse off.