Just started dosing vinegar in limewater.

[kv69]

I used the reccomendations for the starting point of dosing vinegar at 3 tsp of Kalk and 45ml of distilled white vinegar per gallon. Previously I used 2 tsp per gallon kalk only

I have noticed that my carbon cannister filter(I use BRS Rox) has lost quite a bit of flow over the past couple of days, more than half, I changed it on Saturday.

I'm assuming this is being caused by the addition of the stonger limewater being dosed, causing it to harden?

My Alk is staying stable at 8.9 dKH. calcium at 430 mag at 1340. I have also been running a nitrate sponge alongside the carbon as it had been running high. My phosphate gets to .08 and I dose lanthium to bring it back down. It seems that the Carbon dosing has brought the nitrates down considerably.

Recently, I had an event while I was in a plumbing delimma when I lost power, my sump overflowed some, and the ATO kicked on and dumped about a gallon of limewater in, hardening my shallow sand bed, and causing a algae mat which I tried to disperse by stirring up the sand bed. I reinstalled swing check valves and power outages will no longer be a problem.

So... I'm looking for some advice as to what I may need to do, I have always run the Rox carbon and only changed it out when I noticed the flow decreasing, which is usually 5 weeks.


My Ato setup


my sump setup

 

[DFW]

I tried adding vinegar to lime water at a lower percentage of vinegar than that, and my euphylias did not seem to like it. Well, they did not open up for several days like they normally do anyway. After seeing that, I stopped adding it to the limewater for my main tanks, too, which are acroporas. I am following this to learn what I must do, because it seems I am getting to the end of what I can do with just lime water.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

The clogging of the ROX may be from bacterial growth on it. In the past I got a lot of that as well on the ROX when I dosed vinegar.

But adding more lime may also result in more precipitation of more calcium carbonate, especially if there is GFO mixed with the ROX or upstream from it.

Where do you dose in relation to the ROX?

 

[kv69]

I dose upstream, the carbon cannister is plumbed off of the return. I don't use GFO, I use phosphate Rx, Nitrates have always been my crux. I do however use Kent nitrate sponge, which I am considering removing from the first cannister. My tanks look great, and pesky algae has atarted to receed and Alk has leveled off so far since beginning vinear dosing.

 

[Alabamareef]

Your set up looks good, I do like my return from the carbon dumping into a filter sock. So it looks like you've got a p04 and nitrate problems. If your running fish only or LPS your levels may not be to bad but if your wanting SPS your levels are off. From what I've seen husbandry is the number one issue for having high p04 and nitrates along with overfeeding. A good thing to do is clean your tank really good. I even vaccum the sand bed but some people do not. If p04 is your only issue GFO can be mixed in with your carbon. In my carbon reactor I use 1 cup of GFO, adjust to your size tank. Nitrates can be controlled with biopellets.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

When the doser is on, how fast is the limewater/vinegar added?

 

[kv69]

I think the doser doses around 100ml or 500ml a minute, I'm not sure. It is a Avast marine ATO. It usually runs 4 to 5 minutes 6 times a day. I go through approximately 10 gallons a week on a 120 gallon system.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Wow, that's very fast and may be the explanation.

You're talking about adding, even at the low end, 400 mL of limewater all at once to a sump. At the high end that's 2500 mL.

The pH of the sump will rise significantly on that addition, increasing the likelihood of precipitation.

A 10 gallon sump would probably rise 0.5 pH units at the low end of that addition and more at the high end.

 

[kv69]

Okay so I move about 1250 gallons an hour through the sump. the sump has 7 gallons max, and I need to keep up with the evaporation, the ato is a pressure switch which is permantly set to 1 inch of evaporation? suggestions?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

No way to slow down the flow of the pump?

 

[kv69]

No sir, looks like I need another alternative of dosing, and slower too. I just timed and measured it. its doing close to 125 ml's every minute. It has its own little circuit built in. so I can't slow it down. any suggestions on an alternative?

25ml per minute would be a good target?

 

[kv69]

Okay so a 1/4" ball valve would slow the flow down for me. Cmon lowes....

 

[kv69]

So I slowed the flow down to about 35 to 40 ml per minute... Does this sound acceptable?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Yes, with that flow you should be good.

You'll still get bacteria on the GAC, but less precipitation (if , in fact, that was happening.

 

[kv69]

Thanks for all the help. one last question can I just break up the carbon clump or should I replace it?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

If it is bacteria, it should rinse off to some extent in tap water or RO/DI.

If it is rock hard with CaCO3, I'd replace it, but a vinegar soak might also bring it back to usable life.