Some vinegar dosing help please

[Jem45472]

So I've had my 125 with 40 sump running fish only the last 2 years while buying assorted equipment to setup a mixed reef. Been using cheap test strips to test water quality as it was only fish. I now have everything I need and for whatever reason my nitrates are through the roof. I'm now using all salifert. Nitrates were about 100,big water change puts them at around 40 now. I'm having a large gha outbreak now and phosphate is undetected on salifert.

As of now I am running gac and phosguard in reactors, and started dosing vinegar 8 weeks ago. I am at 72 mil per day. Stock is yellow tang, hippo, foxface, clown, and 4 chromis.

I have read recently that I should really have had my nitrates at a reasonable level before starting dosing , so now I am doing daily 20 gallon changes. My question is should I now just hold the dosing at 72 until I get my nitrates under control? And also should I take the phosguard offline as I can't get a reliable reading now anyway? I'm not sure if I'm phosphate limiting the carbon dosing or not, I sure have plenty of green hair algae now though.

Thanks for helping a newbie.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I have read recently that I should really have had my nitrates at a reasonable level before starting dosing , so now I am doing daily 20 gallon changes. .

That's not true. Ignore such advice. lol

If it is not declining at all after 8 weeks at that dose (was it, or was it slowly increasing?), I'd raise the dose to 100 mL per day, optimally dosed in the mid-morning to mid afternoon. Keep track and be patient, and be sure the kit is working and reads no nitrate on new salt water.

 

[Jem45472]

That's not true. Ignore such advice. lol

If it is not declining at all after 8 weeks at that dose (was it, or was it slowly increasing?), I'd raise the dose to 100 mL per day, optimally dosed in the mid-morning to mid afternoon. Keep track and be patient, and be sure the kit is working and reads no nitrate on new salt water.

Thank you. I will increase to 100. Dosing is split up 8 times during day and afternoon. Dosing has increased about 8 mil per week.