White vinegar

[Mstanker]

Does anyone still use the method of dosing vinegar anymore?

 

[Larry L]

That's all I have been using for carbon dosing for several years. I think plenty of other people use it too.

 

[mta_morrow]

I make my own NoPox with vodka, vinegar, and RODI.

 

[Mstanker]

You all mind help me with it. I have a 40g breeder and I do water changes and run high brs phosphate Granules. Still have gha. I just started tonight adding 5ml of vinegar

 

[FranklinDattein]

That's all I have been using for carbon dosing for several years. I think plenty of other people use it too.

I second that.

 

[Hitman]

Here’s a dosing chart of that helps. These numbers are in ML

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Does anyone still use the method of dosing vinegar anymore?

Certainly.

I would, if my tank was still up.

I saw no downside in my tank, and plenty of upside (food for filter feeders, for example).

 

[Dan_P]

Here’s a dosing chart of that helps. These numbers are in ML

Note: the author’s seemed to have made a mistake scaling up the 25 gal column in this chart. This will be obvious by comparing the highest doses across the columns. The error will cause larger system owners to under dose their systems.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Note: the author’s seemed to have made a mistake scaling up the 25 gal column in this chart. This will be obvious by comparing the highest doses across the columns. The error will cause larger system owners to under dose their systems.

Correct. The scaling is weird. It's not necessarily a mistake, but I don't agree with it. I'm an author on that article, but I didn't add that chart. It was added as a conversion from a different article on vodka which started that scaling issue. I'm not sure if it was intentional for them, or a mistake.

 

[Dan_P]

Correct. The scaling is weird. It's not necessarily a mistake, but I don't agree with it. I'm an author on that article, but I didn't add that chart. It was added as a conversion from a different article on vodka which started that scaling issue. I'm not sure if it was intentional for them, or a mistake.

I understand your hesitancy to conclude the intention behind the construction of this table.

From an engineering perspective, one would not scale up a bioreactor or a chemical reactor in this manner. A rookie mistake. So, in deference to your doubts about declaring the table construction a “mistake”, I will change my stance and say that the table scale up was done “incorrectly to maintain a consistent relationship between surface area or volume of the system or any part of the system”.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I understand your hesitancy to conclude the intention behind the construction of this table.

From an engineering perspective, one would not scale up a bioreactor or a chemical reactor in this manner. A rookie mistake. So, in deference to your doubts about declaring the table construction a “mistake”, I will change my stance and say that the table scale up was done “incorrectly to maintain a consistent relationship between surface area or volume of the system or any part of the system”.

I certainly agree and have criticized this table many times in the past, despite my being one of the two authors on it, for that very reason:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/heavy-overdose-of-diy-nopox.397096/page-2#post-4968456

"Here's a discussion of vinegar dosing. IMO, the dosing ramp up in that article is excessively slow, and the scaling with tank size doesn't make sense to me, but it's a place to start:"

 

[Dan_P]

I certainly agree and have criticized this table many times in the past, despite my being one of the two authors on it, for that very reason:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/heavy-overdose-of-diy-nopox.397096/page-2#post-4968456

"Here's a discussion of vinegar dosing. IMO, the dosing ramp up in that article is excessively slow, and the scaling with tank size doesn't make sense to me, but it's a place to start:"

I did read your post when I was reviewing carbon dosing information on the internet. I pointed out to the Reef Central folks the problem with the vinegar and vodka dosing tables and they kindly generated and posted a corrected version.

 

[Dr.Xipoles]

To the op, ive started to use it for nitrates. Im at 100g total water volume and started with 5 ml two weeks ago but not seeing much change. Im currently at the 15 ml mark and increasing it a little faster than the chart says. I was worried about ph drop and a bacteria bloom at first but all is well.

 

[rob safron]

I have used it for years. Also jumped much faster than the chart. Takes time, took me 60mls in a 125 to get nitrates to drop.

 

[Larry L]

Takes time, took me 60mls in a 125 to get nitrates to drop.

Mine is about the same, I am dosing about 40 mls per day into an 80 gallon system.

My advice would be to just go slowly, monitor your nitrates, and stop changing your dose when you see them starting to drop. Then if they level off higher than what you want, or start rising again, increase the dose and repeat until you get them where you want.

 

[Mstanker]

So I’m on week 2 of dosing I have around 60g should 8ml be fine