Joined
·
19,599 Posts
I know 'This battle', and I came out the other side......It can be won.
I had a 210 gallon 'softies' tank, and after about a year, it looked like a Turf Farm......thickest, full GHA you'd ever want to see......or NOT SEE!
Did the 'scrubbing n pulling' thing, but at a certain point you go way past THAT working. At my wits end....not really, it's only a hobby, but to keep a tank going I tried 'CARBON DOSING'......a game changer!
WARNING......take no short cuts, and follow this methodically.....and won't happen 'over night' but will do the trick.
![Water Cloud Underwater Plant Landscape]()
![Grass Terrestrial plant Underwater Marine biology Water]()
![Plant Landscape Grass Coral Underwater]()
![Food Ingredient Finger Natural material Cuisine]()
Yeah, it was UGLY!
I came out the 'other side'.....
![Water Blue Pet supply Organism Fish supply]()
![Water Plant Natural environment Underwater Organism]()
![Water Vertebrate Blue Green Organism]()
![Water Blue Light Pet supply Fluid]()
'Full tank shots' were pretty much impossible due to the size of the room, and the size of my tank.....but this isn't no 'trick photography'....I ain't that smart.
The carbon dosing process, and I used the 40 proof vodka, Fleischmann's vodka to be precise, nice n cheap......may take MONTHS to achieve your goal, but you will. It's a SLOW n STEADY approach, and you won't even realize it in the beginning......just keep doing your part, tank maintenance, glass cleaning......never hurt to pull out clumps while you're there anyway, but not necessary. And before you even know it, it will happen......GHA dies off......suck it out during your weekly maintenance, go about enjoying your tank.
Keep meticulous records, and go back and check......no short cuts. You will eventually get to the point where you just do 'maintenance dosing', and at that point 'automation' is a huge benefit.....a syringe gets old after a while and a dosing pump becomes a no brainer.
I continued dosing for over 4 years as a part of my reef keeping.....I'm a lazy reefer, and water changes were scarce with me.....not regular, and certainly not OFTEN. A 210 gallon tank would take a lot.......a larger tank is a good candidate for dosing just for THAT reason.
Your Nitrate and Phosphate levels will remain VERY LOW, and it's good to try and NOT HIT ZERO with your NO3, that can open a whole new can of worms. I maintained <5 >0ppm for for the life of my tank after being over 80ppm and steadily climbing.
If you see your numbers creeping back up out of 'forgetting' to keep up with your maintenance, it's only a matter of increasing your dosage again till your back on track.......it will work for you.
Keep this LINK handy.......you will find you go to it a lot over the years. Either for your own benefit or to help others.
The best of luck to you,
Hack
PS
I changed directions with my reefing journey this past winter and have switched to a 'Fragging' set up, so have not been dosing.......IF I EVER NEED TO AGAIN I won't hesitate for a second.
![Purple Gas Pet supply Electric blue Event]()
I had a 210 gallon 'softies' tank, and after about a year, it looked like a Turf Farm......thickest, full GHA you'd ever want to see......or NOT SEE!
Did the 'scrubbing n pulling' thing, but at a certain point you go way past THAT working. At my wits end....not really, it's only a hobby, but to keep a tank going I tried 'CARBON DOSING'......a game changer!
WARNING......take no short cuts, and follow this methodically.....and won't happen 'over night' but will do the trick.
Yeah, it was UGLY!
I came out the 'other side'.....
'Full tank shots' were pretty much impossible due to the size of the room, and the size of my tank.....but this isn't no 'trick photography'....I ain't that smart.
The carbon dosing process, and I used the 40 proof vodka, Fleischmann's vodka to be precise, nice n cheap......may take MONTHS to achieve your goal, but you will. It's a SLOW n STEADY approach, and you won't even realize it in the beginning......just keep doing your part, tank maintenance, glass cleaning......never hurt to pull out clumps while you're there anyway, but not necessary. And before you even know it, it will happen......GHA dies off......suck it out during your weekly maintenance, go about enjoying your tank.
Keep meticulous records, and go back and check......no short cuts. You will eventually get to the point where you just do 'maintenance dosing', and at that point 'automation' is a huge benefit.....a syringe gets old after a while and a dosing pump becomes a no brainer.
I continued dosing for over 4 years as a part of my reef keeping.....I'm a lazy reefer, and water changes were scarce with me.....not regular, and certainly not OFTEN. A 210 gallon tank would take a lot.......a larger tank is a good candidate for dosing just for THAT reason.
Your Nitrate and Phosphate levels will remain VERY LOW, and it's good to try and NOT HIT ZERO with your NO3, that can open a whole new can of worms. I maintained <5 >0ppm for for the life of my tank after being over 80ppm and steadily climbing.
If you see your numbers creeping back up out of 'forgetting' to keep up with your maintenance, it's only a matter of increasing your dosage again till your back on track.......it will work for you.
Keep this LINK handy.......you will find you go to it a lot over the years. Either for your own benefit or to help others.
The best of luck to you,
Hack
PS
I changed directions with my reefing journey this past winter and have switched to a 'Fragging' set up, so have not been dosing.......IF I EVER NEED TO AGAIN I won't hesitate for a second.
