Adding sugar to a reef tank?

[andresont]

I was wondering if anybody else has done this sugar therapy to get rid of NO3 ?

Sounds like very easy solution to the problem...
How exactly "bacterial population locks up nitrates and phosphates," works?
I am almost mixing sugar myself but want to know how many people doing that?


please see original post below.














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#16 07-12-2007, 11:33 PM
trilinearmipmap
Member Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Prince Rupert B.C.
Posts: 1,122



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I had some nitrate problems due to overfeeding, the nitrates were about 5 to 10 range, this was earlier this year.

I started adding sugar, went to barely detectable nitrates on the Salifert test, accompanied by much improved skimmate production.

My understanding of how sugar works is bacteria feed on the sugar, the bacterial population locks up nitrates and phosphates, then the bacteria get skimmed out by the skimmer.

I started adding 1/8 or 1/4 tsp of sugar daily in a 120 gallon (I forget which) and gradually increased it to 3/4 tsp daily. Lately I have slacked off and just add 1 tsp every few days when I remember.

Adding sugar is easy and worth trying. I saw no bad effects on my corals though I suggest starting slow and gradually adjusting the sugar dose.
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[bv_reefer]

-do u think it's still a good idea if u don't have a skimmer?

[Mik_101]

dosent sound...to grate.

[Jason McK]

The sugar is a cabon source for 1 strain of Bactiria to grow and feed on the sugar. The problem with the sugar method is you are left with a mono-culture that is prone to blooms not unlike a cyano or other algaes.
I would start very slow and run carbon 100% or the time.

[Reefer Rob]

Jason, why would you get a mono-culture? What strains of bacteria don't require a carbon source to thrive? Sugar dosing is similar to Zeovit but without the cost.

Before you dose sugar, research it big time. It's easy to crash your tank if your not careful.

I dosed sugar to boost Prodibio in my last tank, and it worked well. I gradually increased the dose until the diatoms disappeared from my sand, then held it there. I don't think the method of dosing until you get a bloom, then cutting the dose in half is a great idea. Too risky for me.

[michika]

May I ask were you found information about dosing with sugar? Where can I find additional literature?

[Mik_101]

Originally Posted by michika

May I ask were you found information about dosing with sugar? Where can I find additional literature?

Ya I would also like to know.

[fkshiu]

Do a search on RC. There are several big threads. It was a bit of a fad (for lack of a better term) a couple years ago, which has since died down.

You have to be extremely careful not to overdose and it is NOT a panacea - you still need to keep up with regular maintenance and water changes.

I tried it for a few weeks with very small amounts and didn't see much difference, but my bio-load was low and my nitrates were <5ppm to begin with.

[Jason McK]

Originally Posted by Reefer Rob

Jason, why would you get a mono-culture? What strains of bacteria don't require a carbon source to thrive? Sugar dosing is similar to Zeovit but without the cost.

Sugar dosing is a basic carbon source that allows only one strain of bacteria to dominate. It is still effective but the avoidance of a mono-culture is very important so that the bacteria does not over run the tank. Mono-cultures are very difficult to control and dosing can be established and everything can be running fine, then tank demands can change and you can end up in an over dose situation.
ZEOvit uses many carbon sources to establish a wide range of different bacteria. this aids in avoiding a over dose crash and keeps the Bacteria more stable. Not saying that you can not over dose ZEO you can with very bad results.


J

[Reefer Rob]

Try this thread to start.

Carbon dosing is part of most reef keeping systems, Prodibio, Zeovit, and Blue Coral to name a few. My nitrate was less than .5 and I still noticed an improvement with it. I'm thinking of starting sugar dosing again in very small amounts just to increase bacteria-plankton as a coral food.