Adding sugar to a reef tank?

[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.

[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.

[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]

Originally Posted by Jason McK

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

Sorry Jason, thats just Zeovit dogma IMHO.

Did I just say that out loud? I could get sued by Zeovit for that

[Jason McK]

Rob, When I used the word ZEOvit I should have said any of the name brand Bacteria based systems like Prodibio, Zeovit, and Blue Coral, Fauna Marine. I'm sure a key component to there system is sugars but the bac food is more complex than that and that. R&D from each system has found a better balance than just 1 carbon source to better maintain a Bacteria population.