I am a retired teacher of chemistry and of course do have a 55 gal reef tank that has had some issues with nitrate and phosphate levels in my 5 year old tank. After much reading on reduction with the use of ethanol and which has been successful I have decided to change over to the use of a simple sugar ( PRIMING SUGAR--DEXTROSE) instead of ethonal ( don't want the dreaded red slime to develop). I chose priming sugar over reg sugar due to the fact that reg sugar is a more complex sugar being composed of actually 2 dextrose molecules....therefore I had to double all set amounts. i believe the bacteria could utilize this sugar at a quicker rate. It seems to be working very well after 1 week my levels dropped from 5 ppm to zero( nitrate) and 0 for phosphate. For my tank with the actual water volume of 36 gal ( 3.5 inches of sand and 100 lbs of live rock) I used the following amount.. Days 1-3 .6 grams
Days 4-7 1.0 gram ( as measured on a cheap postage scale). I will keep my fellow reefers informed of my progress. If the nitrates and phosphate remain at current levels then my maintenance dosage will be .5 grams daily. Any feedback will be welcomed.
Days 4-7 1.0 gram ( as measured on a cheap postage scale). I will keep my fellow reefers informed of my progress. If the nitrates and phosphate remain at current levels then my maintenance dosage will be .5 grams daily. Any feedback will be welcomed.