I have probably posted this a dozen times this month on various threads/forums, so I will just put this out there and quit being a doocher on other people's threads.
Dosing organic carbon is very dangerous, in most cases, even though lots of people who use it don't think that it is - they will likely find out in time. Unless you have a specific reason to do it, then I would suggest that you do not use it.
I am seeing more and more people set up new tanks and immediately put on a bio pellet reactor or start to dose vodka/vinegar/ethanol or some other pre-packaged source of organic carbon. This is one of the worst things that you can do for your new tank. You are basically using the organic carbon to remove organics/nutrients from the water and you are not allowing the tail end of the N cycle to complete.
It should be Ammonia -> Nitrate -> Nitrate -> Nitrogen Gas, but it ends up Ammonia -> Nitrate -> Nitrate -> Waterborne Bacteria -> Skimmer. While either can work when done correctly, both have to be in equilibrium for your tank to be stable and thrive. The first method relies on anoxic/anaerobic bacteria to convert Nitrite -> Nitrate, which will grow/die to equilibrium naturally. The second relies on the reefer to add enough, but not too much, carbon to fulfill the equilibrium - this is typically not static on a new tank. Guess who is better at this - a person or nature? I know that BRS articles, the interwebs and lots of people on-the-line will tell you to use this still out of the box or the minute that you start to see measurable nitrates and phosphates, but they are not right IMO... however, maybe I would feel differently if I was selling reactors and media. Whether people know it, or not, they are cheating the natural cycle and trying to speed up.
If you cannot add the right amount of carbon you will have two outcomes. 1). Too much organic carbon added and you will starve your corals and they can die... not likely from the starvation, but the starvation makes them weak and they will die under other circumstances where they might have otherwise been strong enough to survive. You can also grow too much waterborne bacteria at once which can consume all of the oxygen and kill your fish/critters. 2). You add not enough organic carbon and your N and P levels will go up and down the ebbs and tides of the tank - this is hard on inverts with the up/down and can also weaken them. In both cases, your cycle is not complete and the tank is not able to handle things on it's own.
Sure, it takes time and in this selfie/toddler generation everybody wants everything now, but the truth of the matter is that it is going to take 6-12 months for your tank to truly cycle and be in a nice place where it can handle life. Nitrates on a 4-8 month old tank are OK - desirable actually - they are needed for the anoxic zones to develop. If you do everything right, they will be gone to zero after a while and stay there. Phosphates are also OK on a 4-8 month old tank - they will go down too. BRS articles, the interwebs and people on-the-line should be writing articles about how this is OK, desirable and you need to wait it out.
I have heard all of the arguments that adding organic carbon can also speed up coral growth by introducing a life-limiting element of carbon, but the waterborne bacteria will out-compete nearly all coral. This mostly comes from manufacturers selling a product and is mostly complete bunk.
I am not saying that using organic carbon is stupid or useless, but just being used-to-be-used without the reefer understanding what it does and what they are hurting is indeed stupid, useless and even harmful, IMO. I can think of a several good reasons to use organic carbon.
Please, do yourself a favor... get into this for the long run when you set up a tank... let the cycle finish and save yourself the headache of trying to rush things by adding organic carbon to a new tank.
Dosing organic carbon is very dangerous, in most cases, even though lots of people who use it don't think that it is - they will likely find out in time. Unless you have a specific reason to do it, then I would suggest that you do not use it.
I am seeing more and more people set up new tanks and immediately put on a bio pellet reactor or start to dose vodka/vinegar/ethanol or some other pre-packaged source of organic carbon. This is one of the worst things that you can do for your new tank. You are basically using the organic carbon to remove organics/nutrients from the water and you are not allowing the tail end of the N cycle to complete.
It should be Ammonia -> Nitrate -> Nitrate -> Nitrogen Gas, but it ends up Ammonia -> Nitrate -> Nitrate -> Waterborne Bacteria -> Skimmer. While either can work when done correctly, both have to be in equilibrium for your tank to be stable and thrive. The first method relies on anoxic/anaerobic bacteria to convert Nitrite -> Nitrate, which will grow/die to equilibrium naturally. The second relies on the reefer to add enough, but not too much, carbon to fulfill the equilibrium - this is typically not static on a new tank. Guess who is better at this - a person or nature? I know that BRS articles, the interwebs and lots of people on-the-line will tell you to use this still out of the box or the minute that you start to see measurable nitrates and phosphates, but they are not right IMO... however, maybe I would feel differently if I was selling reactors and media. Whether people know it, or not, they are cheating the natural cycle and trying to speed up.
If you cannot add the right amount of carbon you will have two outcomes. 1). Too much organic carbon added and you will starve your corals and they can die... not likely from the starvation, but the starvation makes them weak and they will die under other circumstances where they might have otherwise been strong enough to survive. You can also grow too much waterborne bacteria at once which can consume all of the oxygen and kill your fish/critters. 2). You add not enough organic carbon and your N and P levels will go up and down the ebbs and tides of the tank - this is hard on inverts with the up/down and can also weaken them. In both cases, your cycle is not complete and the tank is not able to handle things on it's own.
Sure, it takes time and in this selfie/toddler generation everybody wants everything now, but the truth of the matter is that it is going to take 6-12 months for your tank to truly cycle and be in a nice place where it can handle life. Nitrates on a 4-8 month old tank are OK - desirable actually - they are needed for the anoxic zones to develop. If you do everything right, they will be gone to zero after a while and stay there. Phosphates are also OK on a 4-8 month old tank - they will go down too. BRS articles, the interwebs and people on-the-line should be writing articles about how this is OK, desirable and you need to wait it out.
I have heard all of the arguments that adding organic carbon can also speed up coral growth by introducing a life-limiting element of carbon, but the waterborne bacteria will out-compete nearly all coral. This mostly comes from manufacturers selling a product and is mostly complete bunk.
I am not saying that using organic carbon is stupid or useless, but just being used-to-be-used without the reefer understanding what it does and what they are hurting is indeed stupid, useless and even harmful, IMO. I can think of a several good reasons to use organic carbon.
Please, do yourself a favor... get into this for the long run when you set up a tank... let the cycle finish and save yourself the headache of trying to rush things by adding organic carbon to a new tank.
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