I am a big fan of carbon dosing as well. I have been doing it for many years. If you want to make your own DIY nopox it's 375ml vodka, 500ml vinegar and 125ml ro/di. I also found nopox expensive so I switched to this DIY method over 2 years ago. If you want to lower your levels further I suggest you just slowly increase your carbon dosing. As you increase protein skimmer will also increase production of skimmate.
Thanks for the formula! Can I ask why the RO/DI water? I'm slightly worried that dosing too much carbon will upset the system, do you have any experience with that? I'm already dosing 40ml a day on this 500L reef tank
That is to get you as close to red sea's nopox as possible. If you google "DIY nopox" or "nopox recipe" you can read chemists explanations. It ends up even smelling the same as red sea's nopox. Part of the reason these products don't list the ingredients is it's so simple to make them yourself. Of course you can dose vinegar or vodka on their own, the reason I went with the diy recipe was it was a seamless transition from store bought to diy. As for overdosing, you will get cloudy water or a film all over everything. The biggest danger outside of a bacteria bloom is stripping the water of nitrate and phosphate. I have approximately 425L in my tank and dose 10ml. I don't have a ton of fish but I do target feed corals twice a week in addition to the fish and I run with just a trace of nitrate maybe 2.5 which one day will get a little higher if I add some more fish and phosphate varies but 0.10 0.07 are my last couple of results of course the photometer has an accuracy of 0.04 so both results could be the same. My system is pretty dialed in now, but initially I ran into imbalance issues where p04 would be absorbed faster then no3 but now it's somewhat reversed but I also run GFO in addition to the carbon dosing that way I don't have to strip out the nitrate to keep phosphate in check.
Thanks for the further explanation, I will definitely make my own carbon using this recipe then when I run out of DSR EZ Carbon! I will also closely monitor the po4/no3 values and balance, next test this weekend :)
My tank went nuts when I tried carbon pellets and NoPox at the same time - huge bacterial blooms, so will be interested to see how this works for you. Remember that bio pellets are basically just another form of carbon dosing, so you're sort of doubling up.
You have one of if not the most well kept reef tanks I have came across on UA-cam. I love the amount of depth you go into for your videos and the variety of livestock in your tank. Please keep the videos coming! Also, what does your cleanup crew consist of??
Thank you very much William! I'll upload a new video soon! I have two sand sifting starfish, a bunch of snails and a large abalone snail. Sand is being maintained by a Valiencienna Sexguttata
Just be careful with biopellets. You want to step it up slowly, use like 1/4 or 1/2 recommended dosage at start and increase slowly over a few weeks to full dosage. If you use too much at once you might shock your system. Same thing if you decide to stop using biopellets in the future, don't cut it off cold turkey. Slowly remove it little by little over the span of a few weeks. Also with biopellets I don't think you have to dose carbon. The biopellets are a carbon source.
It's going okay for now to be hones, but I'm keeping a close eye on how the tank is responding to the pellets. I will reduce carbon as the pellets kick in, that's the plan :)
having run bio balls on one of my tanks previously, can I suggest you move the outflow of you media reactor close to the input of your protein skimmer. you'll find they work just as well but with significantly fewer negative side effects in the long run :-)
beautiful tank Dutch Reefer....awesome mixed reef predominantly more leaning towards softy....i saw you are using np biopellets and carbon dosing from DSR to reduce your nitrates.. imo thats an agressive approach and may shock your corals..i would take one approach and see how the system does and than IF NEED BE think abt using another method in combination...also a little less feeding might help as well and may eliminate the use of either of those approaches...Take care I subbed....
Thanks Ash! It's quite an aggressive approach indeed but I'm watching it closely. For now it's working out just great, and yeah I know I overfeed but since I have a lot of slow/picky eaters I have to, to keep them healthy...
Thanks! Well since they eat veryyyyy slow, you either need a healthy amount of living copepods in your tank (a refugium helps) or feed a lot, or feed multiple times a day.
How much ati do you dose a day? I'm trying to figure the cost out. 1000ml don't cost that much here but it's quite diluted meaning it don't last to to long. And I'm a running 250 gal tank. Right now I'm running a calcium reactor. But I like the no water change aspect of ati and not wasting water every 2 weeks.
Hey Dutch i have the opposite i have zero nitrates and phosphates i try to feed alot to raise them, but not working any suggestions. My tank is mainly softies and lps.
Hey man , amazing tank.. Have you ever had problem with copperband or foxface eating zoas? I added both to my tank about a week or two ago and something has been eating some of my zoas now.. Let me know, thank you!
The bubble gun chalice I just saw ur last video it’s an lps type chalice?? It’s red and blue with the bubbles on it...? It’s gorgeous I want it in my 90gal lol
wow! you have to dose 40ml a day just for a 525xl? I'm currently dosing 2ml a day in my 525xl albeit I don't have as much of a bioload in my system as you yet. Do you think maybe you should look into more biological filtration in order to get your carbon dosing down? I have a large reactor full of matrix and two bio-bricks a long with the usual LR.
How do you not have any algae really growing anywhere and no macro algae or refugium? I get algae anything over .03 po4. With a algae turf scrubber. Do you dose iron or potassium? Whatever you're doing or not doing its working.
Gebruik nu nog NOPOX maar zie dat DSR EZ-Carbon bizar veel goedkoper is. Koop 10 liter en deel het met mede hobbyisten....TOP. Hou ons op de hoogte hoe de DSR bevalt ten opzichte van NOPOX aub.....
Jep klopt, scheelt zo veel geld! Ik gebruik het nu zo'n 1,5 maand, tot nu toe geen verschil met NoPoX dus zeker een aanrader! Wel de EZ versie, die doet meer met PO4 dan de standaard versie
Hi i have high nitrate 10 ppm to 25 ppm between but fosfate zero and must ad fosfate plus. But i want also to try dsr ez carbon. Do you recomend it as a reducer
ik heb sinds kort mijn tweede zeebak draaien ben van 300 liter naar 800 gegaan echter ik blijf altijd problemen houden met fosfaat en nitraat heb al vanalles geprobeerd nopox carbon fe+ waterwissels etc etc echter ik vraag me af waardoor het zo hoog blijft en gewoon amper tot niet zakt en ja ik heb deze behandelingen echt lang en correct uitgevoerd. is er iets wat ik mis waardoor het zo blijft oplopen altijd want meeste koralen doen het wel goed hoor echter sps houden met een fosfaat van 1.0 tot 2.0 is niet te doen nitraat is ook nog eens 15 ofzo dus echt ver van optimaal ? alvast bedankt.
rowaphos e.d. heb ik ook allemaal geprobeert maar er moet iets zijn waardoor dit bij mij continue een probleem is heb ook ruim voldoende skim capaciteit geen dikke bodem meer en geen steen met fosfaat erin opvoer is ruim voldoende en circulatie ook
Hi Kevin, ik kan je helaas geen antwoord geven omdat dat per bak verschilt, en zoals je zelf ook al aangeeft heb je al veel geprobeerd. Bij mij weet ik dat het komt omdat ik (te) veel voer. Ik doe dit bewust omdat ik ook de langzame eters genoeg wil voeren. Het enige dat écht werkt is elke week 20% van je water wisselen om het relatief snel te laten dalen. Ik krijg het naar beneden met een combi van een zware afschuimer, biopellets, rowaphos en NoPoX.
I am mixing them 50/50, white vinegar and 80proof vodka. I am dosing 20ml a day on a 500L tank. Be sure to start slow (1ml a day for example) and raise it slowly as well. If you see a white film in your tank then you are dosing too much too fast.
You should! It's a simple but beautiful coral when it starts covering large areas! You could try some montipora, stylophora as they are the most easy ones to keep in an LPS tank :)
50:50 ongeveer en ik doseer 15ml per dag op 500 liter. En nee zeker niet zomaar erin gooien, altijd doseren gedurende een periode en langzaam op- en afbouwen om bacteriebloei te voorkomen!
I cant afford to do the ridiculous amounts of water changes that is needed to lower my 160+ nitrate level that was left in my tank after the cycle. So i moght just use carbon dosing or else my wife will kill me for the huge waste of water that is used on RO/DI.
This is my favorite tank on youtube right now, sets the bar high.
That's very kind of you!
Awesome reef tank 👌
Gosh man, what a beautiful tank!
Love to see so many softies!! Beautiful mix of corals.
Thanks Melanie! Yeah I have a soft spot for colored soft coral :)
love your tank! especially love that green hammer in the middle, so vivid!
Yeah I love that one too!
very beautiful tank.
I am a big fan of carbon dosing as well. I have been doing it for many years. If you want to make your own DIY nopox it's 375ml vodka, 500ml vinegar and 125ml ro/di. I also found nopox expensive so I switched to this DIY method over 2 years ago. If you want to lower your levels further I suggest you just slowly increase your carbon dosing. As you increase protein skimmer will also increase production of skimmate.
Thanks for the formula! Can I ask why the RO/DI water? I'm slightly worried that dosing too much carbon will upset the system, do you have any experience with that? I'm already dosing 40ml a day on this 500L reef tank
That is to get you as close to red sea's nopox as possible. If you google "DIY nopox" or "nopox recipe" you can read chemists explanations. It ends up even smelling the same as red sea's nopox. Part of the reason these products don't list the ingredients is it's so simple to make them yourself. Of course you can dose vinegar or vodka on their own, the reason I went with the diy recipe was it was a seamless transition from store bought to diy.
As for overdosing, you will get cloudy water or a film all over everything. The biggest danger outside of a bacteria bloom is stripping the water of nitrate and phosphate. I have approximately 425L in my tank and dose 10ml. I don't have a ton of fish but I do target feed corals twice a week in addition to the fish and I run with just a trace of nitrate maybe 2.5 which one day will get a little higher if I add some more fish and phosphate varies but 0.10 0.07 are my last couple of results of course the photometer has an accuracy of 0.04 so both results could be the same.
My system is pretty dialed in now, but initially I ran into imbalance issues where p04 would be absorbed faster then no3 but now it's somewhat reversed but I also run GFO in addition to the carbon dosing that way I don't have to strip out the nitrate to keep phosphate in check.
Thanks for the further explanation, I will definitely make my own carbon using this recipe then when I run out of DSR EZ Carbon! I will also closely monitor the po4/no3 values and balance, next test this weekend :)
@@DutchReefer did you ever do this? Did it work for you?
Best aquarium Chanel on UA-cam at present 👍
That's very kind! :-)
Beautiful reef tank great 👍 job.
Goeie info. Ik heb ook last van te hoge nitraat. Mijn montiporas zijn echt niet gelukkig maar de lps doen het goed.
Beautiful tank and informative video as always, keep them coming!
Thanks! Will do ;-)
My tank went nuts when I tried carbon pellets and NoPox at the same time - huge bacterial blooms, so will be interested to see how this works for you. Remember that bio pellets are basically just another form of carbon dosing, so you're sort of doubling up.
Hmm let's see how it goes, I'll keep a close eye on it!
You have one of if not the most well kept reef tanks I have came across on UA-cam. I love the amount of depth you go into for your videos and the variety of livestock in your tank. Please keep the videos coming! Also, what does your cleanup crew consist of??
Thank you very much William! I'll upload a new video soon! I have two sand sifting starfish, a bunch of snails and a large abalone snail. Sand is being maintained by a Valiencienna Sexguttata
Great video....Be very careful with the biopellets because they will strip your water of all nutrients very quickly ...
Thanks for the heads up Peter, I will measure it closely and reduce carbon in case it's going too fast!
beautiful!!!! your Copper Band Butterfly is big now and beautiful!
Thank you! Yeah it's the pride of my tank!
i just adding Voka lowing phostpate and nitra down very good and easy way
Yeah agreed, I'm still using that today!
Excellent suggestion In reference to the NOPOX, it is an excellent idea. I am guessing the dosing to be the same as Red Sea recommend.
Very nice reef 👍
Always love looking at your tank 😍
Thanks Daniel, I do too :-D
Nice quality video as usual, am in love with your CBB
Thanks! Yeah it's really beautiful :-D
Just be careful with biopellets. You want to step it up slowly, use like 1/4 or 1/2 recommended dosage at start and increase slowly over a few weeks to full dosage. If you use too much at once you might shock your system. Same thing if you decide to stop using biopellets in the future, don't cut it off cold turkey. Slowly remove it little by little over the span of a few weeks. Also with biopellets I don't think you have to dose carbon. The biopellets are a carbon source.
It's going okay for now to be hones, but I'm keeping a close eye on how the tank is responding to the pellets. I will reduce carbon as the pellets kick in, that's the plan :)
The tank is beautiful! Thanks for the info.
Thank you very much, and you're welcome!
Gorgeous tank💯☝🏻
Stunning tank
I like this mix reef tank
Your butterfly is growing!
Oh yes it is! I hope it stops haha, since it's growing quite large
Always love your vids
Nice video- I love your tank!
Wow what a tank. Love it.
Thanks Jeremy!
Baie dankie vir die mooi video!!!!👍🏻
Nee dankie Rudolph, lekker om te sien dat mense van Afrika ook kyk!
Anton, your tank & corals are looking great. The sps dont appear to be too impacted by a slight alkilinty increase.
Thanks! The spike was some time ago (somewhere in Nov/Dec) so most corals have recovered since. I did lose some SPS (Acro) frags back then
having run bio balls on one of my tanks previously, can I suggest you move the outflow of you media reactor close to the input of your protein skimmer. you'll find they work just as well but with significantly fewer negative side effects in the long run :-)
The outflow is in the same chamber as my skimmer so thanks!
Great video again! :)
Thanks John!
I like to know what do you do to keep your pipe fish alive thank you love your tank
I was thinking the acropora could also want more flow? Very very nice tank!
Yeah usually they do :-) thanks!
Love the tank
Thank you very much!
Sugar dose. Cheap and works very well.
I have thought about adding sugar to my vodka/vinegar mix :-)
beautiful tank Dutch Reefer....awesome mixed reef predominantly more leaning towards softy....i saw you are using np biopellets and carbon dosing from DSR to reduce your nitrates.. imo thats an agressive approach and may shock your corals..i would take one approach and see how the system does and than IF NEED BE think abt using another method in combination...also a little less feeding might help as well and may eliminate the use of either of those approaches...Take care I subbed....
Thanks Ash! It's quite an aggressive approach indeed but I'm watching it closely. For now it's working out just great, and yeah I know I overfeed but since I have a lot of slow/picky eaters I have to, to keep them healthy...
Stunning tank! Any tips on the pipefish and feeding?
Thanks! Well since they eat veryyyyy slow, you either need a healthy amount of living copepods in your tank (a refugium helps) or feed a lot, or feed multiple times a day.
Great video man love the tank. Can I ask what program are you running on the gyre?
Hi, of course! I'm running it from +70 to -30 on a 8-10 second interval!
How much ati do you dose a day? I'm trying to figure the cost out. 1000ml don't cost that much here but it's quite diluted meaning it don't last to to long. And I'm a running 250 gal tank.
Right now I'm running a calcium reactor. But I like the no water change aspect of ati and not wasting water every 2 weeks.
Hey Dutch i have the opposite i have zero nitrates and phosphates i try to feed alot to raise them, but not working any suggestions. My tank is mainly softies and lps.
Excellent topic!
If I dose for nitrates and phosphates. Can I use carbon? Or don’t use carbon?
Since you are using the Colombo pellets, you might think of using there three part bacteria additive.
Hmm I'll look into that, thanks!
Hey man , amazing tank.. Have you ever had problem with copperband or foxface eating zoas? I added both to my tank about a week or two ago and something has been eating some of my zoas now.. Let me know, thank you!
Up until now I haven't , but I had a foxface before that started gobbling up zoa's like they were candies, so I am cautious with this one too
LOOKING GREAT! Could you tell me what you keep all levels in your tank at? Would help be a lot more. Have a chalice that is not doing that good
Hello! Sure, it's not very stable at the moment though: i.imgur.com/Tk2WNqf.jpg
Dutch Reefer
Thank you my friend. Loving your videos, enjoying your tank a lot!
Dutch Reefer
Are you on Instagram?
🌟💓 No Words....
:-)
Which sand do you use?
What type of bounce mushroom is that in the tank blue and red? It’s so beautiful!
Well they're not really bonce mushrooms, but which ones are you referring to?
The bubble gun chalice I just saw ur last video it’s an lps type chalice?? It’s red and blue with the bubbles on it...? It’s gorgeous I want it in my 90gal lol
How did that go for you??
I’m thinking of getting a clear water algae scrubber to replace all that.
I would love to try an algae scrubber! right now I'm using macro algae and vodka/vinegar dosing
I believe I saw two different wrasse in the video. Can you clarify which species these are?
These are both Blue Star Leopard Wrasse
(Macropharyngodon bipartitus) a male and a female!
wow! you have to dose 40ml a day just for a 525xl? I'm currently dosing 2ml a day in my 525xl albeit I don't have as much of a bioload in my system as you yet. Do you think maybe you should look into more biological filtration in order to get your carbon dosing down? I have a large reactor full of matrix and two bio-bricks a long with the usual LR.
Yup I have to, to keep it in check. I did add biopellets and I am thinking of adding a bio brick as well, or some live rock in the sump
I have also found that chalices don't like very low nitrate, any comments from you side ? They do best with +10ppm.
Thanks for the heads up Mark, I am trying to keep my NO3 around 10 so let's see what the chalice(s) do!
What are you N and P levels at in this video and where do you usually keep them close to? Thanks
Hi Will, I try to keep my PO4 around 0.1 and my NO3 around 10, but usually I'm about double that
How do you not have any algae really growing anywhere and no macro algae or refugium? I get algae anything over .03 po4. With a algae turf scrubber. Do you dose iron or potassium? Whatever you're doing or not doing its working.
Hehe I don't know, I have asked myself the same question... I don't dose anything other than the normal elements ca/alk/mg
What kind of camera are you using?
Samsung Galaxy S8 :)
Wow size of you copper band 😍
Haha yeah it has grown so much in three years!
What’s the coral in the back? Not the gsp. I wanna do the same on the back wall
I think you mean the green Cyphastrea :-) and there's a Montipora next to it
I was looking for a update/new vid. How is the crypto doing. Market not that great atm. Groetjes
Haha today it recovered quite well after two days of bitter losses. Still hodling on to my coins :-D
Dutch Reefer lets hope the dip is over!
Gebruik nu nog NOPOX maar zie dat DSR EZ-Carbon bizar veel goedkoper is. Koop 10 liter en deel het met mede hobbyisten....TOP. Hou ons op de hoogte hoe de DSR bevalt ten opzichte van NOPOX aub.....
Jep klopt, scheelt zo veel geld! Ik gebruik het nu zo'n 1,5 maand, tot nu toe geen verschil met NoPoX dus zeker een aanrader! Wel de EZ versie, die doet meer met PO4 dan de standaard versie
Hi i have high nitrate 10 ppm to 25 ppm between but fosfate zero and must ad fosfate plus. But i want also to try dsr ez carbon. Do you recomend it as a reducer
EZ carbon is nice, I've used it before and it works well. I have found that biopellets are very effective at removing nitrates as well!
Magnifique aquarium qu'elle sable avez vous et quel quantité ? Merci
It's a mix of CaribSea AragAlive and ATI Fiji White sand. I guess around 40kg in total
ik heb sinds kort mijn tweede zeebak draaien ben van 300 liter naar 800 gegaan echter ik blijf altijd problemen houden met fosfaat en nitraat heb al vanalles geprobeerd nopox carbon fe+ waterwissels etc etc echter ik vraag me af waardoor het zo hoog blijft en gewoon amper tot niet zakt en ja ik heb deze behandelingen echt lang en correct uitgevoerd. is er iets wat ik mis waardoor het zo blijft oplopen altijd want meeste koralen doen het wel goed hoor echter sps houden met een fosfaat van 1.0 tot 2.0 is niet te doen nitraat is ook nog eens 15 ofzo dus echt ver van optimaal ? alvast bedankt.
rowaphos e.d. heb ik ook allemaal geprobeert maar er moet iets zijn waardoor dit bij mij continue een probleem is heb ook ruim voldoende skim capaciteit geen dikke bodem meer en geen steen met fosfaat erin opvoer is ruim voldoende en circulatie ook
Hi Kevin, ik kan je helaas geen antwoord geven omdat dat per bak verschilt, en zoals je zelf ook al aangeeft heb je al veel geprobeerd. Bij mij weet ik dat het komt omdat ik (te) veel voer. Ik doe dit bewust omdat ik ook de langzame eters genoeg wil voeren. Het enige dat écht werkt is elke week 20% van je water wisselen om het relatief snel te laten dalen. Ik krijg het naar beneden met een combi van een zware afschuimer, biopellets, rowaphos en NoPoX.
May be you can try using a chaetofilter with a good growth lamp?
Nutrient problems is what is going down with me as of now its really doing me in right as of now :s :s :s p.s yes you have thought me something new
Heh yeah nutrients nutrients, always issues with them either being too low, too high or imbalanced heh!
Does your copper band not eat your Corals? , great tank by the way :)
Hi Lee nope it does not, luckily! And thanks :)
Please tell us how to get bite and vodka. How can I use how to permite, for example, mince 100 liters of watercolor of cleaved ml?
vinegar and vodka mix?
My tank 100 liters daly dose? pleas
I am mixing them 50/50, white vinegar and 80proof vodka. I am dosing 20ml a day on a 500L tank. Be sure to start slow (1ml a day for example) and raise it slowly as well. If you see a white film in your tank then you are dosing too much too fast.
@@DutchReefer if I understood you correctly, only vodka and vinegar ya 50% 50 mixing
Yes, that is correct! You can also add a spoon of sugar but I'm not doing that. Also a carbon source.
How is the bio pellets working ?
Hi Steve, it seems to be working great, my skimmer is producing a lot more blubber these days!
he said that he was dosing vodka ?
Yeah, pure liquid that contains ethanol (alcohol) is a candidate. Vodka because its readily available but you can also use pure ethanol
bro why you stop vodka dosing ?
always have been haha, but there's always multiple solutions!
@@DutchReefer I am facing nitrate problem. Could you tell me another option
@@sukantamondal3110 vinegar, vodka, feed less, clean your detritus, wetter skimming, fleece filter :)
what about GFO?
I'm also using GFO now and then, but I really dislike the flow factor (hard to control)
That’s it I’m glueing my gsp to the back glass. I love your tank awesome. What sps would you recommend for my lps tank.
You should! It's a simple but beautiful coral when it starts covering large areas! You could try some montipora, stylophora as they are the most easy ones to keep in an LPS tank :)
So how much no3/po4 is in your tank?
no3 around 30, po4 around 0.3, I'll measure again this weekend!
Phosphate RX is the best there is. Super cheap, super effective, super safe, and last. Thank me later lol
Well thanks for the mention, I'll look into it!
Heb je wel eens suiker gedoseerd?
Jazeker, ik doseer nu een mix van vodka en azijn, daar kan ook nog suiker doorheen maar ik ben te lui om dat helemaal op te laten lossen haha
@@DutchReefer hoeveel procent vodka met azijn en hoeveel per zoveel liters,
En als je suiker doet kan je het dan gewoon in je aquarium gooien?
50:50 ongeveer en ik doseer 15ml per dag op 500 liter. En nee zeker niet zomaar erin gooien, altijd doseren gedurende een periode en langzaam op- en afbouwen om bacteriebloei te voorkomen!
@@DutchReefer thx
I want your beautiful aquarium
Ha well just buy a Red Sea Reefer (any size will do) and start doing what I'm doing, I'm explaining a lot in my videos!
Dutch Reefer that's my plan
I cant afford to do the ridiculous amounts of water changes that is needed to lower my 160+ nitrate level that was left in my tank after the cycle. So i moght just use carbon dosing or else my wife will kill me for the huge waste of water that is used on RO/DI.
Yeah carbon dosing works great! I'm using a mix of vodka and vinegar right now. Also, growing macro algae in your sump works very well!