Nitrates=0!

Some of you might remember a while back when my nitrates were so high that they coupldn't be measured by the API test kit. Well, I'm happy to provide this visual evidence that after many months I've successfully got them down to 0. I never thought it would happen. I feel a swelling of pride.





How did I do it, you might ask? Well, a homemade algae scrubber and about 1.5 cups of white vinegar every day. And water changes, but not nearly as often as I thought I should (30 gal every two weeks or so the past few months).

 

congrats!! Im also striving towards the same goal/DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default//emoticons/smile.gif What ratio did you dose the vinegar? And did you build up the dose over a period of time?

 

I found a titration guide online somewhere. Came up in google. I started there, but just worked my way up to 1.5 cups over time without really using the guide after a while.

 

I just tested this morning for the first time in a few weeks. I'll back it down a little and see what happens. I'm curious to know if it's the vinegar or the scrubber, which has really started to grow some nice stuff in the past couple months.

 

What size tank do you have? Did you have problems with cyano when first using the vinegar? Did you have GHA? If yes, do you have any left in the DT?/DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default/emoticons/smile.gif

 

Is a 180. Had cyano before I started dosing but it's completely gone now.

 

Thanks!

 

Oh, and no GHA.

 

Congrats Were you adding vinegar to your kalk, or dosing on its own?

 

FINAF!@%INGLY! lol Good work man I knew you could do it!

 

I'm just adding it straight into the sump.

In celebration of this event I went out and bought a RBTA and two heads of frogspawn.

 

How did that much vinegar affect your ph? Seems like 1.5 cups/day would really pull your ph down. Doesn't the vinegar have a ph of something like 3

 

pH was about 7.8 at the time of that nitrate test. I've been buffering on and off.