Why would anyone consider dosing vinegar in their aquarium?? This is what ScapeFu Podcast 46 is all about. There seem to be some benefits in the freshwater planted aquarium that aren’t there with other types of tanks.
What do you think? Let me know and I’ll put your comments here.
Links mentioned:
- Aquatic Experience
- The Effect of Caffeine on Bacterial Populations in a Freshwater Aquarium System
- Eric Bornman’s article on Vodka addition to marine aquariums
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7 Comments on “Dosing Vinegar in Your Aquarium | ScapeFu046”
Hey Art,
Thanks for the show- I really look forward to each episode and really miss it when there’s a hiatus!
On the UKAPS forum there have been a couple of really long threads on BBA. Ironically, the most recent one links BBA to heterotrophic bacteria.
The gist is that organic waste fuels heterotrophic bacteria. They reproduce much faster than autotrophic bacteria, outcompeting them for oxygen and space to live. The heterotrophic bacteria also produce Vitamin B12 as a by-product which is needed for BBA to grow.
Here’s the link: –
http://ukaps.org/forum/threads/what-exactly-causes-bba-part-2-bacterial-imbalance.38375/
I add vinegar to my aquarium inadvertently each week when I clean the glass!
P
Hi P,
Thanks for the comment and the link. I’ve made a post to the thread. Very interesting.
Regards,
Art
Hi Art,
This is a brilliant topic for a podcast or a blog post! I am thrilled to learn that I could use acetate vinegar (distilled, white) to bump up CO2 in my aquarium. I am looking for EASY alternatives to pressurised CO2 because, much as I would like to, I just don’t have the time to devote to it.
Yes, I want healthy, happy plants. Even without adding CO2, if that were possible. At the moment, I am dosing Flourish and Flourish Iron from Seachem. I have a sole surviving bottle of Plantoz Liquid Carbon, and was desperate for a cheap, reliable, easy-to-dose source of carbon – until I discovered your podcast!
I’ll be consulting some bacteriologist friends of mine before using vinegar in my aquarium. What do you think would be a good dose per gallon? How many ml/g ?
And as soon as I have something to report on my experience, I’ll send you the pics. By the way, at the moment, I put in very little or no CO2, have low-light plants, all of which are doing exceedingly well, and am unable to come to grips with doing any CO2 except through liquid carbon (or vinegar) dosing.
Thanks a million for this podcast!
Hi Nikhil,
Thanks for the kind words!
I started with 1 mg/g and then adjusted based on observation. Go slow!
Let us know how it goes.
Best,
Art
I love everything that is said here. From the Carbon dosing can be beneficial in FW to the Salt Water has new tech coming through every few years and we are stuck. I have been interested in Carbon dosing in FW for years and get nothing but flack for it. THAT, IMO, is why we (FW folks) are stuck. I think manufactures find FW people less willing to spend money and argumentative about any concept that is not already established for a long time. I will be hanging around here for a long time 😀
Hi Art ,
Any updates on this topic?
None Chris. I’m not dosing vinegar any longer. Perhaps someone else will chime in.