freetareef
Well-known member
any others have some experience with vodka dosing, good or bad? what about the vinegar or sugar method. or the mixture of the three method...v/s/v???....
vodka dosing
- Thread starter freetareef
- Start date
Help Support Reef Aquarium & Tank Building Forum:
roscoe
Well-known member
Well I add 3 table spoon of vinager to 5g of kalkwasser mix for the past I don't know 6-8 months maybe longer I for get
now and I have yet to see any ill effects just great coral growths. I do this to lower the ph of the kalkwasser water. I rarely test my water LOL just to lazy too . My test is just visual. As long as my corals look good I don't mess with anything. I've just recently started dosing vodka a little over a month and I can say there is a HUGE change in my tank. My water is crystal clear only after 3 days of dosing vodka, don't have that film at the water surface anymore, algea growth is pretty much non existing except coraline and my little bak pak skimmer cup fills up with some dirty dark skimmate every day now as oppose to every 2 days.
My vodka dosing regiment on my 40b started with .15ml for the 1st 3 days, .2ml 4-7, .3ml 8-10, .5ml 11-14, .6ml 15-18, .7ml 19-21, .8ml 22-24, .9ml 25-28 and now I am dosing 1ml per day max.
now and I have yet to see any ill effects just great coral growths. I do this to lower the ph of the kalkwasser water. I rarely test my water LOL just to lazy too . My test is just visual. As long as my corals look good I don't mess with anything. I've just recently started dosing vodka a little over a month and I can say there is a HUGE change in my tank. My water is crystal clear only after 3 days of dosing vodka, don't have that film at the water surface anymore, algea growth is pretty much non existing except coraline and my little bak pak skimmer cup fills up with some dirty dark skimmate every day now as oppose to every 2 days. My vodka dosing regiment on my 40b started with .15ml for the 1st 3 days, .2ml 4-7, .3ml 8-10, .5ml 11-14, .6ml 15-18, .7ml 19-21, .8ml 22-24, .9ml 25-28 and now I am dosing 1ml per day max.
Great information! Way to go Roscoe! I am thinking to try it soon!Well I add 3 table spoon of vinager to 5g of kalkwasser mix for the past I don't know 6-8 months maybe longer I for get
My vodka dosing regiment on my 40b started with .15ml for the 1st 3 days, .2ml 4-7, .3ml 8-10, .5ml 11-14, .6ml 15-18, .7ml 19-21, .8ml 22-24, .9ml 25-28 and now I am dosing 1ml per day max.
Thought this was a good read. Also had some great links at the bottom of the article.
DOSING SUGAR AND VODKA, OR A GAME OF RUSSIAN ROULETTE?
http://www.chucksaddiction.com/dosingsugar.html
DOSING SUGAR AND VODKA, OR A GAME OF RUSSIAN ROULETTE?
http://www.chucksaddiction.com/dosingsugar.html
I've yet to see any reference to this................Isnt vodka dosing best suited for BB tanks only? I have a SSB and have done a bit of research regarding dosing it. I have come to the conclusion that it is only for bare bottom tanks. Am I wrong?
DonW
R.I.P.
freetareef
Well-known member
ahh... there are some pretty good advantages to dosing your tank if your desire is to have sps thrive... here is a good article...
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php
Last edited:
freetareef
Well-known member
i'm going to dose so i can achieve near zero no3 and po4 so i feel comfortable enough to add sps corals. there is enough worry about and handle conserning sps with out having to worry about your trates and po4.
freetareef
Well-known member
hey trido.. the carbon added will also feed cyno and algae that tends to grow mainly on sand, well cyno does anyways. the articles i have been reading, say that if you are vacuming your sand with your regular maintanence, the algae will clear up as the nuttrients disapate.I have been reading a ton on this subject for two weeks and i haven't run acrossed any bb only suggestions.
I guess vodka dosing is not for me then. NO sand vacuuming going to happen at this house. I did just storm the tank and sand bed but thats as far as it will ever go. I'm going to culter live rotifers instead. With proper feeding and good food. Algeas and nitrates have never been an issue with my tanks. I was only looking to get better color from my corals but I think I do alright as things are. Checkout my tank thread. You'll see.
DonW
R.I.P.
This is a cut and past comment from a very experienced reefer that came from another vodka thread on and unnamed forum. I think he made a real good point about using vodka as a nutrient patch. His wording is better than mine thus the cut and paste.
I reallly think if you have a system that is capable of doing well without then its a benefit. If your using it to reduce nutrients it nothing more than a patch and is going to be dangerous.
Don
I always find the vodka dosing subject extremely interesting on most public boards, mainly because there seems to be such a wide variety of opinions as to this question of 'success' and how it is measured.
Some people measure it by way of the fact they used to have a nutrient issue and now don't, some measure it in terms of settling a 'slightly' out of balance system, whilst others measure it in terms of coral colouration and polyp extension.
I'm one of those very very lucky people who have never suffered with a system that wont maintain very low po4/no3 levels, so i suppose I'm a tad biased in my appraisal of the reasons behind vodka dosing. On the whole i can get my head round the reasons for its use in boosting bacterial populations in the interests of offering increased water born bacterial bulk as a food source for corals, but i still cant get my head round this nutrient reduction thing. As an ex engineer i was always taught to find the root of a problem, not just work on the symptom, and this has stuck doggedly with me ever since. So Ive always seen elevated nutrient levels as a 'symptom' of a more fundamental underlying problem. i quite often see people raving about the fact they got down to 5ppm No3 from 70ppm+ but i allways have to ask the question, yes, but 'why' were you there in the first place? thats what you 'realy' need to figure out.
The other thing Ive called question occasionally, is this polyp extension thing being used as an indicator of health. I'm wondering if the increased polyp extension is more a case of a switch in feeding pattern due to the coral loosing part of its algae population. thereby requiring it to make up the deficit by way of active prey capture..in essence Id be tempted to call into question whether the polyp extension is an indicator of increased health or simply the case that the coral is starving?
just a few thoughts...not saying anyone is right or wrong. I just think the whole vodka dosing subject needs a bit of a review, especially in novice circles as there are more and more hobbyist jumping on this bandwagon every day as the be all and end all of nutrient control.
I reallly think if you have a system that is capable of doing well without then its a benefit. If your using it to reduce nutrients it nothing more than a patch and is going to be dangerous.
Don
I always find the vodka dosing subject extremely interesting on most public boards, mainly because there seems to be such a wide variety of opinions as to this question of 'success' and how it is measured.
Some people measure it by way of the fact they used to have a nutrient issue and now don't, some measure it in terms of settling a 'slightly' out of balance system, whilst others measure it in terms of coral colouration and polyp extension.
I'm one of those very very lucky people who have never suffered with a system that wont maintain very low po4/no3 levels, so i suppose I'm a tad biased in my appraisal of the reasons behind vodka dosing. On the whole i can get my head round the reasons for its use in boosting bacterial populations in the interests of offering increased water born bacterial bulk as a food source for corals, but i still cant get my head round this nutrient reduction thing. As an ex engineer i was always taught to find the root of a problem, not just work on the symptom, and this has stuck doggedly with me ever since. So Ive always seen elevated nutrient levels as a 'symptom' of a more fundamental underlying problem. i quite often see people raving about the fact they got down to 5ppm No3 from 70ppm+ but i allways have to ask the question, yes, but 'why' were you there in the first place? thats what you 'realy' need to figure out.
The other thing Ive called question occasionally, is this polyp extension thing being used as an indicator of health. I'm wondering if the increased polyp extension is more a case of a switch in feeding pattern due to the coral loosing part of its algae population. thereby requiring it to make up the deficit by way of active prey capture..in essence Id be tempted to call into question whether the polyp extension is an indicator of increased health or simply the case that the coral is starving?
just a few thoughts...not saying anyone is right or wrong. I just think the whole vodka dosing subject needs a bit of a review, especially in novice circles as there are more and more hobbyist jumping on this bandwagon every day as the be all and end all of nutrient control.
freetareef
Well-known member
very good point don. i am suffering high nutrients cause i bought some expensive live rock and it got left sitting for a while after delivery. i had just mesh modded my skimmer and it was doing great and i didn't have much livestock so i thought i would be ok in my tank as long as i was agressive with some water changes... well then my skimmer axle broke and my tank became a n03 nuclear plant. so i added a ats which probly saved my tank from a total crash, as i was pulling over 2 cups of algae PER side of it every sat. and that is alot of nutrients used up. so now after almost two months my tank is getting livable and i am getting back on track for a sps dominated enviroment.
as i've read through many articles i have noticed way more pros vrs cons.
ideally you should be able to produce a low nutrient enviorment first with good husbandry and then look to dosing if your not able to rid your tank of the last 5-1o ppm of trates.... thats what i'm going to do anyways as that is where i was stuck before my trate bomb...
as i've read through many articles i have noticed way more pros vrs cons.
ideally you should be able to produce a low nutrient enviorment first with good husbandry and then look to dosing if your not able to rid your tank of the last 5-1o ppm of trates.... thats what i'm going to do anyways as that is where i was stuck before my trate bomb...
freetareef
Well-known member
another good article from reef keeping mag.
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-11/eb/feature/index.php
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-11/eb/feature/index.php
freetareef
Well-known member
well scratch that.... that article sucks... jmo
freetareef
Well-known member
so does some one have any before and after pics with there vodka dosing experience???
dngspot
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2006
- Messages
- 82
I have recently nuked a 210g tank. The reason was a HA out break that I could not get on top of. The tank was in its 5 year when this happened. I did take about 60% of the rock out (200 lbs) and put it in other tanks. I refilled my tank with 100% RO/Di water and put most of the rock back in the tank with a new sand bed. After setting up the calcium reactor and turning on the lights, I started the cycle. As soon as the cycle was finished a brown cyano appeared on the sand and any rock that did on have coralline algae on it. The Nitrate was 20 and the PO4 was 0. The tank has a DSB and so does the sump. I cycled with shrimp. The tank has 2 perculas and a large carpet anemone also a few sps at this time. Feeding is very low.
I started last Saturday with vodka 1ml for 3 days then 2ml for 4 days and tomorrow I will be dosing 2.5ml. I have seen a reduction of Nitrate from 20 to 10 ppm. The water is very clear. The largest change was the brown cyano. I had this stuff before the HA outbreak and could not break it. It was in small patches and would spread if I let the nitrate drop below 5ppm, my guess is the cheato stopped growing and gave the cyano a window to spread. Now the cyano is just about gone. I am skimming the blackest of skimmate.
The HA outbreak is a weak excuse to take down a 210g tank but it was what I was looking for. I wanted to make some major changes and it was bad enough for the wife to agree to taking down the tank.
It has been a week using vodka and so far I am sold.
I am pulling a pretty dry skimmate. My camera puts on a little red so the skimmate looks brown, by the eye it is black.
You are looking down a 5 gallon buckett. It has about 6 inches of skimmate in it. This is how much it has pulled over 1 week.
Thanks,
David
I started last Saturday with vodka 1ml for 3 days then 2ml for 4 days and tomorrow I will be dosing 2.5ml. I have seen a reduction of Nitrate from 20 to 10 ppm. The water is very clear. The largest change was the brown cyano. I had this stuff before the HA outbreak and could not break it. It was in small patches and would spread if I let the nitrate drop below 5ppm, my guess is the cheato stopped growing and gave the cyano a window to spread. Now the cyano is just about gone. I am skimming the blackest of skimmate.
The HA outbreak is a weak excuse to take down a 210g tank but it was what I was looking for. I wanted to make some major changes and it was bad enough for the wife to agree to taking down the tank.
It has been a week using vodka and so far I am sold.
I am pulling a pretty dry skimmate. My camera puts on a little red so the skimmate looks brown, by the eye it is black.
You are looking down a 5 gallon buckett. It has about 6 inches of skimmate in it. This is how much it has pulled over 1 week.
Thanks,
David
Last edited:
DonW
R.I.P.
Are you using vodka to speed the cycle process? 20ppm in a 210 with two clowns is high. If things are working properly there wouldnt be any detectable nitrates with that fish load unless the the tank is not finish cycling.
Don
Don
DonW
R.I.P.
Then your not finished cycling.The cycle is done when the nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria are keeping up with each other with no fish load just the rock bio load.
Don
