any expert in vodka dosing?

[castroantonio]

Hello
I have a doudt with vodka. I hope can you help me!

I start to dose vodka to my system 3 weeks ago, and now I m watching that filementous algae is growing up!!, what is happening?? why the filametous algae is growing up??
also the level of PO4 is go down, and NO3 is go down too.
my sistem is 1200 Liters. and the vodka dosing is 20 ml each day.
also I have never seen a overgrow of bacteria in the water (cloudy water).
thank you

 

[Roy G. Biv]

I read on this a long time ago. I believe that you feed the tank with vodka for a couple of weeks. You build up the algae that consumes nitrates. Stop dosing the vodka, now the algae can only feed on nitrates. Something like that.

 

[loosecannon]

I think your tank needs a 12 step program!

 

[tmz]

20mil per day scares me. I dosed 3ml per day to a 400gal system for several months and saw a reduction in nitrates without other visble effects. I am no expert on this. Vodka provides a carbon source to the water which allows waterborne bacteria to feed and multiply. When they do they take up dissoved organic matter including nitrate. The bacteria are easier for the skimmer to export than the dissoved nutrient. sort of a bacterial scrubber. They also should outcompete the filamentous algae for nutrient. With the relatively large amount you are dosing I can only guess that your bacteria may be so numerous that the die off may be actuallly providing food for the algae. You need to have a very good skimmer to use this process or else the bacteria will die in the tank and not be exported.

 

[dwd5813]

one shot two shot three shot floor. oh wait that's tequila. nevermind!

 

[ivgonmad]

You can dose it with cranberry or oj and it still has a good effect

 

[ivgonmad]

seriously though you can kill all your livestock if you are not careful, if you dose too much you can get a bacterial bloom that can leave your tang without any oxygen.

just a heads up

 

[toonces]

There is a really long thread about this that a fellow here on Reefcentral did. I'm sorry I can't remember the user name. However, it was several pages long and a search will likely turn it up. Look for a thread started 6-12 months ago, and with alot of posts in it.

 

[SDguy]

A recent thread:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1225324

original thread:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showt...8714&perpage=25&highlight=vodka&pagenumber=21)

post with proper dosing instructions:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=3446050#post3446050

Please read thoroughly. Dosing vodka without understanding what is going on with the system and technique can be very dangerous to your system.

GL!

 

[OliverM3]

Fish should be fine as long as you have a skimmer aerating the water.
I've been going crazy with sugar in my 12g nano to see if I can completely eliminate Green hair algae with sugar alone.

I haven't done a water change since sept 5th and I'm dosing 1tsp a day. Which is so much that it's turning the water murky white.
Oh and I haven't changed the media in the canister filter since July 21st.

All of the GHA is white and dying off. Nitrates are at 0 and phosphates are at 0.03.

I only have a clown in there so I wanted to see if you could clear a neglected tank of GHA with dosing alone.

I should have taken some before and after shots.

I dose Vodka in my main display if my nitrates go above 0 at a cap full per day for 76g with 20g sump.
Until the return to 0

 

[SDguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10968739#post10968739 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by OliverM3
Fish should be fine as long as you have a skimmer aerating the water.

Not true. A major bacterial bloom can suck the O2 out of the water so fast that the fish can die, even with a skimmer. Trust me, I know (don't ask ).

 

[OliverM3]

I guess It all depends on how crazy you're going.
And that seems to be a lot since I'm doing the same amount for my 76 as I am for my 12g.
With no effects noticed on the clown in the 12g
He is a hardy fish though.
but I don't notice any gasping for air.

 

[Nem0]

I find some of my corals not doing so well after dosing...especially some of my mushroom actually melted. My one of goniopora also melted. In the case of the gonio, i suspect it could be due to the sudden drop of nutrient and seems that gonio thrive in nutrient water. But in the case of mushroom, I really could not explain. My NO4 was around 100 and PO4 around 0.5 and after dosing, my NO4 is now around 20 and PO4 around 0.2. I now stopped dosing and use rowaphos and chaeto to try to reduce the nutrient level.

The mushroom and gonio have been in the tank for more than 1 year before this.

 

[Faisal1976us]

Why you useing vodka in your tank !!!!

 

[dendro982]

Lost lionfish in course of vodka dosing, tank was with skimmer, and wrasse was very uncomfortable during the sugar dosing in another tank. Be careful!