ATTN: Vodka Dosers

redwhiteandblue

New member
Hello all,
as of yesterday, i decided to start vodka dosing as a cheaper alternative to gfo/carbon. and i have read many great reviews on the topic.

basically, my question is, have any of you experienced cloudy water at the initial start of vodka dosing?

my system is 180 display + 30 gal sump - about 30 gal LR displacement. this figures a starting dose to be about .7 ml for 175 gal.

upon start yesterday, the water became cloudy, i figured maybe its because i stirred the sump up a bit. well, today (day 2) i dosed another .7 ml and the water is cloudy again. i understand why it is cloudy, but am baffled that only .7 ml in 175 gal would cause this?

no adverse affects on livestock at this time. any input is appreciated...
 
I have dosed vodka previously and use vinegar now.

The cloudiness normally is an indication of bacteria growing/populating the water column. I would suggest watching it closely and if necessary lowering the dose to be on the safe side. You can always work your way up the scale. Having a bacterial bloom could affect oxygen levels etc. in the tank.

If the livestock are happy then stick with the dose for a while and be careful not ramp this up too quickly. With that much bacteria your skimmer should be nice and active also.
 
Do you add any pro-biotics? bacteria, dr tims, etc? If you have a variety/large bioload of bateria already in your tank, adding carbon (vodka/AcOH) may be likened to adding gasoline to a dumpster fire.
 
I would continue to run carbon, since it serves a number of purposes that vodka won't.

I suspect the cloudiness is due to a bacterial bloom. I'd just back off on the dose for a while. Tuning and cleaning the skimmer might be useful, too.
 
can someone point me in the direction of a link explaining the vodka and vinegar purposes? im coming back from a 5 year break and this is new news to me.
 
I'm dosing 20ml in the a.m and another 20ml in the pm for over 30 days now. My glass gets all dirty in a matter of 3 days.
 
bacterial bloom. lower the dose in half till it clears then go slowly up from there. you do have a skimmer right? Be sure it is functioning properly and your getting good production out of it.
 
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