carbon dosing

Jonny5s

New member
I have been to get algae under control in one of my tanks. decided to start vodka dosing. it has been seeming to start to work but in all info on adding vodka it says you need to check nitrates. well problem with that is I would test 0 no mater what from algae consuming them. so this is where the question starts. when should I stop increasing vodka. i know if i increase a dose to much i can cause a bloom. but what happens if i take small steps and am dosing to much. like say system would require 10 ml if their was no algae. but since nitrates are at 0 and can use that as a gauge what happens if i work all the way up to 20 ml. would over dosing just be wasteful or cause a problem.
 
I'd max it at .03 ml of 80proof vodka per gallon of water volume and keep it there for a month or so before raising it further. Check PO4 and NO3 to see whether you want to go higher or lower. Most settle in at a dose around 0.03ml to 0.08ml per gallon of water volume but each tank is different.
 
hmm im way past that im at .2 per gallon. the problem with the testing part is that even before I started dosing I tested 0. but was a false 0 from all the algae.
 
As long as the corals are okay and you're not seeing any bacterial bloom, I wouldn't worry about the size of the dose.
 
Are you seeing any change in skimmate production? If it's increased I wouldn't go any higher on you dosing.
 
I would be careful about increasing the dose. The organic carbon might cause a bacterial bloom at some point. If you want to try increasing the dose, I'd recommend that you go very slowly, maybe 10% more each week, and watch carefully.
 
What a waste of even cheap Vodka ;-)

Have you heard of, and/or tried an Algae Turf Scrubber?

It's the real deal!

My once huge mass of chaeto was all given away once my ATS started doing it's thing.
 
I noticed more production like a week in. skimmer is like in overdrive now tho. im getting a cup per day out of a classic 90 hob reef octo. currently getting visible algae on glass after 2 days. want to dose more but everything I read says you need to use nitrate tests.
 
i have heard and thought about a turf scrubber. problem is the tank has no sump and is not drilled. may look into a hob scrubber some day. heard something about the patent is up soon on them. will likely be some real cool ones soon.
 
I agree that watching the nitrate level is important if reducing that level is the goal. Otherwise, I'm not sure why that measurement is critical. What reason do the write-ups give for measuring nitrate?
 
they say to watch levels till they drop to 0 then to back off to half dose to be a maintenance dose. but they all seem to stress that it needs to be monitored and don't dose if you cant monitor.
 
The heterotrophic bacteria need some phosphate and nitrogen to grow . Overdosing can lead to a buildup of organic carbon harmful to corals particularly when other nutrients are limiting. I would reduce the dose significantly and remove as much algae as I could . The algae may be pulling nutrients from rock or substrate or may be an oligotrophic( thrives in low nutrients) type.

.2ml per gallon is about 50 times the starting dose recommended( .1ml per 25 gallons or .004 per gallon) in the "Vodka Distilled" article,coauthored by Genectics, who posted in post #6, and 3.5 times the maintenance dose I settled on for a heavily fed system,ie, 40 ml for 650 gallons . For clarification : what is the water volume on your system and how much 80 proof vodka are you dosing?

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php



Organic carbon dosing is a very effective way to manage the nutrient balance for organic carbon, nitrogen commonly seen in nitrate testing and inorganic phosphate) in an aquarium while enhancing the food web

This thread may also be of interest:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2134105&highlight=organic+carbon+dosing



The vodka isn't wasted at all . I've used algae refugia and algae turf scrubbers and have had the best success with organic carbon dosing for the last 7 years or so. A further discussion on turf scrubbers doesn't come under the topic of this thread so I'll refrain from it.
 
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I agree that backing off on the vinegar when the nitrate hits zero might be appropriate, but watching the tank is the only way to be sure.
 
I have been to get algae under control in one of my tanks. decided to start vodka dosing. it has been seeming to start to work but in all info on adding vodka it says you need to check nitrates. well problem with that is I would test 0 no mater what from algae consuming them. so this is where the question starts. when should I stop increasing vodka. i know if i increase a dose to much i can cause a bloom. but what happens if i take small steps and am dosing to much. like say system would require 10 ml if their was no algae. but since nitrates are at 0 and can use that as a gauge what happens if i work all the way up to 20 ml. would over dosing just be wasteful or cause a problem.

The nutrients you are trying to control with carbon dosing are nitrates and phosphates. The export tends to happen in a fixed ratio. So if you have no measurable nitrates, use your phosphate levels as a proxy for nutrients.

Also try getting a second opinion on your nitrates. Which test kit are you using? I like the salifert test kit for Nitrates and Hanna ULR Phosphorous for phosphate.

NoPOX have a chart for dosing based on both nitrate and phospate level, check that out for one data point, and watch your tank carefully. Over time you'll figure out a maintenance dose that works for you

-droog
 
18 mil of vodka 80 proof. 90 gallon tank.

tank has a pork puffer 6 inch. ****** trigger about 5 inch. 4 inch coral beauty. and med snowflake eel. 2 anemones

have hair algae

test kits are api. used mine and lfs. false 0 on both.
 
To a point they do, depending on the nutrient balance and the type of algae and bacteria in play. Upping the dose is obviously not reducing the algae in your tank though but I wish you luck with it.
 
Ok so the dose has more to do with amount if food than water amount. So if I were to be feeding 4 medium table shrimp every other day on a 90 gallon tank what the experienced vodka dosing guys think be a good amount? Honest numbers here guys. And keep in mind I have sloppy fish. Thanks for all the input guys
 
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