Let's see 'em - Before and After pics of Vodka Dosing!

i am having luck with v/s/v combo 200ml vodka-50 ml vinegar-1.5 tbsp
sugar. i'm down to .6ml a day w/ monthly doses of 1 vial bio digest.
i used to have cyano but this combo worked for me.
i still have a refuguim w/ cheato . i do use AAs & do feed a little heavy
w/ coral frenzy +2 cubes frozen food.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12869074#post12869074 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dme330i
some unknown

before

rose.jpg


2 months after

triunknown.jpg
Click to expand...
What is the point of before and after shots when the lighting is totally different? unless that is that carbon dosing is making the rocks color up alot nicer too.:rollface: I noticed this in some other before and afters too.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14754931#post14754931 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mr. pluto
i am having luck with v/s/v combo 200ml vodka-50 ml vinegar-1.5 tbsp
sugar. i'm down to .6ml a day w/ monthly doses of 1 vial bio digest.
i used to have cyano but this combo worked for me.
i still have a refuguim w/ cheato . i do use AAs & do feed a little heavy
w/ coral frenzy +2 cubes frozen food.
Click to expand...
Trying to make sense of this post. But I think the info is here:

http://glassbox-design.com/2008/achieved-through-observation-and-experimentation/

So just make up a mix of Vodka, Sugar, Vinegar and then dose according to the table here:

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

Is there any solution to the cyano side-effect of this dosing?
 
i used to have cyano problem with just vodka. the cyano could have been started by heavy feeding. now that i use the above system i do not have any more cyano. this works for me. it might not work for you, but you never know
until you try. with this mixture my biggest dose was 1.5ml. this was after 1 yr. of vodka dosing which my largest dosing was 10ml. which tapered down to 1.5ml. hth
 
I have not yet tried this method yet...

However is seems red cyano can grow in an environment that has a high ratio of P to N, whereas cyano growth is limited by P alone. Low flow and light could play a role.

From my time in FW planted tanks, Blue-Green Algae grew in mats like cyano and was certainly known to be cause by poor water quality with high phosphates regardless of nitrate levels.

To the dismay of many reef keeper, in Fresh Water planted tanks this condition is remedied by sodium nitrate or potassium nitrate addition. SO with lack of a refugium (which I do have) P can be reduced by bacteria further with more nitrates when C is not limited.

Below is a link of N:P:K manipulation that many successful planted tank owners have memorized. My suggestion is of course only valid if Red Cyano has many atribbutes of Blue Green Algae, which I believe it does.

So when I try this method after I get back from a planned vacation, I would guess Red Cyano could be control in the Vodka method by carefully creating P limited growth instead of N limited growth my carefully dosing NaNO3 or KNO3 to 3-5 ppm. I have no objection to using prodibio though.

I would suspect results would be seen in less than 4 weeks.

Here is the FW planted tank dosing strategy which I referred to. In those tanks, C is supplied as Co2 in 10ppm range to prevent limitation in plant growth. It may not work but is worth CAREFULLY trying.

http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Fertilizer/sears-conlin.html
 
It occurred to me feeding amino acids as the source of N might works as well...

I may have confused or disgusted people with this idea.
 
No confusion here, i just had to look at your occupation before i trusted this "rambling fool" lol...dont forget to update us with your outcomes.
 
The general idea is to make things simple with automated dosing. In a sterile 1/2 liter glass bottle, nitrates, sugar, vinegar, and ethanol, and amino acid cocktail can be dosed. Sounds difficult but only requires one small dosing pump. It has the promise of no GFO/ Carbon and refugium.

So I might try the following recipe: (while monitoring all levels)

month1) Wet skimming and GFO for 3-4 weeks while adjusting kH to 7.5 to 8.0 to avoid burt tips reported. Just good maintenance and getting ready.

month2) Dose Prodibio biodigest for two doses for 4 weeks with continued wet skimming through out. Attempting to build up correct bacteria and really just good maintenance. GFO continued.

month3) If Nitrates are undetectable start adding AA and Potassium Nitrates to maintain 1-2 ppm otherwise skip step. Discontinue GFO.

month4) Dose VVS solution without noticing bloom but observing drop in nitrates.

Maintenance) increase Nitrates/AA and or feeding then decrease VVS recipe in same sterilized bottle. This might avoid cyano outbreaks. I might run a bare bottom refugium with chateomorpha.
Boils down to one dosing pump and one bottle really!!

For the fellow blow hards out there who don't like vodka dosing, this is not a controlled experiments but a hobbyist making observations.
 
Do you think putting everything in one bottle for a cocktail is a good idea? I would think while in the container one would have a negative impact with another? Depending on how long they are in there together.
 
why is that?

VVS is already used together. Nitrates are stable. Ultramin S might not be, but 1-2 week supply should be OK. I would attempt to sterilize bottle and use fresh solution each time. Simple usually works better than technically perfect.
 
Last edited:
I purchased KNO3 last year for this very purpose but never followed through with it.

I may give this a try.
 
I am currently adding potassium nitrate in hopes that it will balance out N and P and eliminate cyano due to carbon dosing, as well as improve coral coloration. It seems to be working thus far!
 
can someone give me a link that explains how much vodka to dose? and if i dosed vodka should i be dosing sugar too? can someone give me a link for that also? thanks!
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15344271#post15344271 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Zedar
I purchased KNO3 last year for this very purpose but never followed through with it.

I may give this a try.
Click to expand...

Well i gave it a try. :) The results are very promising.

A little history of my tank.
I started vodka dosing a few years ago to combat a terrible hairalgae problem. If not for vodka, I would have been out of this hobby. I tried everything to rid my tank of HA. Nothing worked like vodka.
With the HA gone i thought my tank would settle down and require nothing but typical maintenance. But then the Cyano started.
My only weapon up till now to rid the tank of this ugly slime was to siphon it off the sand.

So i started dosing after reading this thread. My parameters were as follows:

Nitrates - 0 (unreadable on my cheap API test kit.)
Phosphates - .02 to .03 ( Tropic Marin)

After adding KNO3
Nitrates - 15ppm
Phosphates - same

After 2 weeks
Nitrates - 10ppm
Phosphates - .01

There is NO Cyano in the tank. Even at the end of the day the sand is white!!!!!!!!! And as an added bonus. There is a deeper color to some of my SPS corals. Particularly the Monti.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

K
Carbon Dosing causes STN/RTN?
Replies
13
Views
2K
Timfish
Timfish
R
Cyano and nutrients
2 3
Replies
58
Views
9K
griss
griss
S
Let’s dose
Replies
2
Views
611
Scotty333!!!
S
Dr. Reef
Bacteria in a bottle, Myth or Fact
Replies
3
Views
1K
jcarlilesiu
J
A
Fleece filter bypass problems (Innovitech X filter)
Replies
1
Views
382
Vinny Kreyling
Vinny Kreyling
Back
Top