Lets talk about Vodka/sugar dosing
- Thread starter JohnL
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melev
Well-known member
There's a big difference between 40 Proof and 80 Proof. If yours is 40 Proof, that could be why. Did you check the dosing schedule in the Vodka article?
I've been dosing a system that holds 255g of water for over three months, and my first bottle of Vodka is almost empty. It too is a liter. For the past couple of weeks, I've been dosing 6.0 ml (80 Proof) per day. I need to do some water tests today to see what my numbers are currently.
Brett - Both of your numbers are reasonably low. I'm guessing AWT's Nitrate measurement of .5 means 5ppm, correct? I'd like to hit that number one day.
To drop Phosphate out of the water completely, Blue Life's Phosphate Control can get it to 0 overnight, and frankly while I want the Vodka to keep it out of my system, I don't have a problem dosing once a month to zero it out if I'm so inclined. I don't run GFO at all.
For Cyano, you've done the normal stuff. Have you considered "3 Days of Darkness" or to treat with Chemi-Clean or Blue Life's Red Slime Control? Just curious, because people that dose Vodka sometimes see Cyano levels increase (at least for a duration). My tank had Cyano bacteria before I started dosing Vodka, and even now I still have a little bit in my tank. The only way I could treat it with a chemical would be to stop dosing Vodka because I'd have to turn off my skimmer for 72 hours or so. That is one thing I still haven't done. I started dosing Vodka on July 14th.
I've been dosing a system that holds 255g of water for over three months, and my first bottle of Vodka is almost empty. It too is a liter. For the past couple of weeks, I've been dosing 6.0 ml (80 Proof) per day. I need to do some water tests today to see what my numbers are currently.
Brett - Both of your numbers are reasonably low. I'm guessing AWT's Nitrate measurement of .5 means 5ppm, correct? I'd like to hit that number one day.
To drop Phosphate out of the water completely, Blue Life's Phosphate Control can get it to 0 overnight, and frankly while I want the Vodka to keep it out of my system, I don't have a problem dosing once a month to zero it out if I'm so inclined. I don't run GFO at all.
For Cyano, you've done the normal stuff. Have you considered "3 Days of Darkness" or to treat with Chemi-Clean or Blue Life's Red Slime Control? Just curious, because people that dose Vodka sometimes see Cyano levels increase (at least for a duration). My tank had Cyano bacteria before I started dosing Vodka, and even now I still have a little bit in my tank. The only way I could treat it with a chemical would be to stop dosing Vodka because I'd have to turn off my skimmer for 72 hours or so. That is one thing I still haven't done. I started dosing Vodka on July 14th.
dvanacker
DID I SOUNDS SMRT??
Yes but in my post I said 40% or 80proof. 40% IS 80 PROOF. Here in Canada we rate our liquor by % not proof. Most if not all Vodka here is 40% alcohol.
Just a side note but our Beer actual has a label that includes the % of alcohol as well by law(yours doesnt and it's frustrating). Our is usually stronger too at 5% for a regular beer and 4% for a light. I won't cause a flame war by saying who has the better Beers but you can probably guess where I stand on that.
Anyway back to the subject. I have dosed a butt load of vodka and virtually seen no change. Maybe my fish are drinking it before the bacteria can utilize it. I have different nitrate kits and they all read the same the last time I tried with a different one but what the heck I'll try a different one later today. I have been pretty much obsessed with my nitrate problem and I can not for the life of me get it down below 20ppm.
At 10mL per day with 40% vodka you should have seen something. Your right, it doesn't sound like something is working, especially if you have only 100 gallons of water. Do you have a lot of fish? Maybe you actually have a high bioload that requires more than 10mL per day. It does seem odd that you haven't seen much of a drop, did you change anything like the water change schedule? What kind of skimmer are you running?
dvanacker
DID I SOUNDS SMRT??
For fish I have 1 med yellow tang, 1 sixline, 2 false percs and 1 chromis. Pretty light bioload really. The tank is 90g with 40g sump. Have'nt changed the water change schedule at all. I have been extra diligent in keeping everything clean really. I don't have any algae problems. My skimmer is an ASM G3 that is recirc'd and mesh mod.
Genetics, the only algae problem I have is the cyano. No hair algae, not even the usual green film on the glass. I can go weeks and not wipe the tank down. Yet I needed to blow off the rocks at least once a week prior to dosing the vodka.
Just to be safe, I dialed the double dose back a bit and am going with 1.0ml 2x daily instead of 1.5ml's and will see how that goes.
I'm still kicking around the idea of trying GFO. Haven't made up my mind. I'm trying to change as few things as possible right now.
Melev, I've considered doing 3 days of darkness and think I will give that a try sometime this week.
The high silicates on my water test caught my eye and I went ahead and ordered a Kent Hi-S membrane for my RO. I had one of those for the last tank but in January I bumped up the GPD output with a non Hi-S competitor.
Many thanks everyone.
Brett
Just to be safe, I dialed the double dose back a bit and am going with 1.0ml 2x daily instead of 1.5ml's and will see how that goes.
I'm still kicking around the idea of trying GFO. Haven't made up my mind. I'm trying to change as few things as possible right now.
Melev, I've considered doing 3 days of darkness and think I will give that a try sometime this week.
The high silicates on my water test caught my eye and I went ahead and ordered a Kent Hi-S membrane for my RO. I had one of those for the last tank but in January I bumped up the GPD output with a non Hi-S competitor.
Many thanks everyone.
Brett
Copy that Marc, thanks.
I just checked a couple threads on on Cyano and I can't believe how many people say the problem goes away if you just add more flow.
The stuff I'm growing just laughs in the face of more flow. That is, unless I"m growing some kind of brown hair algae & cyano hybrid. The stuff I got is indeed red, but if left alone for more than a week it starts growing out hairy stringers that dance around in all my flow. The stuff is literally growing 8" in front of my Vortechs
More flow my rear end!
Brett
I just checked a couple threads on on Cyano and I can't believe how many people say the problem goes away if you just add more flow.
The stuff I'm growing just laughs in the face of more flow. That is, unless I"m growing some kind of brown hair algae & cyano hybrid. The stuff I got is indeed red, but if left alone for more than a week it starts growing out hairy stringers that dance around in all my flow. The stuff is literally growing 8" in front of my Vortechs
More flow my rear end!
Brett
Putawaywet, you run a algae wheel for nitrate removal? Do you use a light cycle with that? What does your pH run? Cyano can be a pain as it is bacteria and potentially utilizes vodka also.
A lot of times raising flow in the aquarium helps resolve the problem but not fix the issue. Beside drug treatment, I really don't know of a solution.
A lot of times raising flow in the aquarium helps resolve the problem but not fix the issue. Beside drug treatment, I really don't know of a solution.
The algae wheel was on my previous tank and pH was never a problem because the algae wheel was lit 24/7. Plus it had like 4 CFM of air being pumped into that puppy thru the airlift. pH was like 8.2 all week long.
I also never had a nuisance algae problem on the old setup until I hit the 3 year mark and then it was some scattered cyano in a few small spots. Nothing like I have now. And that was on a tank with zero mechanical filtration. If I hit my rock and sand bed with a powerhead it would just explode in a cloud of detritus. Of course the tradeoff was all my acros slowly began turning dark green & brown.
I just went and looked at some red slime remover at my LFS and the bottle said to turn off your skimmer during the treatment period. Not something I'm comfortable with if I'm dosing vodka.
Oh well, the cyano was there before I began dosing Vodka so I'll keep an eye on it and see how it does. It can only go in 2 directions right? I have to remember that I've only just started my 2nd week of dosing.
For lack of any other ideas I picked up some Pura pads to try and a bottle of Brightwell Aquatics Phosphate reducer to see how that works. Marine Depot should have that Hi-S membrane to me by Tuesday so hopefully I can begin working on my silicates.
Brett
I also never had a nuisance algae problem on the old setup until I hit the 3 year mark and then it was some scattered cyano in a few small spots. Nothing like I have now. And that was on a tank with zero mechanical filtration. If I hit my rock and sand bed with a powerhead it would just explode in a cloud of detritus. Of course the tradeoff was all my acros slowly began turning dark green & brown.
I just went and looked at some red slime remover at my LFS and the bottle said to turn off your skimmer during the treatment period. Not something I'm comfortable with if I'm dosing vodka.
Oh well, the cyano was there before I began dosing Vodka so I'll keep an eye on it and see how it does. It can only go in 2 directions right? I have to remember that I've only just started my 2nd week of dosing.
For lack of any other ideas I picked up some Pura pads to try and a bottle of Brightwell Aquatics Phosphate reducer to see how that works. Marine Depot should have that Hi-S membrane to me by Tuesday so hopefully I can begin working on my silicates.
Brett
newsalt
Active member
Been dosing Vodka for about 2 weeks. I'm at 1.3ml a day. When I started, my PO4 was 0.10. I did two tests last night first test I got 0.07. Second test I got 0.02. Both Hanna. I'm not sure which reading to trust, but according to the Reefkeeping article, if I notice a reduction, you maintain the dosage until levels get undetectable. I'll stay the course at 1.3ml.
dvanacker, I feel your pain. I've been dosing on my system for almost 3 months now and havent had a drop in nitrates. I just assumed it was because of my very high bioload or because I'm running chemipure and purigen. Have you noticed how much skimmate your skimmer is producing? I have to empty my CS-180 almost everyday, every 2 days at least.
newsalt
Active member
I can't figure this out. I'm dosing 1.8ml daily. One day I get a PO4 reading of 0.02. 2 or 3 days later, I get a reading of 0.09. I just don't understand what's going on. Just when I think I'm there and I see the PO4 drop, 3 days later I get a high reading. Can someone explain?
johns
Premium Member
I have a Hanna meter as well, and you probably know that there is +/- 0.04 around each reading. I've had some jumpy results from time to time as well. There are a couple threads about it here on RC you should search out.
I've seen results like your before. Lately it's been a bit better behaved. But bottom line is there may be no difference in your reads if each is +/- 0.04.
Maybe you should monitor how the vodka dosing is going with the NO3 test and npt the PO4 test. Just a thought. My NO3 tests are much more consistent.
I've seen results like your before. Lately it's been a bit better behaved. But bottom line is there may be no difference in your reads if each is +/- 0.04.
Maybe you should monitor how the vodka dosing is going with the NO3 test and npt the PO4 test. Just a thought. My NO3 tests are much more consistent.
I've been lurking, but have some questions.
I have about 480 gallons water volume. I've been dosing 100 proof Vodka since 6/15. I dose 5ml at 6:30 am and 5ml at 5:30pm. I add 2 vials of Prodibio weekly. Prior to starting dosing, my PO4, measured with my Hanna photometer, was either 0.03 or 0.04 ppm. My NO3, measured with Red Sea, Salifert, and/or Elos test kits, was under 3 ppm. I was having a Bryopsis problem, which led me to start dosing. I feed my fish heavily, and didn't want to cut back too much on that. I did cut back about 1/3 of the daily food for the first month. Feeding is back to normal.
Now over 4 months later, the Bryopsis is gone, PO4 is at 0.01-0.02, NO3 is mostly undetectable. I throw food in the tank without much concern for feeding too heavily. I also dose amino acids. Corals look great, and are growing well.
Now for the questions...Do I maintain the current dosing regimen? I'm interested in VSV instead of just Vodka. What is the recommended mix amounts? Do I need to keep adding the Prodibio? What other questions should I be asking?
I have about 480 gallons water volume. I've been dosing 100 proof Vodka since 6/15. I dose 5ml at 6:30 am and 5ml at 5:30pm. I add 2 vials of Prodibio weekly. Prior to starting dosing, my PO4, measured with my Hanna photometer, was either 0.03 or 0.04 ppm. My NO3, measured with Red Sea, Salifert, and/or Elos test kits, was under 3 ppm. I was having a Bryopsis problem, which led me to start dosing. I feed my fish heavily, and didn't want to cut back too much on that. I did cut back about 1/3 of the daily food for the first month. Feeding is back to normal.
Now over 4 months later, the Bryopsis is gone, PO4 is at 0.01-0.02, NO3 is mostly undetectable. I throw food in the tank without much concern for feeding too heavily. I also dose amino acids. Corals look great, and are growing well.
Now for the questions...Do I maintain the current dosing regimen? I'm interested in VSV instead of just Vodka. What is the recommended mix amounts? Do I need to keep adding the Prodibio? What other questions should I be asking?
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