New to Carbon Dosing. Pros / Cons?

N

necrio

Member
Okay, so I was just curious. Do you dose? If so, what and how long have you done it. Any pros/cons you've noticed?

I just started dosing russian water into my tank ( because it had a REALLY bad cyano) and a few hours after day one it started receeding.

I am on day 4, and my new white rock I bought 3 weeks ago ( cycling for new tank ), got completely covered ( in the light areas) with bright red crap.

Its not affecting the other places quite yet, like the overflow box or some of the glass.

One con I may notice is I have had two kenya trees get damaged and start to die. 3 survive no problem. Could be something else wrong with them, I am not sure!
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Sounds like you are sounding the fire alarm and there's no fire. Did you cure your rock? If not, expect all sorts if crap to form on them.

Back to your original question, yes I dose vodka and vinegar daily. Keeps nutrients low and my sps are super colored. Cons.....not really, I noticed a wee bit of cyano when I added vodka to the party, but after an adjusemt it went away. I mixed Grey Goose and vinegar in a 1:8 ratio and add 1 ml per day. Thinking of cutting back since there is not a speck of algae. My corals are colorful, but growth is not great, despite me dumping all sorts of food and aminos in. I will say, all my zoas look like crap. Acros look great!

This is a 30 gal with 9 fish.
 
Rovi, Grey Goose? Really? I should have charged you more for the Diabolic Pacman apparently. haha just kidding.

Nick

rovster said:
Sounds like you are sounding the fire alarm and there's no fire. Did you cure your rock? If not, expect all sorts if crap to form on them.

Back to your original question, yes I dose vodka and vinegar daily. Keeps nutrients low and my sps are super colored. Cons.....not really, I noticed a wee bit of cyano when I added vodka to the party, but after an adjusemt it went away. I mixed Grey Goose and vinegar in a 1:8 ratio and add 1 ml per day. Thinking of cutting back since there is not a speck of algae. My corals are colorful, but growth is not great, despite me dumping all sorts of food and aminos in. I will say, all my zoas look like crap. Acros look great!

This is a 30 gal with 9 fish.
Click to expand...
 
Blueline12 said:
Rovi, Grey Goose? Really? I should have charged you more for the Diabolic Pacman apparently. haha just kidding.

Nick
Click to expand...

Lol, I don't drink vodka but my wife likes her goose! It was only 3 ounces or so, better than buying a whole bottle of absolute no one likes. Remember it's only a 30 gallon, and I'm only dosing like 0.2mL of goose a day!

Been using the vodka for a few months, and I probably have another 6 months worth from that initial mix;)
 
rovster said:
Sounds like you are sounding the fire alarm and there's no fire. Did you cure your rock? If not, expect all sorts if crap to form on them.
Click to expand...

Yep, sounds like you have "New Tank Syndrome". All those things will happen to the majority of new setups. Give it time.

I wouldnt dose carbons just yet, this will bring on a new variable when trying to diagnose issues. Keep it simple, its a new tank.
 
Eddie has it right. For the most part, carbon dosing is to take your tank to the next level, not necessarily to correct a problem. There are exceptions.
 
If your doing your homework you will read that vinager is a preferred carbon source over vodka. I have tried both separately and found both work, but the vinager has less cyano or red slime outbrakes that are common with vodka. Rovster is dosing both together I think to grow different strands of bacteria. But I am not sure it's better than just one souce. Also once in a while I will add bacteria by adding bacteria products like microbactor 7. But I am not sure that's needed either. Good luck.
 
Marke, I'm dosing vinegar:vodka 8:1. I also dose a drop of MB7 daily. I started with vinegar, then added vodka, then added the MB7. My thinking was to get more rounded carbon source and the MB7 would help with diversification. Not sure if it makes a difference, but makes sense in the theater if my mind. I premix the vodka vinegar so it's really just one dose per day.
 
marke said:
If your doing your homework you will read that vinager is a preferred carbon source over vodka. I have tried both separately and found both work, but the vinager has less cyano or red slime outbrakes that are common with vodka. Rovster is dosing both together I think to grow different strands of bacteria. But I am not sure it's better than just one souce. Also once in a while I will add bacteria by adding bacteria products like microbactor 7. But I am not sure that's needed either. Good luck.
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Guys- This guys tank is going through a cycle as a new tank. Why are you discussing carbon dosing. All that ive seen post, marke, rovster, .... you guys know better.... lets keep this on track. The guy has a 3 month old tank... this isnt about you boasting your carbon dosing, but about helping the OP.

A 3 month old tank does little with carbon dosing, as a matter of fact its a detriment.

Get your ego's in check please. :love1:
 
I chose vodka because i read that vinegar gives PH swings. I didn't wanna deal with that.
Plus, I am having a great time with vodka. Instead of getting cyano, its getting rid of it. Maybe its not cyano to begin with? Who knows! Im still learning.
 
hey, you know what. If I hear about your success and how you dose, I am learning. Its fine by me. If I heard something about how they dosed and got "Cyano" or "crashed my tank"... Well, that isn't very helpful.
 
rovster said:
Eddie, these threads tend to take a life of their own!
Click to expand...

Only if you allow it too........

THE OP STATES:

"Okay, so I was just curious. Do you dose? If so, what and how long have you done it. Any pros/cons you've noticed?

I just started dosing russian water into my tank ( because it had a REALLY bad cyano) and a few hours after day one it started receeding.

I am on day 4, and my new white rock I bought 3 weeks ago ( cycling for new tank ), got completely covered ( in the light areas) with bright red crap.

Its not affecting the other places quite yet, like the overflow box or some of the glass.

One con I may notice is I have had two kenya trees get damaged and start to die. 3 survive no problem. Could be something else wrong with them, I am not sure!""


THIS TELLS YOU HE HAS A 3 WEEK OLD TANK OR AT LEAST 3 WEEK LIVE ROCK!!!!!!

Any questions?? Is the reason not obvious to old reeefers? Are we not here to help noobies?

I think yes. Some of you might take the opportunity to boast instead of help this guy reaching out to us for help.

I know we all agree-------You should be encouraging him to stop carbon dosing and let his tank settle..... PERIOD!!!!.....

Sorry Necrio- but sometimes the drama on here requires a Tiny Violin.....
 
necrio said:
I chose vodka because i read that vinegar gives PH swings. I didn't wanna deal with that.
Plus, I am having a great time with vodka. Instead of getting cyano, its getting rid of it. Maybe its not cyano to begin with? Who knows! Im still learning.
Click to expand...

Good luck with the vodka it works. Keep us posted. Also seed your tank with bacteria.

Eddy? The guy started a thread on carbon dosing pros and cons. He is obviously already doing it. We enjoy sharing our experiences doing what he is about to do? I think you better calm the ego mr key note speaker at the fmas upcoming event. Are you going to wear a suit. Can I take my pic with you? Lol! Come pick up that frag I owe you!
 
marke said:
Good luck with the vodka it works. Keep us posted. Also seed your tank with bacteria.

Eddy? The guy started a thread on carbon dosing pros and cons. He is obviously already doing it. We enjoy sharing our experiences doing what he is about to do? I think you better calm the ego mr key note speaker at the fmas upcoming event. Are you going to wear a suit. Can I take my pic with you? Lol! Come pick up that frag I owe you!
Click to expand...

Dude- Be a clown as always, thats what you Josh and Eric enjoy to do. I prefer to be more serious.

The guy has a tank that is less than 1 month old. Do you seriously think that a carbon dosing conversation needs to be had?

If he is already doing it, the most responsible thing to tell him is to STOP.

:deadhorse:
 
Well, it is true the tank is young. But not that young. At the PB frag swap I picked up a nano. about 3 weeks ago, I found 5 rocks that would be perfect for scaping. Since I already had a tank ( I.E This one... which was started back in November :-P ) I put 4 of them in this one, and 1 in my other tank ( different life from each ).

Granted, I shouldnt be doing the dose, but I wanted to test it. 5 days into it, I havent had much but positive. Tbh, I think the Kenyas were on their way out before I even started... I cant figure out why though.
 
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