The vodka/vinegar trick?

[wnehez]

I just read a post on ppl dosing their tanks with either of the above. I am interested in this. I read that it will help introduce carbon into your tank so that the bacteria can fight off nitrates, but what are you guys putting in? Regular store bought vinegar and regular, cheap vladmirs vodka? How much do you put in?(I have a 75g tank) How much would I put in? How often do you put it in? And do you just take the vodka/vin and pour it right in? Very interested in this and any information would be greatly appreciated!

 

[BHD]

you can read this:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php

I heard that you can use any cheap, distilled vodka without any flavor in it.
Right now I am using a bottle of Absolute vodka just because I already have it in my room.
Regarding the Vinegar, I think you can just use regular White Vinegar from the store. I haven't use Vinegar yet, so I am not sure about this.

 

[tmz]

Plain white vinegar from the supermarket. Bottom shelf Barton's vodka @ $about $14 for 1.75 liters.

 

[wnehez]

Plain white vinegar from the supermarket. Bottom shelf Barton's vodka @ $about $14 for 1.75 liters.

And how much would I put in of each?

 

[mightymizz]

You really should do some research. Try searching for glassbox VSV on a search engine if you want to do the vodka, sugar and vinegar dosing.

 

[wnehez]

You really should do some research. Try searching for glassbox VSV on a search engine if you want to do the vodka, sugar and vinegar dosing.

I did do research, looked at both links that were supplied. I think I am just going to stick with water changes. I dont have a huge problem with nitrates and it just seems like there would be more detailed work with the dosing method. If I run into a problem with nitrates or phosphates and water changes cant help, then I might consider trying it. I like the idea of it making the water clearer but I dont think its worth all the extra sludge/O2 depletion/yellow stuff/ and everything else they say ppl experience when doing this.... Thanks for the info everyone! Very helpful and informative!

 

[redmarble]

Have you looked into biopellets?

 

[wnehez]

No I did not. Do they do basically the same thing? Do you have experience with them?

 

[wnehez]

Also, whats needed to use Biopellets and what are the +/-?

 

[nauticac4]

They are basically the same thing. The basic theory is that the bacteria in the tank are carbon limited and by intorducing a carbon source (i.e. Vodka, Vinegar ect) that the population can artifically inflate itself to consume the nitrates and phosphates in the tank. The excess bacteria is then removed with powerful protein skimming.

The protein skimmer is an absolute must, wiithout a good skimmer the carbon dosing won;t work. There are long term concerns with creating a mono culture of bateria so supplemental bacteria should be dosed from time to time as well.

there are charts out there that give baselines for how much to add and how to ramp up the dosing. They are merely guidelines and one must observe the characteristics and chemistry of the aquarium being dosed and adjust accordingly.

This is not something to stumble into. The more you can read the better and start very small and work your way up if you decide to try carbon dosing. An internet or forum search here will yeild volumes of information and the more of that you can read the better.

 

[wnehez]

Alright. My filter is a hang on filter rated for a 110 gallon. It has three stages(a foam pad, a carbon filter, and bio-something) forget the name of the bio stuff but the sits on top of all the other stuff where the water flows out. Is my carbon part of the filter the same thing as introducing a carbon agent as said above?

 

[2thdeekay]

GAC (granulated activated carbon) is different than dosing organic carbon. Organic carbon is used to quickly drive heterotrophic bacterial growth, which take up N and P--it's required for growth. The actual N&P export is when the bacteria is removed by skimming.

There are other benefits, such as the bacteria serve as a planktonic food source, but also risks, one is that this bacterial growth requires a lot of O2, and heavy skimming.

Edit: organic carbon can be sugar, vinegar, ethanol, biopellets, or even corn starch, but I wouldnt recommend larger molecules like starch.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

FWIW, I prefer vinegar only dosing to any of the other methods described above. it needs to be added every day, forever. The dose will depend on the tank setup. I dose about 80 ml per day into my 120, but I have a big rock filled refugium to dose it into. I also dose slowly with a dosing pump during the daylight hours.