Vodka Dosing Questions.....

[Prodd]

From the article 'Vodka dosing...distilled' am i correct in reading that dosing must be done on a daily basis?
If so, what happens if you go on holiday/vacation?

I did attempt dosing around 6 months ago, just as an experiment to see if it was true. I did see NO3 + PO4 fluctuate then drop in a period of about a week using a similar dosage. However i also read many 'scare storys' about detrimental effects to the reef. Hence i stopped dosing, after around 6-7 days hair algae attacked the tank as NO3 + PO4 rose quickly. I'am still fighting the battle today. I have plans for a larger sump, skimmer and a fuge that will happen over the next few months. Maybe even a reactor, as i don't own one currently.
Sorry, i'am starting to ramble. My point is that i'd like to give the dosing another go. I'm just concerned that if a dose is missed, or i'm not able to dose for a couple of days the algae will return.
Do you think i should think again after fitting the larger sump, skimmer and fuge?
Your thoughts would be valuable.
Thanks for your time.

 

[ksed]

Just wondering if ethanol or vodka dosing is similar as dosing Prodibio if so Prodibio is dosed every 15 days which make things easier if not in town. If so how is it able to maintain such a long stretch between dosing.

Thanks
Kevin

 

[SunnyX]

Great article. :thumbsup:

 

[stony_corals]

Thanks Sonny.

Well, if you go on vacation, here are a few thoughts (we all go on vacation ), either have some one dose for you while you are gone, or automate it with a dosing pump. If these aren't possible, just don't dose, but you should, upon returning, reduce the amount you are dosing by 50% initially and ramp back up.

Ksed, yes, Prodibio has a carbon source BioOptim I believe it's called, which also includes other things like aminos, etc.

 

[Simon68]

Do you dose forever? Once you reach udectable nitrates, do you still continue to dose at maintence levels forever?
Is it better to dose it in the sump or in the DT?

 

[melev]

Once you have it down to zero levels, you switch to a maintenance dose (50% of what you used to dose) daily forever.

 

[Simon68]

ok, great. Where is the best place to dose, sump? return section of sump? DT? or does it not matter at all?
Thanks so much!

 

[melev]

That doesn't seem to matter, so whatever you feel most comfortable with. I like an area of high flow, and to drip or trickle it in. I don't just dump it in.

 

[Ivo]

very nice article
somebody use this metod in nano-reefs??
how it would be the procedure?

 

[Denadai]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13176794#post13176794 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Ivo
very nice article
somebody use this metod in nano-reefs??
how it would be the procedure?

Read the article again......

 

[Vili_Shark]

Anybody have experience with PO4 down to zero, but NO3 still high?
The starting point was both very high.

 

[Luiz Seadorf]

If vodka is so effective and cheap why almost all TOTM tanks didn't use ?? They prefer heavy skimming, DSB, chaeto, RowaPhos, parcial water changes, filter socks, etc .

 

[murfman]

I am wondering what kind of impact dosing Prodibio as well as the v/s/v might have on bacterial production.

 

[Prodd]

after some reseach and a little thought it seems vodka dosing creates an unnaturally high population of specific bactieria. Hence if the dosing is stopped the die off creates a problem similar to what you started with.
I throw up this comment purely to see what anyone else thinks.
i would certainy appriciate any opinions to further my understanding.

 

[melev]

Update. Today I'm completing my 6th week of dosing. For the next week, I'll be dosing 5.5 ml.

Nitrate - 25ppm
Phosphate .1ppm

Phosphate may be coming down via Vodka, but I did a few things because I didn't have the desire to wait any longer for the vodka to do it for me. I used Blue Life's Phosphate Control during the past week, plus I did a 110g water change (changed 1/3 of the total volume) after not changing water for about 8 weeks (est.)

Macro algae in the refugium is alive, but not voluminous, and the mangrove plants are less than happy.

In the display, I have a couple of spots of Cyano that are happy (1" in diameter), and a couple of spots where it is flaking off or dying. Here's a full tank shot as of three days ago.

 

[tor101898]

while at the macna conference one of the speakers stated that vodka dosing can be detrimental in the form of disease to the corals can someone elaborate.

 

[fishnugget]

I am following the prescibed dosage for my tank. However, I recently questioned what I was doing. I am using a syringe that says ML and has numbers 1-6

However, I noticed that dosage says at start .1 ml per 25 gallons. Then go to .2ml.

Is this the same as my 1-6 numbering on my syringe or am I dosing 10X too much? No problems in tank.

I am using an old Joe's juice ml syringe.

Please advise.

 

[melev]

While I can retype it out for you, it would probably be best to re-read the article very closely once more to make sure you are dosing correctly. If you have .1 ml per 25g, 1 ml would dose 250g of water.

 

[zt444a]

Wow I made a mistake and have been dosing too much! I will back it down and start over. I was dosing 10X too much too!.

In any event, if everything seems ok, no noticable stress, can I just start over and continue on? Or wait awhile, etc?

 

[melev]

I'm sure others will chime in soon enough, but for now I would reduce to the proper dosage and follow the recommended schedule.