Vodka Dosing

[mistaflicksta]

Hey John where do we find the calculations for dosing per gallon?
Would it be possible for you to give us a tutorial/presentation on your first hand experience with dosing vodka as a carbon source in the December meeting? Maybe even make it part of the agenda or just a topic to start the meeting with.

 

[strayvoltage]

benjabba, well hello stranger. I have posted some new pics in the show your tank forum here and the b4 pics i don't think i have saved any longer but will look for them. It made all the difference in the world. I am still dosing daily by hand. I am a more of the hands on type of guy rather than depending on a machine to do it for me. I figure if I mess up it's my own fault. I think of the automated way like this. It isnt if the machine messes up it's when and how bad. Kinda like a bull rider, it isn't if he gets hurt it's when and how bad.


mistaflicksta, I will look for the formula for the dosing and the instructions and link them to this thread. I would be glad to answer questions about it or tell what i know about it at the meeting.

It is like anything else we do to our systems it takes time and we all have to do our homework on anything we are going to do to our tanks.

jtinoco, I am not sure what you read but almost the first thing i read about vodka dosing was that you needed to have both nitrates present as well as phosphates. I done tons of reading as well as tank testing b4 i ever began dosing and made sure to follow the instructions to a T. It has worked very well for me and makes a huge difference. At times I think my water is to good and could stand some nitrates in it but I sure never have any unwanted algae.

 

[deehz]

My tank is 72 gallons. Seems like a bit of an overdose for my size tank. Shouldve done 1/10. Ugh!

Jtinco-- remember, you don't necessarily have 72 gallons of water in your tank due to sand and rock displacements. Depending on the amount of sand and rock used, you could well be at or under 65 total gallons.

So that means that you could be very well "over dosing". I read a ton on sugar/alcohol dosing and found it not to be as reliable. The percentages of actual success are rather low. John maybe one of only 20 that have had success with this type of system.

I would find the "root cause"' first that is actually causing the algae bloom. Did you happen to use the same sand/rock when you bought this system? How long did the sand/rock sit out without water? Even worst, did it sit in murky, unattended water? Did you let the system cycle? What type of water are using?

 

[strayvoltage]

As promised here is a link to the instructions and what i read for my final decision to dose.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php

The percentage of success with vodka dosing is not really low when it is done correctly and all the right conditions are present to warrant the use of it. I really think it can't hurt if done correctly and the time is taken to allow it to work. I will say again it is not a fast over night cure and if that is what any of you want, then by all means do not try it. If you are looking for the miracle cure then don't try vodka dosing.

I really hope this helps any of you that read it or have a need for a way to control nutrients.
:wave:

 

[jtinoco]

John, my nitrates tested at about 10ppm. Phosphate shows zero. The algae is still there and thriving so I know there are nitrates and phosphate in there. I'm just not sure where they're coming from. As an update the cloudiness has been clearing up and nothing seems affected so far, at all. The skimmer has been skimming like crazy today so that's good. I know it's pulling out bad stuff.

Deehz, you're right. I should be at about 60 gallons which is what probably caused me to overdose. When I got the tank it had been supposedly set up for a few months. The sand sat in the tank in about 6 inches of water for no kore than an hour. I kept most of the water. I transported it in a 55 gallon drum. The rock was submersed in water all the time except for the few seconds or minutes it took to do the aquascape. I lost some of the original water during transport. I'd say I replaced about 10 gallons thatday I purchased and set it up. I've been buying water which I've tested and all parameters are at zero. Maybe I need to check with a TDS meter. I still don't know the source of the nitrates and phosphate. I feed every 2-3 days and not very heavy. That's why I decided to try this method out. Hopefully it works out.

 

[mistaflicksta]

John, thanks for posting the link it is really helpfull.

Jtinoco, it might even be the rock itself taht is carring phosphates. when i set up my first tank I had bought some rock online and when I recieved it it was coverd in hair algae. I scrubbed the heck out of it and cycled it. The algae kept coming back, I finally broke off a piece of rock and put it in a container with water taht I knew read all zeros and within half a day phosphate levels started rising. I got rid of the rock and got some localy and never had a bad algae problem with that tank again.

 

[jtinoco]

Interesting thought, Erik. I may consider that a bit later. I already started the sugar dosing so we'll see how that does.

As an update. The cloudiness has almost completely cleared it. I'd say it should be gone by tomorrow. I'll start dosing again. This time it will be a tiny amount. Then we'll see how it goes. Hopefully I'll get the same results as John.

Over and out!


- Jesus


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[johngeb]

Hi strayvoltage,

That's great news. I wish I can say the same. I have been holding back trying to find out how to measure the amount to put in.

I'm a diabetic so I have needles I can use but there lines are in units not Ml.

Does anyone know how I can use a needle?

Here's a pic:

 

[deehz]

Millimeters is measure of length and milliliters is a measure of volume. We can convert mm to cc , and when we talk about water ( or other liquids) at a certain temp 1 cc= 1 ml.

 

[Gomer]

I love science talk :-D

 

[jmait769]

My wife is a diabetic too and her needles state ½ cc which is ½ ml per needle. So, for example, a U-100 will have 100 units per mL. There should be some writing on the side of the needle that states the size which I think I can see thru the needle on the picture you posted. Usually they are matched to the dose of insulin you use. A better substitute would be a syringe from a test kit like what comes in Saliferts test kits IMO.

Jay

 

[deehz]

Gomer--I love science talk too

 

[Gomer]

you can sometimes get syringes from pharmacies who give them out for baby meds

 

[deehz]

you can sometimes get syringes from pharmacies who give them out for baby meds

Or from the local crack whore that lives around the corner! :inlove: Of course you will probably have to wash the needle before use. :lol2:

 

[Gomer]

lol. Common misconception is that a syringe has a needle :-D

..I know this now after my local crack whore told me while I tried to get one from him....unsuccessfully. ..Whore!

 

[jtinoco]

He he he... Crack whore! Lol.

Anyway. Feels like we've hijacked John's thread, but ok. As an update, the tank has cleared up. I hadn't dosed since Sunday night. Nothing looks affected except for the Toadstools that decided to not open up yesterday. We'll see how it does. Nitrates are showing still at 10ppm and phosphate at zero. I still think te phosphate test is false since the hair algae is still there. I started to dose again this morning. This time I did about 1/10 of a tsp. I'll go home during my lunch break to check on things.

One weird thing I did notice was that a few days before the dosing my tang got a white dot at the end of her dorsal fin. It actually had gotten bigger by Sunday. Almost looked like a little cluster. She hadn't been acting up at all so I was just keeping an eye on it. Well as of yesterday it's gone. Completely gone! Not sure how that happened. Long shot but maybe the bacteria from the bloom on monday took care of it. Weird huh!

Over and out!

-Jesus


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Gomer]

If phosphates are bound in the rocks, you can measure zero phosphate in the water column, yet still have available phosphate for algae that grow on the rock.

 

[jtinoco]

If phosphates are bound in the rocks, you can measure zero phosphate in the water column, yet still have available phosphate for algae that grow on the rock.

That's kinda why I'm thinking my phosphate shows zero. Plus I'm also getting this algae haze in the glass at times. It actually was like John's situation. A haze that was wiped and then would start to appear again within a few hours. Yesterday it didn't reappear as fast tho.



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