Vodka or Sugar ?

[ReefEnabler]

I am not saying you had high nitrates before, just guessing at reasons that your corals might have opened up more like you reported. it would be interesting to learn that 5ppm nitrates is actually somewhat stressful to some.... but it was just a guess

 

[Zoom]

Today i install the big skimmer Deltec AP902 because the AP851 was overwhelm the sugar really kicked up the production of the skimate i think this is not going to last to long is not going to be anything to pull out of the tank soon, i may have to cut back the sugar dosing to a 1/4 TSP a day soon.

 

[Zoom]

I put the smaller skimmer back to the tank today i was getting more nog out of the tank with the smaller skimmer, but the bigger one was giving me higher PH with the sugar dosing but cutting my dosing back more i don't need the big skimmer any longer and the extra electricity / Heat was getting the tank warm.
So here is a good updates .
I cut back my Sugar dosing some more now i use 1/4 TSP a day.
I cut back more because i saw some thing that indicates to me low nutrient in my tank .
Some of the corals was getting lighter .
The live rock was losing the hair algae slowly i can see some small areas with hair algae is now clean as it can be but some areas still have some thicker hair algae still hanging in there so i cut back some even so some algae still there but i need to go slower is only been two weeks now.
I think so far even that i'm going slowly i seen some thing i don't like so i cut back and anyone need to be very careful with carbon dosing you can strip the tank off the nutrient very fast and start to kill things in the tank .
I will still dose small amount every day till all the hair algae disappear then i cut back some more .

 

[sabbath]

Zoom, Is the 1/4 TSP a day in your 200?

 

[Zoom]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12139531#post12139531 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sabbath
Zoom, Is the 1/4 TSP a day in your 200?

Yes that is my maintenance dose every day 1/4 TSB on the 200g.
I have no N03 or P04 any more.

 

[Michael]

Re: Vodka or Sugar ?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12017977#post12017977 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Zoom
I got a FO tank with high NO3/PO4 i like to try to use sugar it is much easy for me to get i don't drink so i don't know what vodka to get.
Is it make any difference what i use?

ive got to say i am amazed i have seen threads on vodka and sugar many times, i have even asked the question, do you mean table sugar you put in your coffee? how on earth did you guys discover these two items can be used, it just seems ridiculous and impossible, i mean vodka and sugar, wow, does it really work? i would be terrified to stick them in my tank, but there you are we live and learn every single day

 

[Zoom]

Re: Re: Vodka or Sugar ?

Re: Re: Vodka or Sugar ?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12144824#post12144824 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mikeydj
ive got to say i am amazed i have seen threads on vodka and sugar many times, i have even asked the question, do you mean table sugar you put in your coffee? how on earth did you guys discover these two items can be used, it just seems ridiculous and impossible, i mean vodka and sugar, wow, does it really work? i would be terrified to stick them in my tank, but there you are we live and learn every single day

It work for me I just trying to get over some Hair algae .
Vodka / sugar dosing work to eliminate the NO3 /P04 from your tank water not the hair algae yet it getting better but not completely gone .
You need to find the right dose for your tank i started with a 1 TSP a day but i find it was to much for my tank i had very little N03/P04 in my tank so i cut back to half and now i only use 1/4 TSP regular table sugar i add it in high flow are in my sump.
You need to keep track on your N03/P04 ,ORP, PH .
Your sugar / vodka dosing may be way different than mine so you are on your own risk.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

ive got to say i am amazed i have seen threads on vodka and sugar many times, i have even asked the question, do you mean table sugar you put in your coffee? how on earth did you guys discover these two items can be used, it just seems ridiculous and impossible, i mean vodka and sugar, wow, does it really work? i would be terrified to stick them in my tank, but there you are we live and learn every single day

It is not all that amazing.

Nearly all organic molecules will drive bacteria to some extent. That's why food spoils. These are mostly chosen to not have nitrogen or phosphorus in them to add to nitrate and phosphate, and are also cheap and readily available to everyone.

That said, this is not a perfect method, and I do not choose to use it, although many aquarists find the results desirable.

 

[FloatingFish]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12150863#post12150863 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Randy Holmes-Farley
That said, this is not a perfect method, and I do not choose to use it, although many aquarists find the results desirable.

What method do you use then? Is there a perfect method?

 

[murraycamp]

Re: Re: Vodka or Sugar ?

Re: Re: Vodka or Sugar ?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12144824#post12144824 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mikeydj
ive got to say i am amazed i have seen threads on vodka and sugar many times, i have even asked the question, do you mean table sugar you put in your coffee? how on earth did you guys discover these two items can be used, it just seems ridiculous and impossible, i mean vodka and sugar, wow, does it really work? i would be terrified to stick them in my tank, but there you are we live and learn every single day

IIRC, carbon dosing is actually not a new method. It has been used in Europe (Germany) for years. It is also one of the core ideas with probiotic systems like Zeovit and Prodibio. In my experience, it requires very careful husbandry and daily testing to be beneficial.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

There is no perfect method, or everyone would use that.

I use macroalgae growth in a refugium, skimming, water changes, and some deep sand beds. Those may not always be as effective as driving bacteria, they have other benefits (like O2 production by the macroalgae as opposed to consumption by the bacteria) and they provide much less risk of substantial problems.


I discuss various methods here:


Phosphate and the Reef Aquarium
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-09/rhf/index.php

Nitrate in the Reef Aquarium
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/august2003/chem.htm

The “How To” Guide to Reef Aquarium Chemistry for Beginners,
Part 4: What Chemicals May Detrimentally Accumulate
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-09/rhf/index.php

 

[Zoom]

well is now been 18 days that i'm using sugar for carbon dosing and i'm very happy with the results so far my hair algae started to look like is dying the water is crystal clear now and actually i start to see some of my sps frags come to life .
I do agreed this is not perfect method but to me i have exhausted all my tool fighting bad algae this year it have to be that my tank is 14 years old with all the old live rock .
I did use a refuge with cheato, large amount of GFO, lower light period and Many large water changes, this is the best method so far i have not seen any Dinos after the last light out period for three days that was the same time i stared to dose sugar , i have no cyno (NONE) any more and the hair algae slowly going away.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

:thumbsup:

I'm glad it is working out for you!

Happy Reefing.

 

[Zoom]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12154227#post12154227 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Randy Holmes-Farley
:thumbsup:

I'm glad it is working out for you!

Happy Reefing.

Thank you Randy and i will update this thread so everyone know how things turn out in the long run..

 

[Reefflections]

Zoom
Glad to see this is working for you.Sometimes you get to the pont,where nothing seems to work
Keep us posted as you go.Did you take any pics before and after?Again some times you have to do what works best for you.At least you are taken it slow as you go.To find what your system needs.And pass the info on to others.If they want to try this method.

 

[moze229]

Hey Zoom, I'm curious where you are with this now. Is everything still going well? Did you continue dosing or did you eventually cut back and stop?

 

[crashrat]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12152005#post12152005 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Randy Holmes-Farley
There is no perfect method, or everyone would use that.

I use macroalgae growth in a refugium, skimming, water changes, and some deep sand beds. Those may not always be as effective as driving bacteria, they have other benefits (like O2 production by the macroalgae as opposed to consumption by the bacteria) and they provide much less risk of substantial problems.


I discuss various methods here:


Phosphate and the Reef Aquarium
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-09/rhf/index.php

Nitrate in the Reef Aquarium
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/august2003/chem.htm

The “How To” Guide to Reef Aquarium Chemistry for Beginners,
Part 4: What Chemicals May Detrimentally Accumulate
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-09/rhf/index.php

Randy, when are you going to bite the bullet and write a book?

 

[Zoom]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13567811#post13567811 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by moze229
Hey Zoom, I'm curious where you are with this now. Is everything still going well? Did you continue dosing or did you eventually cut back and stop?

I use sugar till the tank look good and i had no algae at all .
I have no Dinos or HA at all .
I did cut back the sugar to almost 1/2 TSP a week and that kept everything in check .
I did switch over to Vodka dosing to see if it was any different than sugar about a month a go after i let my No3 go up to 5 .
I really don't like Vodka i don't know if the ethanol if fueling the cyno but i had to stop the Vodka dosing because the tank was overrun with cyno.
i'm now back to sugar dosing but i just use enough to keep the No3 at 0 about 1/2 TSP a week.
the Cyno is almost dead now i had to do some extensive water changes / siphon cyno out so the tank is now almost back to normal .

 

[concept3]

Hey Steve! Long time no see buddy! I see you still got Cyano problems! I started dosing Vodka too to control the HA outbreak I had, it's all gone now after huge water change and scrubbing all the rocks- drop me a line sometime!

Merv

 

[radiata]

Randy,

Do you think vodka and/or sugar dosing could be used in a (filtered) fresh water system to reduce phosphates/nitrates? I don't think protein skimming would work in fresh water to remove any bacteria or bacterial end products. If so, might any other filtration remove the bacteria or bacterial ens products?

I'm not thinking of fresh water aquaculture applications here, but of cheaply processing tap water for reef make-up water to remove phosphates/nitrates without the expenses associated with RO/DI processing.

Regards,
Bob D.