Vodka dosing?

[ImACoolguy]

I still consider myself new to the salty side. My reef tank started as a 10g and is now a 20 long. Long story short I have a big skimmer in the tank as well as an HOB till my drilled tank is fixed.

I've heard a lot about vodka dosing but if someone could explain what is actually is and how it works that would be great.

Links are welcome. I have a SUPER SLOW RODI machine so anything to save on water changes interests me.


Caleb

 

[coralbandit]

Hoping I get a link through;
Vodka Dosing by 'Genetics' and 'Stony_Corals' - Reefkeeping.com

You hould Pm Reefing Madness.
He got me into much quicker then any other method.

By using vodka(or numerous other "organics") you can control or eliminate your nirAtes!
I vodka dose 1 of my tanks and use 'bio pellets' in another.

Tell RM I sent you if he doesn't chime in..

 

[ImACoolguy]

Hoping I get a link through;
Vodka Dosing by 'Genetics' and 'Stony_Corals' - Reefkeeping.com

You hould Pm Reefing Madness.
He got me into much quicker then any other method.

By using vodka(or numerous other "organics") you can control or eliminate your nirAtes!
I vodka dose 1 of my tanks and use 'bio pellets' in another.

Tell RM I sent you if he doesn't chime in..

Thanks bandit! Link does work going to check it out.


Caleb

 

[bribo12]

You can also look into vinegar dosing. A slower process but safer than vodka dosing.


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[ImACoolguy]

You can also look into vinegar dosing. A slower process but safer than vodka dosing.


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Thanks bribo that gives me some piece of mind I may try that first to be on the safe side.


Caleb

 

[coralbandit]

Bio pellets are a set it and forget it type deal.
Any of the carbon dosing methods to remove nitrates require a protein skimmer.
Just tested the trAtes in my 75 that has not had water changed in a year and they were 10.
This tank is on the pellets in a reactor in sump.

 

[Reefing Madness]

You can also look into vinegar dosing. A slower process but safer than vodka dosing.


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Safer?? Not so, they are both equally easy and quite safe to use, I assure you. Its all but impossible to overdose your tank using either one.

 

[ImACoolguy]

Safer?? Not so, they are both equally easy and quite safe to use, I assure you. Its all but impossible to overdose your tank using either one.

The link bandit shared said that vodka dosing can reduce o2 levels in the tank and can kill fish if overdosed too bad?

I'm no expert that's why I'm trying to get my ducks in a row before I go through with this.


Caleb

 

[bribo12]

The link bandit shared said that vodka dosing can reduce o2 levels in the tank and can kill fish if overdosed too bad?

I'm no expert that's why I'm trying to get my ducks in a row before I go through with this.


Caleb

Overdosing vodka can deplete o2 levels quite quickly. It is safe as long as you follow dosing procedures correctly but it can wipe tanks.

Do you have a good skimmer Caleb? That's a necessity as well


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[ImACoolguy]

Overdosing vodka can deplete o2 levels quite quickly. It is safe as long as you follow dosing procedures correctly but it can wipe tanks.

Do you have a good skimmer Caleb? That's a necessity as well


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I have an Odyssea PS160 on a 20g is that enough?


Caleb

 

[coralbandit]

As long as the skimmer is performing efficiently it should be fine.
Now lets take into context how difficult it would be to OD.
I add 5ml 2 times a day.(aqueon liquid test vials have the line at 5ml).

On a 120g!
For a 20 you may get up to 1ml 2 times a day but that ain't where you start.
Just guessing but more like .3-.5 ml twice a day.
The hard part will be measuring so little IMO.

 

[ImACoolguy]

As long as the skimmer is performing efficiently it should be fine.
Now lets take into context how difficult it would be to OD.
I add 5ml 2 times a day.(aqueon liquid test vials have the line at 5ml).

On a 120g!
For a 20 you may get up to 1ml 2 times a day but that ain't where you start.
Just guessing but more like .3-.5 ml twice a day.
The hard part will be measuring so little IMO.

Yeah after that link where they started at 0.1mL I was wondering how I would cut this down to the dose for my tank. I guess I'll start at 0.1mL and log changes daily.


Caleb

 

[bribo12]

I guess I'm curious why you feel the need to vodka dose?


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[ImACoolguy]

I guess I'm curious why you feel the need to vodka dose?


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Guess I should have started with that huh?

Hair algae hills. Nitrate issues. Having only a little HOB brought it all in now even with hand removal I'm barely keeping it under control. If you have read my thread I had a sump system ready on a new tank but the back panel cracked so I'm still stuck with the HOB for now.

I'd like to use the vodka to get a handle on nitrates till the day comes my drilled tank gets fixed(college budget puts a damper on these things ya know?)


Caleb

 

[bribo12]

Gotcha lol. College budget still allows for vodka though???


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[ImACoolguy]

Gotcha lol. College budget still allows for vodka though???


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Haha I think 1mL dosing goes a lot slower then tipping up the bottles on weekends


Caleb

 

[Reefing Madness]

You can vodka dose with a piece of crap Coralife Skimmer. You'd have to dump in the bottle in order to do damage to the tank. This coming from someone who has been dosing for a long time, and can tell you where your dosing will be when your done. I can jump start a system, up and have Nitrates coming down in a matter of weeks, not months.

 

[ImACoolguy]

You can vodka dose with a piece of crap Coralife Skimmer. You'd have to dump in the bottle in order to do damage to the tank. This coming from someone who has been dosing for a long time, and can tell you where your dosing will be when your done. I can jump start a system, up and have Nitrates coming down in a matter of weeks, not months.

Sounds lovely. So does starting at 0.1mL look feasible to you and work my way up?


Caleb

 

[Mebbid]

In order to dose such a small amount such as 0.1ml do serial dillutions.

Take 1ml of vodka and mix it with 1ml of water then draw up 1ml of the mixture to give you 0.5ml of vodka. Mix the 1ml of vodka / water mix with 1ml of water then draw up to give you 0.25ml of vodka. Rinse and repeat then do a little math to get the amount you need.

 

[Reefing Madness]

I would start at 1mls for 3 days, then up it to 5mls for 4 days, then add 5mls every 5 days after that until you see the Nitrates start to come down. You'll need to test weekly, once you see them just start to come down, then that dose will be your maintenance dose until you get the number you want to hold in the tank. Then cut the dose in half.
Once you reach double digit dosing (10mls+) you'll want to split that dose up, dose half in the am and half in the pm, preferably 12 hours apart.