Vodka dosing 180

[AlexF762]

I had never been much of a number chaser, i test alk & ca, but as long as they are in an acceptable range I don't worry much. I use my more sensitive sps as an indicator and go from there. After having a small cyano and some sort or dense brown/ green o2 producing algae pop up and live through persistent vacuuming and scrubbing I began to wonder what made it come up. I do regular roughly 27% water changes every two weeks and run Gfo and carbon. No changes to feeding. I dosed cyano solution and did a water change the next day. Killed all remaining cyano. I decided to pick up a Red Sea "algae control" test kit. PO4 = .08 & NO3 = 16ppm one day after water change. ( all corals look normal). I decided to try vodka dosing as I've heard much success with it. I have a new 1456 deltec skimmer to handle the extra waste produced. And a bottle of skoal for the ethanol. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161019/ad1c18abe8c80bd211d07fe92092259b.jpg

I want to use this thread to share my experiences and learn from others that have tried this approach.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Jasonb]

Following along

[Zack]

Following. I tried vodka doing in 2014 but I wasn't precise enough in my measurements or frequent enough in my testing and my Corals suffered. Can't wait to see how this turns out!

[FarmerTy]

Once you learn the concepts of vodka dosing, I'd then switch over to biopellets as a form of solid carbon dosing. Same results but less hands on as long as you can properly adjust it for performance.

[AlexF762]

I am going to be dosing through my apex and a BRS dosing pump once I get over 1ml / day so I won't have to manually dose. What are the benefits of pellets over the vodka,?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[FarmerTy]

None if you go the route of the doser with vodka, other than a possible less likely event of overdose than with a doser that can malfunction. Also, biopellets contain all carbon and isolates it from the system itself in an independent reactor and minimizes chances of bacterial blooms that can deplete oxygen and kill livestock.

[AlexF762]

Oh ok gotcha. I have thought about going the biopellet route. It just seemed cheaper to go with vodka since I had a spare doser and a 1L bottle was $6.50! Lol
I maintain some tanks with biopellets and they all seem to have their own quirks for some reason as far as the reactors themselves go.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Zack]

The best part about vodka dosing is if something goes wrong you have the vodka already near the tank lol

[FarmerTy]

The best part about vodka dosing is if something goes wrong you have the vodka already near the tank lol
Haha! When it gets real rough, I'll probably force down some biopellets. :p

[FarmerTy]

Oh ok gotcha. I have thought about going the biopellet route. It just seemed cheaper to go with vodka since I had a spare doser and a 1L bottle was $6.50! Lol
I maintain some tanks with biopellets and they all seem to have their own quirks for some reason as far as the reactors themselves go.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Vodka is definitely much cheaper for startup. Not sure which wins out in long-term costs but I'd give the nudge to vodka probably.

I guess the biggest difference is I cannot overdose my biopellets right now in their current state. I can however overdose vodka by a pump malfunction and kill the tank. You could always just keep a small enough quantity in the dosing container that if it does accidentally get stuck on, you'll be able to only overdose a bit.

[AlexF762]

I do see what you mean with a possible overdose in the case of a pump malfunction. Vodka maybe a good ease into carbon dosing that can be easily manipulated vs adding a lot of biopellets or one time or slowly adding pellets in over a period of time. I have seen some nasty effects when people add biopellets all at once.
I hope I don't regret saying this, but I have not had a malfunction through fault of the apex or a BRS doser as of yet.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[FarmerTy]

I do see what you mean with a possible overdose in the case of a pump malfunction. Vodka maybe a good ease into carbon dosing that can be easily manipulated vs adding a lot of biopellets or one time or slowly adding pellets in over a period of time. I have seen some nasty effects when people add biopellets all at once.
I hope I don't regret saying this, but I have not had a malfunction through fault of the apex or a BRS doser as of yet.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Absolutely, biopellets are rough when first added to a system. If the system was acclimated first via vodka dosing, you're right, you can tune it easier and once the system is ready, swap you biopellets if desired. I always advise people when starting with biopellets is to not pay any attention to the amount recommended by the manufacturer.

Mine was recommended at 1000 ml for my system and only need to use about maybe 300 ml at most and I have a decent biopopulation and feed tons! I think this is where most go wrong with biopellets and why they have such disastrous effects when first employed.

[leliataylor]

I have also used vodka dosing, biopellets and vodka dose before adding biopellets. They both work very well. I am not a big fan of automated dosing systems because of some of the horror stories I have seen when a pump gets stuck. With either one you have to start with low doses and gradually build up to what you are trying to achieve. Neither will have much of a impact early on and I think all the bad results come when people get impatient and add too much of either. Anytime I dose something on a tank I plan out where I want to be, test constantly and very gradually modify the dose. I have also found that each tank will respond somewhat differently when dosing even when they are the same size, filtration, bioload, etc. Every tank is a little different in how it responds to change.

[AlexF762]

Here's a few Pics for comparison later. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161025/c6d7536f0a6e6c2085dc4dcbef173d75.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161025/9f0227313554c1bba79e304c8c2c77eb.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[AlexF762]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161025/65f7b4a0165f537975a2e76362c34a82.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MockandRoll]

I am cycling my tank now. The tank came with red sea marine pro kit so I decided to use it for cycling. From my research the kit is basically cycling and carbon dosing at the same time. It appears to be working but only time will tell once I start to add a bioload. I doubt I will keep carbon dosing once the cycle ends.

[AlexF762]

I am now up to 2.4 mL a day and I haven't missed a day. There is a noticeable reduction in algae on the rocks, but no changes in the water parameters. I am assuming the bacteria is consuming some of the NO3 & PO4 that was keeping the algae fed and starving that off, but not enough to see a change in testing. Corals are all handling it fine with no visible changes.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[AlexF762]

Update. Now up to 4.9 mL/ day. All nuisance algae is gone. PO4 holding steady NO3 has decreased slightly. This is with regular 25% w/c, still replacing carbon& GFO monthly. I believe the numbers will begin to drop much more quickly now. Still no I'll effects. I automatized last week adding a BRS dosing pump. It adds 1/2 of the amount every 12 hours. So far really liking the vodka dosing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[BBQHILLBILLY]

How are the corals doing? Colonies?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk