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Sharing a drink with the reef?

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by ThyRaven, Mar 17, 2012.

  1. ThyRaven

    ThyRaven Well-Known ReefKeeper

    919
    Ratings:
    +1 / 0 / -0
    Looking to see if anyone else out there is dosing vodka in there tanks.
    Been doing a lot of reading that supports it being a good thing to reduce NO3 and PO4 in the water and help increase skimmer out put.
    I have just been toying with the idea but the more I read the more I want to do it but wanted to see if anyone in the club was doing so and if they how much they "share" with the tank.
    I have a 135G DT, a 40 breeder for frags and mangroves, and a 50G sump so total water volume is 225 gallons so how much would I dose and how often?
     
  2. Waverz

    Waverz Expert Reefkeeper

    Ratings:
    +5 / 0 / -0
    I also toy'd with the idea, ended up using pellets instead. Unless I hook up a doser there is no way I could remember to dose it everyday.
     
  3. Corallimorph

    Corallimorph Inactive User

    62
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    +0 / 0 / -0
    Keep us posted on your experiments with this, I have been researching it lately as well... /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default//emoticons/smile.gif
     
  4. Foo

    Foo Well-Known ReefKeeper

    524
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    +4 / 0 / -0
    http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php

    I opted for biopellets, but know a reefer that has had very positive results with vodka.
     
  5. F.D. Reefer Well-Known ReefKeeper

    506
    Fort dodge
    Ratings:
    +98 / 1 / -0
    been dozing vodka for 3 yrs now and would never stop. I dose wen I feed so it's not like u can forget and if u do it's not the end of the world. I haven't used GFO in 2 yrs either. My thot is GFO is competing with beneficial bacteria JMO.My tank gets warm in summer so an extra pump to run a pellet reactor is outa the ?. I do not use a refugium either "silly to alot of peeps I no" I wrote up "My Smirnoff experiences" 2 yrs ago and shared pics and info on tank. http://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/Community/DiscussionForums/tabid/78/aft/20914/Default.aspx
    I hope this helps
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 26, 2015
  6. F.D. Reefer Well-Known ReefKeeper

    506
    Fort dodge
    Ratings:
    +98 / 1 / -0
    http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php.
    This is were I got all my dosing info. Remember to use total estimated water volume. Live rock,sand, pumps etc take up volume.
     
  7. adampottebaum

    adampottebaum Experienced Reefkeeper

    Ratings:
    +19 / 0 / -0
    I've had bio pellets running for about 8 months and didn't notice a huge change. I had to run gfo after about 3 months cuz they just weren't keeping up. I've heard a lot of people are seeing that the bio pellets just don't do as good of a job as vodka, vinegar, or sugar dosing do. I had my gfo reactor off for about 2 weeks and came down with a ton of hair algae that still hasn't' totally gone away, so about a week ago I started dosing vodka and vinegar. 10 mL of 80 proof vodka is equivalent to 80 mL vinegar and 1 tsp sugar. I calculated out how much vinegar and how much vodka I'd have to dose and divided by 4 so by dosing both I was only dosing half strength combined. It's only been a week, so can't really know for sure.

    And just to clarify ThyRaven so you don't overdose, the calculations are based on WATER volume, not tank volume. Rock, corals, sand, etc. all take up space, so make sure you take that into consideration. So if you have 225 gallons, you're more likely to have about 150-180ish gallons of actual water in your system. There's no problem with underdosing, but overdosing can kill your tank!

    Do the reading before dosing anything and have a good way to test for nitrates and phosphates. Nitrates aren't as important, but you want to be able to know exactly what your phosphate readings are doing and most test kits SUCK, so I'd recommend buying a Hana Phosphate Checker...

    Good luck!
     
  8. Sponge Expert Reefkeeper Vendor

    Marshalltown, IA
    Ratings:
    +233 / 1 / -0
    I've been dosing Vodka for several months. Some get cyano just from dosing Vodka and then when they go to vinegar or, vinegar and vodka combined (like what Adam is doing), the cyano goes away. If you do dose, follow the guys' suggestions! S_L_O_W is BEST ;=0)
     
  9. ThyRaven

    ThyRaven Well-Known ReefKeeper

    919
    Ratings:
    +1 / 0 / -0
    Thanks for all the comments and additional research. Looks like it is time to test this for myself. Thanks for all the heads up and user imput. Makes this easier to start.
     
  10. ThyRaven

    ThyRaven Well-Known ReefKeeper

    919
    Ratings:
    +1 / 0 / -0
    I have a large amount of cyano now so I need to do something to get rid of it. Was starting to wonder if I TDS in my RO water. Filters are coming due for a change so I might check those as well. I've increased my flow. I have 2 - 1500 GPH Power heads blasting at each other, well one is more towards the front and the other towards the back on opposite sides of the tank. I've been doig 30 to 40 gallon water changes weekly. I just switched to Reef Crystals as well. I know my bulbs are 3 or 4 months past their usable time span but for now I am stuck with them as I can't afford new bulbs or lighting right now. Working on saving $$$ for LEDs through aquastyleonline.com ($300 would get me 108 LEDs, optics, and 3 dimmable drivers).

    Other than lights I have no idea what to do to get rid of the ugly cyano all over my tank. Fish health is great! Corals are doing better now that I have them up higher in the water flow and closer to the lights. I also have a few of them under T5s in the 40 breeder with my mangroves which have sprouted more roots and 2 of them have another leaf growing! which is totally cool! (Thanks for the groves Craig!)

    Other than dosing the vodka what else could I do? My tank runs hot with it being in the basement. Odd I know but keeping it under 79 is hard, so I don't want to run another pump. I do have a T off where I could open a ball value up to push water through a reactor but yet again the $$$ issue comes into play.

    I am open to any and every idea. I've also started to pull the rock out and scrub the cyano off but I am putting it into a different container with 10% tank water, 90% fresh saltwater to help kill off the bacteria. Plan to move about a fourth of my rock a week to the new container as I do water changes. Then was going to do a 50 or 75 gallon water change as I move the rock back into the 135 with the hope to finally get rid of it.

    Advised, comments, suggestions, rants, idc, whatever it is, is great appreciated.
     

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