Continue using vodka as carbon source with Aquaforest bacteria?

[FrugalReefer]

My order of Aquaforest Probiotic Bacteria will soon be coming. I have been carbon dosing my tank with vodka for a while now and am wondering if it will be ok to continue using vodka with this bacteria. Or would it be better to switch to their Np Pro product which Aquaforest recommends?

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Why are you carbon dosing in the first place?

 

[FrugalReefer]

Why are you carbon dosing in the first place?

To control my nutrients and more so to feed my corals bacterioplankton.

 

[ナイトコア猫]

Be careful not to drop too much pH.

 

[gbroadbridge]

My order of Aquaforest Probiotic Bacteria will soon be coming. I have been carbon dosing my tank with vodka for a while now and am wondering if it will be ok to continue using vodka with this bacteria. Or would it be better to switch to their Np Pro product which Aquaforest recommends?

NP Pro is a carbon source and is very concentrated.

You will not need to dose any other carbon source.

I dilute the NP Pro and dose it using a dosing pump and use it exclusively to control Nitrate.
Like any other Carbon source it does not really help much with Phosphate.

 

[ナイトコア猫]

NP Pro is a carbon source and is very concentrated.

You will not need to dose any other carbon source.

I dilute the NP Pro and dose it using a dosing pump and use it exclusively to control Nitrate.
Like any other Carbon source it does not really help much with Phosphate.

But will there be a little gap of time before the bacteria multiply?

 

[gbroadbridge]

But will there be a little gap of time before the bacteria multiply?

You already have bacteria in the tank who will consume NP Pro or other carbon source.

If you start using Pro Bio S you are simply adding additional types of bacteria which will compete with those already in the tank and possibly provide additional biodiversity.

I have not used Pro Bio S since the initial bottle as the Nitrate/Phosphate is being controlled only with the addition of NP Pro. As your tank is already using Carbon dosing I don't know if Pro Bio S will actually make any visible difference.

FYI, I dilute the 50ml bottle of NP Pro with 2000ml RODI water - this is the same as buying the 2 litre version of NP Pro designed for automatic dosing. My tank currently uses about 5 ml per day of the diluted solution (90 gal system) to keep Nitrate at 5-10ppm, so it is very cost effective.

 

[FrugalReefer]

NP Pro is a carbon source and is very concentrated.

You will not need to dose any other carbon source.

I dilute the NP Pro and dose it using a dosing pump and use it exclusively to control Nitrate.
Like any other Carbon source it does not really help much with Phosphate.

So I should be ok continuing with vodka?

 

[dwhanc00]

I had originally put this post in the newest Vodka dosing chart chat. gbroadbridge replied to me in that one as well. I have a lot of questions about dialing in my AF dosing method which includes basically their whole line up of products. Hopefully we can get some additional answers here about combining additional carbon dosing with the AF method:

I have a 140 gallon tank; 35 gallon sump (only 20 gallons of water. I started the AF probiotic method about a month ago using 1/2 of the GFO, Zeo and carbon. My NO3 and PO4 were around 65 and .35. Fear of overdosing carbon, I reduced dosing vinegar from 40ml to 20ml. My most recent NO3 and PO4 were 60 and .20. I changed my media and am now almost full strength on the GFO, Zeo and carbon "triple threat".

Part of the probiotic method is dosing the AF NitroPhos minus at 20ml per day. I also believe one of the other "bacteria dosing" bottles include a carbon source (pro bio S and NP pro). They don't say not to vinegar dose, but it also doesn't provide guidance if you are.

Considering I am struggling to keep NO3 down (PO4 is coming down), would you suggest moving back to the 40 ml to see if that helps reduce the NO3 or give the "triple threat" time to work them down? Part of my adjustments were also related to some growth on the underside of my rocks "fluffy brown stuff" you can see in my other posts thinking that was a bacteria build up.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I had originally put this post in the newest Vodka dosing chart chat. gbroadbridge replied to me in that one as well. I have a lot of questions about dialing in my AF dosing method which includes basically their whole line up of products. Hopefully we can get some additional answers here about combining additional carbon dosing with the AF method:

I have a 140 gallon tank; 35 gallon sump (only 20 gallons of water. I started the AF probiotic method about a month ago using 1/2 of the GFO, Zeo and carbon. My NO3 and PO4 were around 65 and .35. Fear of overdosing carbon, I reduced dosing vinegar from 40ml to 20ml. My most recent NO3 and PO4 were 60 and .20. I changed my media and am now almost full strength on the GFO, Zeo and carbon "triple threat".

Part of the probiotic method is dosing the AF NitroPhos minus at 20ml per day. I also believe one of the other "bacteria dosing" bottles include a carbon source (pro bio S and NP pro). They don't say not to vinegar dose, but it also doesn't provide guidance if you are.

Considering I am struggling to keep NO3 down (PO4 is coming down), would you suggest moving back to the 40 ml to see if that helps reduce the NO3 or give the "triple threat" time to work them down? Part of my adjustments were also related to some growth on the underside of my rocks "fluffy brown stuff" you can see in my other posts thinking that was a bacteria build up.

There is a very wide latitude in amount of organic carbon folks use, and no specific recipe in advance is going to be appropriate for all tanks.

Organic dosing in particular is, IMO, most a trial and error method that you adjust as time goes by to meet the needs of your tank.

If you are not seeing nutrients where you want them to be, then adjustuing to use more of whatever export methods you prefer is a fien plan.

I would not suggest there's a huge problem with your numbers that requires an immediate response, but I will say that organic carbon dosing is a relatively poor method to reduce phosphate, hence the reason for GFO.

 

[Ironfish]

You already have bacteria in the tank who will consume NP Pro or other carbon source.

If you start using Pro Bio S you are simply adding additional types of bacteria which will compete with those already in the tank and possibly provide additional biodiversity.

I have not used Pro Bio S since the initial bottle as the Nitrate/Phosphate is being controlled only with the addition of NP Pro. As your tank is already using Carbon dosing I don't know if Pro Bio S will actually make any visible difference.

FYI, I dilute the 50ml bottle of NP Pro with 2000ml RODI water - this is the same as buying the 2 litre version of NP Pro designed for automatic dosing. My tank currently uses about 5 ml per day of the diluted solution (90 gal system) to keep Nitrate at 5-10ppm, so it is very cost effective.

Looks like you have a decent amount of experience using this product.

I just started dosing NP Pro and Pro Bio S 4 days ago mainly bc I want to bring Nitrates down from 30+ to ideally 10+.
1000 lts system so I'm going with 10 drops of each bottle.

How long does it take until I start seeing some effects?
Once I reach a desired level. Do I keep dosing the same amount?

Instructions on the product box or website are not very complete or detailed.

Thanks!

 

[gbroadbridge]

Looks like you have a decent amount of experience using this product.

I just started dosing NP Pro and Pro Bio S 4 days ago mainly bc I want to bring Nitrates down from 30+ to ideally 10+.
1000 lts system so I'm going with 10 drops of each bottle.

How long does it take until I start seeing some effects?
Once I reach a desired level. Do I keep dosing the same amount?

Instructions on the product box or website are not very complete or detailed.

Thanks!

First, Nitrate of 30ppm is nothing to worry about so there is no big rush to drop it.

It will take a long time, probably a month at least before you start to see a measurable drop.

However once it is working and you have Nitrate where you want it you will be able to drop the dose probably by 50%

Do not be tempted to increase the dose, as the product feeds bacteria and in worst case that can include cyanobacteria.