Drip style vodka dosing.

[Seasonedreefer]

Has anyone considered Drip dosing Vodka,Vinegar or Sugar solution? I have a Kent dosing container and can adjust the drip rate to almost being non existent. Any thoughts or comments?

 

[Seasonedreefer]

Anyone?

 

[n00b]

no.. i have been reading up on the vodka though..

 

[Aquaph8]

I think it would work great. I would use vinegar, drip during day light hours while your Ph is at its highest and oxygen levels are high. Keep your Alk no higher than 8 and make sure your running a good skimmer.

 

[Seasonedreefer]

Do the same rules apply to vinegar as they do to vodka? I really would like to drip some type of carbon source. My theory on dripping is it is almost the same as running a reactor with bio pellets. I would think anyways?especially if the drip is very slow and constant.

 

[apicturepaints]

I am dosing vodka at the moment, but I have heard of people crashing their tanks. You just have to be careful, raise your dose gradually, and keep a close eye on your livestock and general reaction of your tank. People tend to use vinegar because it is much cheaper and less of a risk. I will say that dripping vodka has not been necessary for me. I just split my dose half and half morning/night and put it in my sump, but that is my risk to take.

 

[reefhobo]

If you are just putting vodka/vinegar in a bottle and hang a I.V. type dripper over it, that could be pretty dangerous. Over dosing your tank accidentally can be deadly. Usually there are specific amount of carbon dosing per day, and ramp up over time until desired amount of bacteria is reached. e.g. 1ml first week, 2ml second week, 4ml third week, 8ml fourth week, etc. How will you dose exact amount with a drip doser I don't know.

 

[Aquaph8]

Yes, the same rules apply with vinegar as vodka but vinegar is 8X weaker. If you were gonna automate it I would run it on a dosing pump through a controller. Until you reach your maintenance dose you'll be changing it weekly as your dosage increases. I dont like the idea of a constant drip but small amounts added throughout the day could work well.

 

[Seasonedreefer]

Good to know thanks guys.

 

[E.intheC]

Seasoned, did you end up moving forward with this?