Is Vodka dosing a tank a real thing?

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Geonet

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Just wondering...It sounds kinda crazy:)
 
Yes. It's absolutely a real thing. It's a form of carbon dosing. Some people swear by it. Never done it myself. I have other uses for vodka. ;)
 
Yep sure is! It acts as a carbon source or food needed for particular types of bacteria to grow and consume nitrates and phosphates. There is a bunch of articles here
 
LoL...mine has Cranberry Juice in it ATM:)
...and TY...I keep seeing it in ML measurements so small I cant find the right amounts in Standard.:(
 
LoL...mine has Cranberry Juice in it ATM:)
...and TY...I keep seeing it in ML measurements so small I cant find the right amounts in Standard.:(
All I can say is start very slow it’s powerful stuff in high amounts and can crash your tank if overdosed with out a skimmer of sufficient water movement
 
advice on a 75?..have 8 fish ..skimmer is running.

Ordered some Frags tonight

Geonet
 
advice on a 75?..have 8 fish ..skimmer is running.

Ordered some Frags tonight

Geonet


Advice: Do the prep work to determine if you need carbon dosing (plan for 2-3wks) and then ease into dosing if you decide you do.

1.Purchase a Hannah low range phosphorous checker and a quality nitrate test kit.

2. Test every couple of days for a wk or two. Record parallel to your alk test results and determine if your nitrate/phosphate are elevated and if they are balanced to each other.

3. Assuming your tank is fully cycled look at your frags and ask yourself "are my corals begging me for lower nitrate and phosphate". Is color dark with lots of pale brown and green? Are polyps/tentacles retracted? Is growth and encrusting minimal?

4. Consider your alk baseline, lighting and color/growth of your corals before deciding to dose. Higher alk tanks can handle higher nutrients if strong light is supplied (T5 or MH). IMO LED tanks are much more sensitive in general and seem to prefer lower nutrients and lower all (below 8.5-9).

5. Try to wait until your frags are settled in to your tank before dosing or it will be just another swing they have to deal with on top of shipping and tank transfer.

Above all keep it in context,. It's a tool for temporary use while navigating a tank into balance. If you're in balance already, you may already be getting all the benefits via your husbandry. Dosing a mostly balanced tank adds a lot of risk for small ROI. One good swing and you'll be buying replacement corals or exiting the hobby early.

The above testing baselines will tell you how balanced you are.
 

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