New to feeding, Vodka dosing?

[frankieg2293]

Is Vodka Dosing the best way to get my nitrites and nitrates under control? Does it have any bad side effects. I already did 2 water changes in about 7 days on a 220 gal tank. Ammonia went down a lot but nitrates are still elevated.

I am new to reefing and would love to start putting coral in my tank.

I think the problem was that when I bought my tank I bought it used from a friend and transported 3/4 of his water to my house so I can keep the fish that he had and didn’t have to spend a fortune on buying premise water.

Any input on vodka dosing or just comments or advice for a newbie would be great.

thanks.

 

[SlugSnorter]

WC size? current params?

Premix water is pretty cheap... anyways its best to mix your own.

Don't use tap water

 

[GARRIGA]

I’ve chosen NoPox as I understand that’s basically a ratio of vinegar and vodka that won’t negatively affect PH as either alone would have a temporary affect up or down on their own. YouTube offers a recipe. Can save half off. I just buy the bottle. Cheap enough for my current need. Going DIY once my display is up.

BTW, for me it’s only worked when I’ve had phosphates as my system surprisingly is phosphate deficient. No clue why. Redfield ratio has worked for me although I’ve found having the presence of both being sufficient to drop both vs attempting to hit an exact ratio of 10:1 or as now being suggested of up to 20:1 N.

Still learning in this but this is my experience

 

[frankieg2293]

WC size? current params?

Premix water is pretty cheap... anyways its best to mix your own.

Don't use tap water

I started mixing my own salt water with RO, now that all the fish are doing well and safe in an actual aquarium.
WC? And I have my pumps moving at 1/3 way up I have quiet drives from echo tech marine. If that what you mean by currant Param

 

[SlugSnorter]

I started mixing my own salt water with RO, now that all the fish are doing well and safe in an actual aquarium.
WC? And I have my pumps moving at 1/3 way up I have quiet drives from echo tech marine. If that what you mean by currant Param

WC = water change

Params = parameters = Ammonia, PH, dKH(alk/alkalinity), Mag(nesium) , Cal(cium), Phosphates, etc

 

[Jekyl]

Shouldn't be seeing ammonia at all. My guess is some die off I'm the move. What are your current parameters? NoPox and such can help but it's not a miracle worker and takes a month or so to see any results.

 

[SlugSnorter]

Is Vodka Dosing the best way to get my nitrites and nitrates under control? Does it have any bad side effects. I already did 2 water changes in about 7 days on a 220 gal tank. Ammonia went down a lot but nitrates are still elevated.

I am new to reefing and would love to start putting coral in my tank.

I think the problem was that when I bought my tank I bought it used from a friend and transported 3/4 of his water to my house so I can keep the fish that he had and didn’t have to spend a fortune on buying premise water.

Any input on vodka dosing or just comments or advice for a newbie would be great.

thanks.

You should do some research into tank keeping,

parameters, QT tanks, waterchanges, stocking, feeding, cycling

Corals are hard to keep

Whats in the tank right now? is the tank cycled? How much aquarium experience do you have?

 

[frankieg2293]

WC = water change

Params = parameters = Ammonia, PH, dKH(alk/alkalinity), Mag(nesium) , Cal(cium), Phosphates, et

WC was 54gal in a 220 gal tank
Ammonia is currently at .5-1 (****** tester can’t read the colors too well )
Ph is 8.03
I have to check the rest I’m not home now. I’ll let you know tho

 

[frankieg2293]

Shouldn't be seeing ammonia at all. My guess is some die off I'm the move. What are your current parameters? NoPox and such can help but it's not a miracle worker and takes a month or so to see any results.

I killed a tun of fire worms and bristle worms out of the live rock by boiling the rocks outside. So my guess is the dead worms I couldn’t pic out of the rocks and I just left are what caused the spike.

 

[frankieg2293]

This. Guy was about 10 inches long

 

[GARRIGA]

I killed a tun of fire worms and bristle worms out of the live rock by boiling the rocks outside. So my guess is the dead worms I couldn’t pic out of the rocks and I just left are what caused the spike.

Fire worms are bad but bristles consume detritus. Not sure if you knew that. Next time consider muriatic acid if removing life is required.

 

[SlugSnorter]

WC was 54gal in a 220 gal tank
Ammonia is currently at .5-1 (****** tester can’t read the colors too well )
Ph is 8.03
I have to check the rest I’m not home now. I’ll let you know tho

ammonia should be zero, PH is a little low but okay, id recommend getting a better test kit, API is liquid garbage in a box

 

[HomebroodExotics]

I killed a tun of fire worms and bristle worms out of the live rock by boiling the rocks outside. So my guess is the dead worms I couldn’t pic out of the rocks and I just left are what caused the spike.

You need some bottled bacteria and prime asap