NEW Vodka and Vinegar Dosing Charts

[Miami Reef]

finally after dosing 35ml of vodka my nitrates do max out the hanna tester at 75. Today down to 67.7 and phosphates dropped to .71 from .74

Should I keep doing the 35 ml or back it down a little?

Keep it up. Once you get to your ideal level you can back down.

 

[Trimixdivin]

Keep it up. Once you get to your ideal level you can back down.

Thanks

Marty

 

[Zoacoral]

I have a 40 gallon tank with a sump. If i had to guess between tank and sump theres roughly 50 gallons of actual water. My nitrates are above 75 according to my hanna nitrate tester. I started out with 1.6ML of vodka. Im almost thru week 2 of dosing 3.1 ML and nitrates still above 75ppm. How much should i dose of vodka for week 3?. Should i double it?

 

[Miami Reef]

I have a 40 gallon tank with a sump. If i had to guess between tank and sump theres roughly 50 gallons of actual water. My nitrates are above 75 according to my hanna nitrate tester. I started out with 1.6ML of vodka. Im almost thru week 2 of dosing 3.1 ML and nitrates still above 75ppm. How much should i dose of vodka for week 3?. Should i double it?

I would double it. 6.2mL per day of vodka. That’s the max dose I’d recommend. Your nitrates will drop quickly.

 

[Hypnotize]

So the OP says not to does sugar but what Typ of sugar are we talking about, probably sucrose right?

 

[Miami Reef]

So the OP says not to does sugar but what Typ of sugar are we talking about, probably sucrose right?

Sucrose is the most common one. You can also dose glucose.

More people experience coral browning out with sugar over other carbon sources. You can experiment with it if you’d like.

 

[Hypnotize]

Sucrose is the most common one. You can also dose glucose.

More people experience coral browning out with sugar over other carbon sources. You can experiment with it if you’d like.

I’ve mostly read the browing with sucrose.

I know from a few products that use glucose, ribose and other sugars without reading about the browning that’s why I’m asking.

And yes I’m experimenting with a few different sugars atm but in very low quantities so not really for nutrients reduction but rather a continuous supply for corals, bacteria and other organisms in the tank.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

My browning result was with sucrose. I never tried other sugars and not many folks report results from dosing them.

 

[Hypnotize]

My browning result was with sucrose. I never tried other sugars and not many folks report results from dosing them.

That’s for the replay.

I think in the end it will be up to results we’re looking for are we looking for nutrient reduction or are we trying to promote healthier bacteria population in the coral mucous.
By reading a lot of threads it seems like Actate and Ethanol promote different organisms , so maybe some sugars could improve coral health without having an effect on the nutrients.

I read an old paper about different sugars and if they were used by bacteria in the water colum, the bacteria on healthy corals and sick corals.
Some stuck out to me but again was a super old paper.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

It certainly could be that different organics may have somewhat different effects.

My goals were nutrient reduction shifting from more costly and space consuming lit refugia and the encouragement of the feeding of filter feeders.

We also need to recognize that corals (both host and zoox) may directly consume certain organics and that may have positive or maybe even negative effects.

 

[Hypnotize]

It certainly could be that different organics may have somewhat different effects.

My goals were nutrient reduction shifting from more costly and space consuming lit refugia and the encouragement of the feeding of filter feeders.

We also need to recognize that corals (both host and zoox) may directly consume certain organics and that may have positive or maybe even negative effects.

Yeah Vinegar and Vodka are definitely awesome cheap tools for aquarists.

As you said Surcose had negative effects in browning corals.

 

[BZOFIQ]

great write up!

With vinegar being cheap compared to vodka why would I want to use vodka.

Because I barf when I smell it - not being sarcastic or dramatic.

Put it in my dish and watch.

 

[Miami Reef]

Because I barf when I smell it - not being sarcastic or dramatic.

Put it in my dish and watch.

lol

 

[BZOFIQ]

There is the concern of cyano blooms with Vodka dosing.

Is it because of the vodka dosing itself or when one bottoms out nitrates and/or phosphates or if they our not within some sort of a ratio?

 

[BZOFIQ]

lol

I was talking about vinegar of course not vodka.

 

[Miami Reef]

There is the concern of cyano blooms with Vodka dosing.

Is it because of the vodka dosing itself or when one bottoms out nitrates and/or phosphates or if they our not within some sort of a ratio?

There’s a risk of cyano with any carbon dosing, but vodka seems to have a higher likelihood according to anecdotal reports.

That being said, I currently dose vodka, and I’m not experiencing much cyano. I have a single, small patch, but that’s it. It’s not increasing or spreading.

 

[BZOFIQ]

There’s a risk of cyano with any carbon dosing, but vodka seems to have a higher likelihood according to anecdotal reports.

That being said, I currently dose vodka, and I’m not experiencing much cyano. I have a single, small patch, but that’s it. It’s not increasing or spreading.

Understood...but does it happen just because one starts dosing or it happens when the nutrients are close to bottoming out or are out of whack ratio wise with one another?

 

[Nano_Man]

Just started vinger dosing to reduce high nitrate following along on your chart will let you know how things turn out

 

[Miami Reef]

Understood...but does it happen just because one starts dosing or it happens when the nutrients are close to bottoming out or are out of whack ratio wise with one another?

Nitrate to phosphate ratios won’t cause cyano.

Cyano can thrive in both high and low nutrient tanks. There doesn’t seem to be a clear consensus on the causes.

In my opinion, low flow and high organics can fuel cyano. Cyano can form mats to trap organics in substrates.

For further cyano questions, I’d highly suggest speaking to @Randy Holmes-Farley and @taricha

Read these

I don’t think over filtering is a contributor to cyano.

To me there are several distinct scenarios for cyano growth. So the effective responses that a hobbyist can do don't always match up from one tank to the next.
One scenario is if you stress or kill algae, cyano slime frequently covers it.

Another one of the most common ones - probably the case in this thread - is accumulation of organics and low flow allows for high local available nutrients that cyano mat communities can exploit. Also it allows low O2 & low pH at the sand surface that can let additional goodies be liberated from the sand - PO4 and Fe (beyond the organics that settle there).

So vacuuming and higher flow are often helpful to remove that set of conditions

Since it's rare to be able to drive cyano growth with simply the nutrients in reef tank water, for local cyano mats I'm generally in favor of repeated vacuuming, letting it burn out local nutrient stores, and changing flow/feeding so food isn't accumulating there.
If you do chemical killing, I'd still vacuum local trouble spots.

Read this thread to see the full thread (both quotes came from the same thread)

Over filtering

Hello fellow reefers I am having a small breakout of Cyanobacteria. It’s certainly manageable. I know I can remove it with a treatment of chemiclean but it comes back. I have been told I am over filtering as my nitrates and phosphate are very low. I am hesitant to remove/change my filter setup...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Understood...but does it happen just because one starts dosing or it happens when the nutrients are close to bottoming out or are out of whack ratio wise with one another?

It is unrelated to nutrient levels. Organics are food for cyano.