started my vodka dosing, need advice from experience

[ReeferBill]

So I started my tank with the vodka dosing after doing some research. My tank is a 180 with 75 sump. I have done 30% of water changes and my nitrates are still off the charts. After reading, I think the vodka dosing will help me. So anyway, I figured I have 175 gallons of TWV(guessing on the lower side) so I dosed with .7ml of 40% vodka. I am following the protocol that other members have said. So far there seems to be no reactions yet, but one. My skimmer has reduced the foam head to almost nothing. Usually the foam head goes above the skimmer neck, but once I put the vodka in there, the head came down to the water line. Is this normal? Will the skimmer kick into high gear after day 1 or 2 or 3? Just dont want my skimmer to overflow because the bacteria kicks in while I am gone. Anyone have any experience with the beginning of this process?
Thanks,
Bill

 

[Budman's Corals]

So I started my tank with the vodka dosing after doing some research. My tank is a 180 with 75 sump. I have done 30% of water changes and my nitrates are still off the charts. After reading, I think the vodka dosing will help me. So anyway, I figured I have 175 gallons of TWV(guessing on the lower side) so I dosed with .7ml of 40% vodka. I am following the protocol that other members have said. So far there seems to be no reactions yet, but one. My skimmer has reduced the foam head to almost nothing. Usually the foam head goes above the skimmer neck, but once I put the vodka in there, the head came down to the water line. Is this normal? Will the skimmer kick into high gear after day 1 or 2 or 3? Just dont want my skimmer to overflow because the bacteria kicks in while I am gone. Anyone have any experience with the beginning of this process?
Thanks,
Bill

Is this what you read?

Vodka Dosing by 'Genetics' and 'Stony_Corals' - Reefkeeping.com

It will get better .leave it where u had it,after 30 minutes be back to normal..

 

[ReeferBill]

Hey Bud. Seems like you have been following my problem for the past week(thanks by the way). Figured I would try another facet to combat my problem. I have reduced feedings and will continue to do 25% water changes twice a week, unless you should not do that during the carbon dosing regimen. BUt I figured getting the bacteria bulked up might help too. Yes, I read the above article. Cant wait to see the black sludge coming out of the tank. How long does that take usually to get those results? 1-2 weeks?

 

[Aquaph8]

I agree, it should be back to normal fairly quickly

 

[Budman's Corals]

Hey Bud. Seems like you have been following my problem for the past week(thanks by the way). Figured I would try another facet to combat my problem. I have reduced feedings and will continue to do 25% water changes twice a week, unless you should not do that during the carbon dosing regimen. BUt I figured getting the bacteria bulked up might help too. Yes, I read the above article. Cant wait to see the black sludge coming out of the tank. How long does that take usually to get those results? 1-2 weeks?

Thanks,
I myself have not done it that long. Im justa following along also but can give u a little advice for someone that been doing it for 4 months I stayed with my water change schedule,which i dont do daily, weekly, monthly, change, I can tell by just looking at it sand,corals,fuge,etc. ill do about 20 gallons average every 2 weeks if i think about it...lol


(Take it slow.. 1 shot for tank 3 shots for me
Skimmer should get chunkier/sludgy in 2 weeks

 

[cultivatedcoral]

Vodka dosing is a long process. It works best when dosing microbacter7 in conjunction. Don't worry about the skimmer head and don't expect to see any changes in a day, week, or month. After 2-3 months you will begin to see a significant drop in nitrate and phosphate but keep dosing.

It's well worth the long process and has worked great for me. Don't get discouraged if nothing happens immediately just keep dosing daily and definitely use microbacter7 too.

Nck

 

[ReeferBill]

from reading that article, it makes it sound like it will go faster than that, what have other people experienced as far as time it takes for the skimmer to start working? Thanks bud for following along

 

[cultivatedcoral]

Dont worry about the skimmer. Worry about the nitrates and phosphates going down. The skimmer sludge will happen on its own.

 

[ReeferBill]

I figured the skimmer blowing crappy sludge would give a good sign that the carbon dosing was working well.

 

[ReeferBill]

Ok, so I got my new sulfur reactor running today. Just started the vodka dosing 3 days ago and was wondering if I should quit the vodka? I am planning on weening the tank off the vodka in 6-8 weeks, but it will take that long for bacteria to colonize in the reactor, so I figured I would do both until I saw the nitrates going down. Anyone see an adverse effect on running both?

 

[cultivatedcoral]

With 3 days of vodka dosing you have got nothing going yet so I'm sure you can stop it immediately with no problem. I just don't know what you expect to have gained by starting vodka and weening off in 6-8 weeks. That would not have fixed your high nitrate problem in that short amount of time. I also don't understand why you jumped to a sulfur reactor if you were going with vodka. You need to pick something and stick with it for the long term if you want to have success in this hobby. There are NO overnight fixes.

Ok, so I got my new sulfur reactor running today. Just started the vodka dosing 3 days ago and was wondering if I should quit the vodka? I am planning on weening the tank off the vodka in 6-8 weeks, but it will take that long for bacteria to colonize in the reactor, so I figured I would do both until I saw the nitrates going down. Anyone see an adverse effect on running both?

 

[ReeferBill]

Thanks for the reply corals. Not looking for an overnight fix though. I was going to get a sulfur reactor at some point, but figured it would be a few months or more before I could afford one, so I started the vodka. I can not do this as a permanent dosing, since there are times that I am away for 1-2 weeks at a time. Also, my friend was selling his sulfur reactor for a very cheap price, so I picked it up yesterday. There are several articles I read that said after 2 weeks, the vodka was working. I understand this hobby and know nothing goes quickly, so dont assume that I am a noobie. My tanks have been successful for over ten years I was just looking for advice on if they both work or not.
So, can anyone tell me if doing both vodka dosing and the sulfur reactor is bad, good, or a waste of vodka?
Thanks