Vodka dosing causing cyano?

MRRBW · Jul 6, 2015

Can vodka dosing cause cyano growth? This is my second attempt at vodka dosing my tank to keep phosphates and nitrates down to slow algae growth and I have cyano growing again. Is it a break in point and then goes away? I have it growing on areas of rock that are being blasted with flow as well as other areas with less flow. Flow in the tank from my corals movement is pretty good and not sure increasing it would help. Is there something I am missing to this?

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jul 6, 2015

Yes, if you have the right species of cyano and perhaps not enough other bacteria that consume the specific organic you are adding, cyano can consume organics that are added and grow more extensively.

I had that experience with vodka and switched to vinegar, which seemed to help. Eventually cyano came back, but that's likely because I organic carbon dose and am not trying to keep nutrients especially low.

Manual removal of the cyano can also help while other species of bacteria grow in numbers.

MRRBW · Jul 6, 2015

Thanks Randy. I remove manually the cyano every other day, as much as I can. Should I be making a mix of vodka - vinegar - sugar to help reduce the cyano bloom and how long should I give it before I bite the bullet and pull the plug? The other question I have is it not technically organic dosing using vodka or vinegar? What method are you using?

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jul 6, 2015

I don't know that the mix is any better, and I'm not generally a fan of using sugar.

I'd transition from vodka to vinegar over a couple of weeks and see what happens.

Bassett22 · Jul 6, 2015

what about using a product like chemiclean to know out the cyano and give the other bacteria a chance to bloom?

MRRBW · Jul 6, 2015

Thats what I was figuring. Thanks Randy for the guidance.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jul 6, 2015

Bassett22 said:
what about using a product like chemiclean to know out the cyano and give the other bacteria a chance to bloom?

Chemiclean may kill them as well. But if you are desperate, starting from scratch may be a reasonable option.

ilovereefing <3 · Jul 20, 2015

Hi Randy! I read your article on reefkeeping.com regarding vinegar dosing...you always have really good info and I am so glad you are part of the Reef2Reef family! I am just starting on vinegar dosing (today is day 1) and am currently doing it manually (22 mL total to start). Knowing myself well, I know that I cannot keep up with dosing twice a day (half doses each) every day manually. I will forget a dose here and there. I like to try to keep things as stable as I possibly can, so I was wondering if you could recommend a better way to dose. How are you dosing your system? I thought about putting the vinegar in my ATO, but I imagine that would defeat the purpose since I need it dripped in at a faster rate. It takes about a week for my ATO to empty. Penny for your thoughts? Thank you!