Vodka dosing vs. consistent feeding

[flying4fish]

I'm wondering why consistent feeding doesn't have the same impact as vodka dosing? In each case you are adding carbon, and conditioning beneficial bacteria populations to grow. Is it because the vodka dosing doesn't result in adding even more nitrate and phosphate, and feeding does? Over time my small Red Sea Reefer 170 has begun to accumulate phosphate and nitrate and I'm trying to figure out what is the most efficient way to address the problem.

 

[Rmckoy]

I believe I understand it completely different.

Feeding adds nutrients and carbon dosing colonized a different bacteria to consume what’s left from the nitrifying bacteria ( nitrates )
Phosphates is another reason to carbon dose which enters our systems via foods . With no real way to export them other than media or carbon dosing

Maybe @Randy Holmes-Farley can provide a better answer or correct me

 

[I never finish anythi]

Interesting

 

[Dan_P]

I'm wondering why consistent feeding doesn't have the same impact as vodka dosing? In each case you are adding carbon, and conditioning beneficial bacteria populations to grow. Is it because the vodka dosing doesn't result in adding even more nitrate and phosphate, and feeding does? Over time my small Red Sea Reefer 170 has begun to accumulate phosphate and nitrate and I'm trying to figure out what is the most efficient way to address the problem.

Fish and bacteria (heterotrophs) consume food for energy (mostly carbon) and to make cells or biomass (carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous). The ratio of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous in fish food tends to be low in carbon which means the heterotrophs consume food for the carbon (energy) will poop out the unneeded nitrogen as ammonia and phosphorous as phosphate. Adding ethanol (vodka) or acetic acid (vinegar) to the water provides the bacteria with carbon, enabling more biomass production and less nitrate and phosphate accumulation.

 

[bushdoc]

Chemical formula of ethyl alcohol ( vodka) is C2H5OH, there is no phosphate or nitrates there. In any given complex food, pellets, frozen food, there is Nitrogen and Phosphorus molecule, so with feeding fish food you are introducing those elements/ chemicals hence raising nitrates and phosphates levels. The rest of explanation is directly above.

 

[flying4fish]

Thanks Dan P and BushDoc!

Aloha