Vodka???

EHerbert · Oct 28, 2014

Why should I use vodka and how would I dose it? Seems like a lot of work. Input please.

Reefing Madness · Oct 28, 2014

Eats out Nitrates in the tank. You actually set the Nitrate number and can hold it there with ease. It will eat some Phosphates out, but thats a minor number.
Vodka Dosing by 'Genetics' and 'Stony_Corals' - Reefkeeping.com
Dosing Vodka: Why? | Melev's Reef

Now, Mel gives you a starting point, and shows you how to progress to bring Nitrates down. If you don't want to wait 7 months for this to happen, give me your tank size, and I can give you a rough estimate of how much you are going to need to bring down Nitrates and what your daily dose would be in the end. Also, I can give you a different daily dosing number to bring them down faster, without harming anything.

Culater94 · Oct 28, 2014

If your reef is running great no shots per night. If you develop hair algae, drink one shot per night, cyano drink two shots per night, dinoflagellates drink three shots per night. Note: this will not help your reef, but help you cope with the ups and downs of reef keeping.

EHerbert · Oct 28, 2014

Culater94, you're sick... hahaha. Reef Madness, my readings are In order but it's 29 gallons (20 actual water).

dbl · Oct 28, 2014

I'm with Culater94 on this one. My clowns are named Grey & Goose for a reason! But I will follow along in hopes of learning to dose a less expensive version.

nvMarco · Oct 28, 2014

Less expensive and less of a waste would be to dose vinegar instead of vodka.

hart24601 · Oct 28, 2014

Remember that vinegar takes 8x more than vodka. It's really pretty cheap and easy once you get the hang of it. I replace a $10 bottle every 3 months or so. Other than that I never have to touch it. I check nitrates from time to time, but it keeps them pretty low. I started dosing nitrate to stay around 1ppm. I keep carbon dosing to feed the tank.

Reefing Madness · Oct 28, 2014

29 gallons? Youd only be dosing like 2-4mls a day for daily routine maintenance, and around 8-10 would be the bring down nitrates dose.

choff · Oct 28, 2014

You are less likely to get cyano from vinegar than vodka. True story.

Sweet7 · Oct 30, 2014

Reefing Madness said:
29 gallons? Youd only be dosing like 2-4mls a day for daily routine maintenance, and around 8-10 would be the bring down nitrates dose.

Could you be a little more specific on the 2-4mls? Is it start with 2 and work to 4 or work up to 8-10? how would that work? I have a 29g that I'm considering dosing with vodka and have been doing some research but nothing is really catered to the nanos.

tjewell78 · Oct 30, 2014

vodka dosing

I am new to the vodka or vinegar dosing so how would i begin with a 55 gallon with 15 gallon sump?

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 30, 2014

tjewell78 said:
I am new to the vodka or vinegar dosing so how would i begin with a 55 gallon with 15 gallon sump?

This article describes vinegar:

Reefkeeping Magazine - Vinegar Dosing Methodology for the Marine Aquarium

This one describes vodka:

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

Both are a bit slow in the dosing ramp up, IMO.

tjewell78 · Oct 30, 2014

thanks. ill read up on it before i do anything

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 30, 2014

You're welcome.

Good luck and Happy Reefing.

EdansClownHouse · Oct 30, 2014

Culater94 said:
If your reef is running great no shots per night. If you develop hair algae, drink one shot per night, cyano drink two shots per night, dinoflagellates drink three shots per night. Note: this will not help your reef, but help you cope with the ups and downs of reef keeping.

LOL!!!! :tongue:

chrishk · Oct 30, 2014

Hey Guys I am in need of some advice. I have been in this hobby for 3 years now and my aquariums always seem to have a few issues. I realized that as much as I thought I knew and the effort I put in, I could never stay on top of things and my aquariums never looked as good as I hoped. Ich, Aptasia, coral dying. After moving my 250 Gal to my new house I decided to hire "professionals" to take care of everything around two years ago. This was not cheap with people coming every week, but my tank was looking great for a period of time. Since then I have been through 2 different companies. I have run in to the same issue with each company, I am not strict enough with them and they start missing appointments and there are issues. After an issue with Ich a few months back I tested my aquarium which I was told was (doing fine) and my nitrates were off the charts (200+!) I doubt they have been doing much for 6+ months other than billing me and cleaning the glass.

Finally I decided I am the only one I trust with my aquarium! It is time for me to get educated, stop flushing money down the toilet literally

and take over! I have some of the "best" equipment an Apex controller, UV sterilizer, big new skimmer and nice pumps all at the advice of my "professionals." I even recently bought a denitrator (this has been a mess) and was more of an impulse buy (oh **** my nitrates are crazy)

What I need to do now is get my Nitrates under control! Even with a denitrator it would take years to cycle my 250 Gal- 75 Gal sump. With only a few drops per second. I have been doing weekly water changes (30%), gravel vaking but I think I need to do something more aggressive.

I stumbled this vodka thread and was hoping to get some advice. What can I do to drop Nitrates down enough to start enjoying my aquarium again? All of my nice things are dead, I have a few fish, mushrooms and a few rose anemones but my once glorious aquarium now makes me sad. I need advice before I just give up and sell the thing

All my other basic tests (PH, Nitrite, Amonia) are good.

How can I drop these nitrates to non-toxic levels ASAP? What would you guys recommend? Would Vodka be an Option?

saltaddiction · Oct 30, 2014

Reefing Madness said:
Eats out Nitrates in the tank. You actually set the Nitrate number and can hold it there with ease. It will eat some Phosphates out, but thats a minor number.
Vodka Dosing by 'Genetics' and 'Stony_Corals' - Reefkeeping.com
Dosing Vodka: Why? | Melev's Reef

Now, Mel gives you a starting point, and shows you how to progress to bring Nitrates down. If you don't want to wait 7 months for this to happen, give me your tank size, and I can give you a rough estimate of how much you are going to need to bring down Nitrates and what your daily dose would be in the end. Also, I can give you a different daily dosing number to bring them down faster, without harming anything.

Could you give me a dosing rate on a 220g tank? I've currently been dosing for two weeks and ramping up slowly with no change in nitrates yet.

jdmLuzon · Oct 30, 2014

how would i dose a 35 gallon? I want to give this a try how many milliliters should I use? please respond

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 30, 2014

saltaddiction said:
Could you give me a dosing rate on a 220g tank? I've currently been dosing for two weeks and ramping up slowly with no change in nitrates yet.

How much are you dosing now?

I think you can speed up the dose ramp rate a lot relative to the recommendations in those articles.