Which Vodka

ggNoRe · Jun 13, 2021

Trying out the Elegant Corals Dinoflagellates regimen which prescribes vodka dosing. I have Titos vodka here at the house already. Will this do or will I have to buy some special vodka?

windemerejack · Jun 13, 2021

Any unflavoured Vodka, cheapest you can buy, 37.5/40% abv.

PatW · Jun 13, 2021

A cheap white unflavored vodka or rum will do the trick.

homer1475 · Jun 13, 2021

Haven't heard of Elegant Corals Dino regime before. Have a link?

I would think carbon dosing(the vodka) would lower nutrients, which is what causes dino's to begin with.

I have fought dino's a few times, and have never carbon dosed to fix it, but rather added nutrients.

DrMMI · Jun 13, 2021

homer1475 said:
Haven't heard of Elegant Corals Dino regime before. Have a link?

I would think carbon dosing(the vodka) would lower nutrients, which is what causes dino's to begin with.

I have fought dino's a few times, and have never carbon dosed to fix it, but rather added nutrients.

https://elegantcorals.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/65232970_1058036854395643_2307032019369984000_n.jpg

Worked great for me. I ended up having to do it 3 weeks in a row. Just keep an eye on nutrients by testing every 1-2 days and dose when needed.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jun 14, 2021

I cannot imagine that the very cheapest drinkable grain alcohol cannot replace vodka in any reef application.

Dkeller_nc · Jun 14, 2021

Oddly enough, the procedure that you provided a link for seems to suggest that you have to filter your chosen vodka 10 times through activated carbon. It's not clear to me what the author wanted to accomplish by doing that, but vodka dosing has a long history in the reefing community, and I've never heard of someone recommending filtering vodka (i.e., ethanol/water for human consumption) through GAC.

One other comment - this is the first time I've ever seen this regimen, and I'm not about to declare that it won't work or has other problems if there's a history, even an anecdotal history, of effectiveness. However, I should point out that adding 5mL of (presumably) 80 proof vodka per 15 gal of tank water is a very large initial dose. My guess is that is why the author of the protocol adds an air pump and limewood airstone to the tank, as such a large initial dose of vodka is likely to cause a significant bacterial bloom that will reduce the oxygen concentration of the tank water.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jun 14, 2021

I agree. I'm not endorsing the method, just the ethanol source.

ggNoRe · Jun 14, 2021

Dkeller_nc said:
Oddly enough, the procedure that you provided a link for seems to suggest that you have to filter your chosen vodka 10 times through activated carbon. It's not clear to me what the author wanted to accomplish by doing that, but vodka dosing has a long history in the reefing community, and I've never heard of someone recommending filtering vodka (i.e., ethanol/water for human consumption) through GAC.

One other comment - this is the first time I've ever seen this regimen, and I'm not about to declare that it won't work or has other problems if there's a history, even an anecdotal history, of effectiveness. However, I should point out that adding 5mL of (presumably) 80 proof vodka per 15 gal of tank water is a very large initial dose. My guess is that is why the author of the protocol adds an air pump and limewood airstone to the tank, as such a large initial dose of vodka is likely to cause a significant bacterial bloom that will reduce the oxygen concentration of the tank water.

You are correct in that assumption. Cruz Arias, the author, explains that is exactly what we are going for.

You can find more about the method here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/analyzing-a-bacterial-method-for-dinoflagellates-and-cyano.635165/

It has become the "go to" treatment for dinoflagellates over the past few years.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jun 14, 2021

ggNoRe said:
You are correct in that assumption. Cruz Arias, the author, explains that is exactly what we are going for.

You can find more about the method here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/analyzing-a-bacterial-method-for-dinoflagellates-and-cyano.635165/

It has become the "go to" treatment for dinoflagellates over the past few years

The clear go to treatment on Reef2Reef is to raise nutrients, not dose vodka.

That said, I'm not saying if it works or not.

FWIW, I see no reason to treat vodka with GAC.

ggNoRe · Jun 14, 2021

That was the first thing I tried, raised nutrients. Unfortunately, after a month or so things just got worse. Had to move to more drastic methods.

taricha · Jun 14, 2021

Yeah, in the thread linked here I tried to get my head around what was going on with the method...

ggNoRe said:
You can find more about the method here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/analyzing-a-bacterial-method-for-dinoflagellates-and-cyano.635165/

Basically it boils down to a massive carbon dose that generates a cloudy water bacterial bloom, as @Dkeller_nc noted.

Any of the other effects and steps in the method are of much lesser significance than the fact that the tank is swimming in organic carbon for a few days and all the chemical changes that accompany that, crazy competition and depletion of N (and P). O2 depletion in low flow areas. etc.
It's questionable if the added bottle bacteria do anything before the native aquarium bacteria respond and rapidly consume all the added Carbon.

The emphasis on aeration is absolutely essential. This carbon dose WILL eat all the O2 in the tank if not aerated aggressively.

I don't know if I'd recommend it or not, it certainly shakes things up. It makes my cyano patches retreat - and their color changes and pigment shifts tell me they are undergoing N stress.

KrisReef · Jun 14, 2021

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
I cannot imagine that the very cheapest drinkable grain alcohol cannot replace vodka in any reef application.

My coral will only drink top shelf

blasterman · Jun 14, 2021

My Coral prefer Popov - plastic bottle only. Absolut gives them a headache

Having just gone through a minor but impossible to fully cure Dino outbreak hanging on for months I nuked them with a $40 ozone generator over night. My UV filter would kill them after a few days, but they kept coming back, and my nitrate is rock solid. I use them same generator for weekly DOC removal, but there was a trick to it to put the smack down on dinos.

OP can PM me if he wants details.

plc001 · Jun 14, 2021

This is what I used:

KrisReef · Jun 14, 2021

plc001 said:
This is what I used:

I've never read the label before. I've also never came across a drink recipe that called for filtered liquored hooch.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jun 14, 2021

Filtration impacts flavor:

The Real Reason Vodka Is Filtered and Why It Actually Matters

Surprise: It’s not just marketing hype.

www.liquor.com

clhardy5 · Jun 14, 2021

What type of Dino's do you have? I would think the specific treatment would be geared to they type of dinos.

HD_Reefer · Jun 14, 2021

Enchanted Rock - Texas Vodka. I love it...I mean the fish love it....wait, nevermind, it's me that likes it. My tank looks way better after 2 glasses and a little ginger ale!