Who's still vodka dosing and how's it going?

Shelby2012 · Mar 23, 2012

I'm at the end of the 1st week and tomorrow I am going to increase the dose.So far of course there is no change in any parameters. I've read the Reefkeeping magazine and that's how I found out about it. I have a calendar with all the dosage and I'm very curious how it's gonna work.

E.intheC · Sep 3, 2012

I have been thinking about starting a vodka dosing regimen again. I have a large Haddons anemone in my 60 cube and want to add SPS soon. The carpet adds a large bio load to the tank.

Does anyone use a dosing pump for this? I used to dose vodka manually and it got old after a while.

CmacLD · Jan 21, 2013

im started dosing vodka about 4 months ago...
I am amazed at the results.. my skimmer pulls way more skimate and my spa growth exploded.
i have noticed my colors fading so i have started dosing aminos for the last week.
I too got sick of the tedious doing of small amounts of vodka daily and have recently started my dosing regiment via a dosing pump. seems to working great and always gets dosied at the same time daily

Dana · Jan 21, 2013

What does vodka/ vinegar do? Someone posted a link but link didn't work. I'm rather novice and am interested in hearing why. Thanks

Aquaph8 · Jan 21, 2013

Dana said:
What does vodka/ vinegar do? Someone posted a link but link didn't work. I'm rather novice and am interested in hearing why. Thanks

https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/ge...19-lets-talk-about-carbon-dosing-aquaph8.html

reef life · Jan 21, 2013

Lost some corals using Vodka. Vinegar was a better fit. I just use aminos occassionally.

Chrisz · Jan 22, 2013

So whst do you doif you go on vacation, can you stop doseing and atart back up the next
week?

Coral Pimp · Mar 6, 2013

Chrisz said:
So whst do you doif you go on vacation, can you stop doseing and atart back up the next
week?

no once you start you cant really stop. if you can afford a vacation you can defiantly afford a doser

BillyC · Mar 7, 2013

Chrisz said:
So whst do you doif you go on vacation, can you stop doseing and atart back up the next
week?

Myself and many others before me have left for vacation and just not dosed. No ill effects. But yes, a doser is ideal.

SSJTX2016 · Nov 18, 2016

I used vodka dosing on my 210 gallon FOWLR. I increased my dosage 1mL every other week and my nitrates dropped to 0 after 24mL. I used a bubble magus so I had to increase my dosage 1mL every other week instead of the recommended 0.5mL every week. If you have a smaller tank I would stick with the recommendation.

AllSignsPointToFish · Nov 18, 2016

I've been carbon dosing from the beginning. Started out with Red Sea Nitrate Phosphate X, but have slowly swapped over to a homemade vodka/vinegar mixture. Currently, I'm running a 85/15 vodka/vinegar mixture and all is well. Nitrates are consistently less 0.5 ppm and phosphates hover a kind 0.03-0.04 ppm.

jhoop · Nov 18, 2016

I have been using Vodka. My nitrates were off the chart. They are down to zero. I believe in it. It does take a while to get there. Over two months. Three tanks. Works really well.

erk · Nov 18, 2016

Been vodka dosing over a year or so. Got to a point where I wasn't feeding enough and had to reduce vodka dose then build back up. Ended up starving several corals which led to them becoming sensitive to any environmental changes.

Waterjockey · Nov 18, 2016

Coming up close to 2 years dosing carbon. First it was vodka, then vinegar, now running a 50/50 mix. I've been using a dosing pump for just over a year.
I am more of a "maintenance" dose these days.....keep the bacteria concentration up, and allows me to feed a little heavier. The lps seem to like it.
If my phosphates start to climb a little, I just run a little KNO3 for a day or two on the doser and bring it back

NCreefguy · Nov 18, 2016

If I get any where near my tank with vodka I get a cyano outbreak. I've tried several times through the years and it's just a no go for me.

Thomasj616 · Nov 18, 2016

I have a 125 display with a 15 gal plumbed into it with a 60 gal sump.
I top of with rodi water every day. I do a 30 gal water change at least every month, I try to do it every two weeks, but work gets busy sometimes.
I have a large skimmer, a lot of live rock, use filter socks, change every Sunday, I grow cheto and mangroves in the sump.
Am interested in vodka dossing just not sure how much and how often.
I've read a lot of different things but still a bit confused.
Ohh it's a mixed reef

AllSignsPointToFish · Nov 18, 2016

Thomasj616 said:
I have a 125 display with a 15 gal plumbed into it with a 60 gal sump.
I top of with rodi water every day. I do a 30 gal water change at least every month, I try to do it every two weeks, but work gets busy sometimes.
I have a large skimmer, a lot of live rock, use filter socks, change every Sunday, I grow cheto and mangroves in the sump.
Am interested in vodka dossing just not sure how much and how often.
I've read a lot of different things but still a bit confused.
Ohh it's a mixed reef

Your setup is almost exactly like mine. Start off with a known product like Red Sea Nitrate Phosphate X or just pure vinegar. You can find directions online, but the vinegar will drop your PH. The Red Sea product comes with fairly simple instructions, but with time you'll be able to read your tank without testing every day.

Waterjockey · Nov 18, 2016

Thomasj616 said:
I have a 125 display with a 15 gal plumbed into it with a 60 gal sump.
I top of with rodi water every day. I do a 30 gal water change at least every month, I try to do it every two weeks, but work gets busy sometimes.
I have a large skimmer, a lot of live rock, use filter socks, change every Sunday, I grow cheto and mangroves in the sump.
Am interested in vodka dossing just not sure how much and how often.
I've read a lot of different things but still a bit confused.
Ohh it's a mixed reef

I suppose it depends on the reason you want to dose vodka or other carbon sources. I think the majority start as a way to control nitrates, and to a smaller extent phosphates, when other methods are less than adequate for thier system. There are charts around showing suggested ramp-up rates for both vinegar and vodka.
A very conservative approach would be to start with 1ml per day for a week, and add another ml/day each week until nitrates start to drop. When nitrates hit whatever ideal number you think, then cut the dose in half as a "maintenance" dose...monitor and adjust from there. As the reefing adage goes, "nothing good happens fast", same with carbon dosing. Go slow...you can strip your system too clean, really fast.
I've been up to 15ml/day in my 30 gallon when things were really bad (neglect). I currently run 2ml/day, and feed heavy to keep nitrates/phosphates up a little.

Thomasj616 · Nov 18, 2016

Wow that was a fast response.
Thanks!!!!!
Ohh I also forgot that I have a small media reactor that I run carbon in now, honestly just cause I had it so I used it.
I'm going to be taking the carbon out and putting a piece of the cheto in it with led lights wrapped around just to see how well it can do.
Thanks again

Terry4505 · Nov 19, 2016

I dose 10 mls of NOPOX daily on my 240-ish system. I also use Red Sea Reef Energy A and B to keep the nutrients dialed in. I have been pretty successful at keeping the PO4 at .02-.06 and the NO3 at .5-2 ppms. No algae in the tank. Crystal clear water.