rainbody Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Ive read several articles about reefkeepers dosing vodka to keep nitrate levels down. I wanted to know how true that is and if anyone does it personally? Not to mention whats the big advantage to that, does it allow for more wildlife to be kept inside the system? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrispar Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Back in the day, i know people used to euthanize with vodka, i dont think i would put any in my tank voluntarily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barderer Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 I have done it. But like most accounts I did not conduct the dosing in a scientifically valid, controlled setting. It seemed to really help reduce algae problems though, and the water was crystal clear. It basically is the same idea of algae fix. You keep a artificially high level of bacteria in the tank that consume the nutrients that alage and other things would normally be using. Then you skim out the bacteria, thus exporting the nutrients. It seems to work. Good skimming is required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rainbody Posted December 22, 2009 Author Share Posted December 22, 2009 Someone shot me this article incase someone else wanted the info. Vodka Dosing by 'Genetics' and 'Stony_Corals' - Reefkeeping.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikedelgado Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 I did for quite awhile when I had a nitrate issue. It definately worked but after awhile I started noticing cyano popping up. I stopped dosing ,and gave it the ole 3 days lights out. Cyano dissapeared in the black out.It has been several months and My nitrates have been hanging out at around 20 so I havent resumed the vodka. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonSequitur Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 I haven't dosed vodka (someone in the family is in recovery, so no alcohol in the house), but I tried dosing vinegar, which is supposed to work similarly. I ended up with cloudy water and a cyano outbreak, so I stopped. I was likely overdosing, since I didn't really pay a lot of attention to the dosing (approx. a tbsp mixed with each gallon of topoff kalkwasser), but I won't be trying it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefman Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 The priciple of vodka dosing is the same principle being used in the Zeo method (ZeoVit), NeoZeo (Brightwell), and System Refresh. They are all, including vodka, using a carbon source to grow the bacteria the eats the nitrate. Vodka is just another way of providing the carbon source. I have been using the NeoZeo method, and it seems to work. Others in the club are using or have used the ZeoVit and System Reefresh. I believe it works, however there is the other variable involved since I have been using it - that is the fact that I have also been doing water changes. So it could be argued that the water changes are the reason (at least in part, if not totally) for being able to get my Nitrates down. I am about to convert to a new product called NP Bio Pellets, which is basically vodka dosing in a solid pellet form. I am hoping this new product works as well, as I have tired of daily dosings of the Brightwell products. Hopefully others here that have been or are continuing to use it in the different forms will chime in with their views. Stephen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 ive had a friend do it to her tank before because she had a bad hair algae problem and it took about 2 weeks dosing 5ml daily. didnt harm a thing in her tank at all.. I did it and it killed my fish. not sure how this makes a difference but i had my protein skimmer off while i did it and she had hers running full blast the whole time.. both tanks were 75gals.. i was told the the vodka pulls the oxygen out of the water and thats what kills the algae. didnt think only 5ml would smother my fish.. maybe it was the type of vodka im not sure.. i was using sky vodka and she was using what ever the cheapest kind you can get.. not sure if that matters or not.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikedelgado Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 (edited) ive had a friend do it to her tank before because she had a bad hair algae problem and it took about 2 weeks dosing 5ml daily. didnt harm a thing in her tank at all.. I did it and it killed my fish. not sure how this makes a difference but i had my protein skimmer off while i did it and she had hers running full blast the whole time.. both tanks were 75gals.. i was told the the vodka pulls the oxygen out of the water and thats what kills the algae. didnt think only 5ml would smother my fish.. maybe it was the type of vodka im not sure.. i was using sky vodka and she was using what ever the cheapest kind you can get.. not sure if that matters or not.. see barderer's post. The skimmer is key for vodka dosing to work.If my nitrates ever become a problem again I wont hesitate to go back to dosing. I did not start getting the cyano(just a little) until I got over 12mil a day. I was following the instructions I found on rc. I was shooting for 0 nitrate so every week I was increasing the dose by like .5 mil a day. In hindsight I should have stopped at 10 mil a day and enjoyed low nitrates with 0 problems.I have since changed some things around with my tanks set up (detritus control ect) and so far my nitrates have remained in check without having to do anything besides normal maintenence despite feeding well Edited December 23, 2009 by mikedelgado Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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