Lets discuss the effects of my favorite drink on the tank....Vodka.

[Joshnlaura]

As I am relatively new to "reef chemistry" Im not sure I understand the effects of dosing Vodka in a tank.

1. What is the benefit?

2. What are the downsides?

3. What is a usual dosage for an aquarium with approx 100 gal
worth of water.

If someone can put this in relatively "newbie" terms it would help. Or if there is a good link somewhere to explain that would be great too.

[Allmost]

before you attempt on dosing Vodka read the following link, but not once, 3-4 times :)
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php

I'm serious. lol

so basically, we are looking for a way to export end product of n cycle, which is no3.
vodka contains Ethanol which is carbon. the carbon will be used by the bacteria that consume nutritiuns in tankso they can reprioduce and work faster to lower nutritions faster. the whole concept relies on having a GREAT skimmer. so that you can REMOVE the nutritions.

Pros : can make ure tank beautiful and algea free.
Cons : can kill everything !

so read before using it.


now what are you planning to keep in the 100G ?

[Joshnlaura]

We currenly have a couple of Nems (BTA, Flower, and a condy) I have a toadstool leather, some zoos, xenia's, kenya trees. I have two damsels, two clowns, goby, more hermits and snails than you can shake a stick at and a sea urchin.
I have an older Red Sea Berlin triple pass skimmer that I got a good deal on...so skimmer is not so great although it has been doing a terrific job.
I have a GFO reactor and its actually a 75 gallon with a 20 gallon sump. I will take some time and read the article you posted. I just thought drinking WITH my fish sounded pretty cool and wanted to know why people do it. LOL I would never do anything to the tank to "experiment" without having some reason for doing it.

[Joshnlaura]

Well I have read the 1st time.....and it appears to me that since Im already running GFO that dosing Vodka shouldnt really help matters much. I do have a better understanding of what chemically goes on with the organic carbon in the tank now. Thanks for the link that was very helpful. I will go read it again now. LOL

[Sisterlimonpot]

Keep in mind dosing vodka is normally used to drop N03 and P04 down to undetectable levels, usually used by aquarist that have tough SPS corals that demand pristine water conditions. What you have in your tank, prefer the water to be a little “dirty” and if you had 0 N03 and P04, your nems, leather, and zoas won’t like it too much and may lose color. keep that in mind.

[Joshnlaura]

I have noticed a slight change in the leather since we started running the GFO reactor, he still looks pretty healthy though. I dont think its been a big shock to him.

[Joshnlaura]

Im going to change key in the middle of the song here....LOL. My skimmer has gone a little wacko since I started running the GFO. I have been cleaning out the deep brownish/greenish sludge out of it about every three days. I actually had just cleaned it out yesterday and now its FULL to the brim with a VERY watered down skimmate. I have had it on there for about a month now and its been acting quite content where it was set. Is running the GFO making it go crazy?

[Joshnlaura]

BTW...its a Red Sea Berlin triple pass skimmer....

[DustinB]

If you are pulling iron oxide out of your skimmer then you probably have your GFO reactor flowing too fast. There should be a slight "simmer" to the surface. This is just to keep it from solidifying into a brick at the bottom of your reactor. If the GFO is moving around too much it will rub against itself and disintegrate.

Just because you are running GFO does not mean you can't dose vodka. For me, I don't have to run GFO anymore. I can spend $10 on a year's worth of vodka vs $20/lb each month for GFO. Plus carbon dosing takes away nitrate and phosphate.

As for nutrients, someone will correct me if I'm wrong, you should be able to just feed something like Rod's food. It will feed everything in the tank including corals. You may have to dose amino acids if you notice any sps etc... losing color.

The downside to vodka dosing is that you have to do it every day manually or buy a dosing pump. Otherwise you could go with one of the np pellet reactors or the like. Just gotta read up on the pros and cons of each and decide what you want to do.

Keep in mind you need a good skimmer rated for preferably twice your capacity. The skimmer has to remove the bacteria and aerate the water. The bacteria will suck it oxygen out of the water. You probably only have about 75 gallons of water between the tank and sump after the rock is gone so a 150g rated quality skimmer would do it. Bubble Magus, SWC, Precision Marine Redline, etc.....

[Nanz]

Keep in mind dosing vodka is normally used to drop N03 and P04 down to undetectable levels, usually used by aquarist that have tough SPS corals that demand pristine water conditions. What you have in your tank, prefer the water to be a little “dirty” and if you had 0 N03 and P04, your nems, leather, and zoas won’t like it too much and may lose color. keep that in mind.

+1, I witnessed this exact problem in my tank when I was dosing Vodka. I dont dose anything except Mg when its low. Weekly water changes keep my system healthy.

[826 moto]

i am scared to try it so i got the bio pellets

[Joshnlaura]

My BRS GFO reactor has 1/2 lb of GFO in right now and I have it where the surface of the GFO is slightly rolling as the intstuctions said.

The darkest of the skimmate was being pulled out BEFORE I ever got the GFO hooked up. Now that it has been hooked up the skimmer is basically doing nothing but skimming greenish water and A LOT of it.