Vodka dosing

[Lemeshianos]

I went through the vodka dosing article of Randy and started vodka dosing today.

I don't have a phosphates test but I will be getting one to monitor through this process.
Do you have any input regarding what I should be aware during vodka dosing?

Also if I put crushed coral in a reactor with low flow and dose vodka there will it be better or worse for n/p reduction.

[manix man]

To get the best out of a reactor you would need a circulation pump within the reactor and feed the vodka direct into the reactor. The circulation pump doesn't pump any water out of the unit for that you would then link another pump inline up to the low flow rate as you suggested.

The main benefit of this is that getting the process up and running powerfully is very quick and also you are less likely to have the other problems such as cloudy water.

Now you could buy something like the Deltec unit
http://www.theaquariumsolution.com/nfp509-nitrate-filter
or if you were interested on doing it cheaper you could use a canister filter and re-jig how it works.

Home made canister reactor
Basically you would join the input and the output up on the canister creating a loop. Then for the actual feed you would have something like a 6mm pipe 't' into the new circulation loop you have made. On the 6mm feed you would have a tap to be able to reduce water feed rate. Also on the input feed side 6mm it would need some kind of pump to return the water to the tank. To finish off the unit you would need to 't' off the loop again with a return tube to the tank/sump.
Feeding this unit you could buy a Osmotic bag available for USA from Deltec. Just put that in the canister. These bags slowly let the vodka out over 4-5 weeks. You fill it at a rate of 1:3 vodka/RO.
For the actual media in the reactor you have created use very open filter sponges.

[Lemeshianos]

For de-nitrification shouldn't I have very slow flow to promote hypoxic conditions?
Or do those bacteria require oxygen to break down nitrates and phosphates?

[manix man]

For de-nitrification shouldn't I have very slow flow to promote hypoxic conditions?
Or do those bacteria require oxygen to break down nitrates and phosphates?

The Low flow you need will come from the feed line. The circulation pump within the system basically spins the vodka and low input water round fast within the media. This means you create a bigger mass of bateria quickly.

So typically you would start slow for the first few days 1 drip every 3 seconds on the output - the flow rate would be adjusted on the input tap. After the bateria has started to grow thats when you start to increase flow. Easy to do just test the output water for zero nitrate. You start stepping it up every couple of days then. Because of the dosing of vodka, a circulation pump over the media you can way outperform a coil nitrate filter - I have been up to have 5 drops a second before with zero nitrate coming out. Plus as with all carbon based systems they eat a certain amount of phosphate.

[DeepSeaBeauti]

Good luck with the vodka! Ive been doseing for about 3 weeks now and my tank looks amazing. Your going to be glad you started. Definatly get a phosphate test kit though.

[Lemeshianos]

What kind of flow do i need inside the reactor? how many gph?

[manix man]

What kind of flow do i need inside the reactor? how many gph?

What just for circulation within the reactor in a loop, well along the lines 100-150gph (500ltr-650ltr).

[Lemeshianos]

And does this require one pump for recirculation and one pump to add water slowly in the reactor?
Or only one pump us needed?

[manix man]

And does this require one pump for recirculation and one pump to add water slowly in the reactor?
Or only one pump us needed?

So that was based on circulating say a 3litre volume, then as you say you would need another pump/'t' off pump to slowly feed it and therefore give you the pressure to return to either the sump or tank which ever the case may be.

I will sort out a rough drawing later.

[sks4613]

I understand completely the dangers of dosing with Vodka. My tank is going on 9 months now without any issues. Water never turned yellow, bacteria bloom never occurred. I think a lot of people make this seem harder or more dangerous than it is. Although obviously you must be able to read and go extremely slow. I would be very leery personaly of trying ANYTHING else while I was dosing vodka. You will need to establish your maintenance dose and if you are trying to set up a de-nitrator etc. This will be incredibly difficult.
Here is the link I used and I have been running 0 on N and P for around 7 months now.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php
My purpose for dosing was so I could overfeed without issues. I do keep a log which I think i essential and I dose trace elements on a weekly basis as my water changes have been essentialy reduced to zero. Not sure if any of this helps. Again the thing I would avoid is trying to establish multiple regimens at once to accomplish the same thing.

[manix man]

OK here is a sketch of a converted canister filter into a vodka dosing reactor. It shows 2 ways of dosing. Firstly via a peristalic pump/syringe, I showed a one way valve there (you may not need that depending on what you do). Second method of dosing is the idiots way, you buy a osmotic bag from deltec fill it with 1:3 vodka/RO ratio. Put the bag in the unit and sit back for 4-6 weeks before refilling.

I have shown a large out feed tube for the reason of dead bacteria. The inflow tube can be 6mm airline size. Critical to have adjustment of input feedrate of tank water. You will be starting off a 1 drop every 3 seconds until the feedout reaches zero nitrate (couple of days), Once that has happened go to 2 drops every 3 second until zero nitrate and so on and so on. This system should be able to go as high as say 5 drops a sec but be carefull not to crash it.

The Media in the unit needs to be very open or it will block with in a short time, this unit will create a hell of a lot of bacteria. The loop circultion pipe should be also big to ensure good flow through the media for the incoming tank water and the dosing of vodka.

[jprince]

Myself and another reefer from my area were dosing vodka. Cleared up the water a lot, but the manual dosing was a PITA. I stopped after several months.

[wickedfish]

Its a pain but it gets you to the desired results so you make yourself a drink around 9pm and dose the tank a baby shot and then you end up with no vodka after 3 days. Yes I drank some of the fish vodka.

[mrrogers]

Started dosing 6 weeks ago and my tank water is super clear