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Unread 09/14/2018, 12:32 AM   #1
lee_d_m
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Continue vodka dosing

I started dosing vodka about 1 years ago to control nutrients. It’s worked very well, tank looks great and about 1 month ago, I finally hit 0 nitrate. I cut my dose in half but still I’m at 0. Currently dosing 2 x 3ml per day.

I’ve doubled my feeding but still 0 nitrate and despite everything looking great, I have a little concern that at some point I might see cyano appear.

So, I guess my questions are:

If all is well, shall I just carry on with my current dosing level
Would it better to keep reducing it until I see some nitrate
What would be the best thing to do if cyano starts to appear ?

Thanks

Lee


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Unread 09/14/2018, 07:12 AM   #2
mcgyvr
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IMO just stop dosing and deal with cyano if/when just like anyone else would..
I've always used carbon dosing for the first year or so of a tank then just stop as its not needed anymore and the tanks maintain low nutrient levels on its own..


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Unread 09/14/2018, 10:05 AM   #3
reefgeezer
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Not knowing the volume of the tank makes it hard to know how big the dose is. If you are putting 2-3 ml vodka in a big tank you could just stop. If it is a small tank, it may not wise to just stop after a long term dosing regiment.

Scaling back the dose a good strategy, IMO. You should be able to see a rise in nitrate eventually. The other option is to add a little nitrate to raise the level and keep the dose the same. There is some benefit to doing this as it allows the process to further reduce phosphates.


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Unread 09/14/2018, 10:08 AM   #4
lee_d_m
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thanks guys, total volume is around 750 litres. I am a bit reluctant to just stopping tbh as I’ve heard stories of people having issues when that happens, although I’m not sure how much to read into that. Will probably just gradually reduce and see how it goes.


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Unread 09/14/2018, 10:31 AM   #5
reefgeezer
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lee_d_m View Post
thanks guys, total volume is around 750 litres. I am a bit reluctant to just stopping tbh as I’ve heard stories of people having issues when that happens, although I’m not sure how much to read into that. Will probably just gradually reduce and see how it goes.
2-3ml in that volume is not very much. You should be able to stop or cut back easily.


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Unread 09/14/2018, 01:56 PM   #6
bertoni
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I agree that the dose is small. You could cut back to 2 and then 1 ml over a period of a couple of weeks if you're worried, though.


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Unread 09/14/2018, 05:35 PM   #7
outssider
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Quote:
Originally Posted by reefgeezer View Post
2-3ml in that volume is not very much. You should be able to stop or cut back easily.
he said 2X3ml a day.... on this planet that's 6 ml a day


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Unread 09/14/2018, 07:26 PM   #8
iammrhappy
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Scale back vodka, up bacterial diversity to run against cyano

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Unread 09/15/2018, 02:54 AM   #9
lee_d_m
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Quote:
Originally Posted by outssider View Post
he said 2X3ml a day.... on this planet that's 6 ml a day
That’s correct, it’s 2x3ml, so 6ml total per day. I’ll cut back to 2x1ml for a week and see how I go I think, thanks for all the advice.


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Unread 09/15/2018, 08:48 PM   #10
bertoni
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That sounds like a good plan to me.


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