Anyone Vodka Dosing???

[Rbacchiega]

After talking to a few of the people over at Greg's I was considering setting up a zeovit system. Then I got to reading on ReefCentral. I think I might just try some vodka. Literally. But should this only be run on SPS dominated tanks? Or can it be run on mixed reefs? Seems simple enough in dosing, and the pictures I've seen of before and afters are incredible...colour and growth out the wazoo (is that even a real word?)

Any thoughts?

[fkshiu]

Short answer: yes, it does work to varying degrees BUT there are downsides including big bacterial blooms and rapid tank crashes with overdosing. Its long term effects are not well understood although initial research could generate some concern:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2008/8/aafeature3

[Doug]

Yep..


Vodka belongs in only one place. Actually I have never tried it but have read several of the threads.

[Rbacchiega]

That's what I've read as well, which is why I'd like to get some other people's opinions on it first. The one thread was really good in that it suggests continual testing of levels and once you achieve optimal levels it suggests proper maintenance levels of dosing.

Something to do further research on for sure though

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

I would just go safe and go with ZEOvit. Actually that is what I did. The problem for me with uncontrolled carbon dosing like vodka is that you have no idea what bacterial strains you are feeding. It can be a risk. As said above, tank crashes even.

I guess in my opinion, why do it when ZEOvit does it better and safer? I guess for someone who can't afford ZEO, then maybe but even then...maybe you should just stock your tank lighter and stick within your budget...and by "you" I don't actually mean YOU but thats just what I would tell someone.

BTW, I did try Vodka dosing a while back and killed off half my corals. Some recovered, some did not. I started with a dose of .5 ml with a water volume of about 140G and still had problems. So even when going slow, bad things can happen. Its just way too unknown for me personally.

EDIT: Some of my fish developed a weird bacterial infection too after two weeks of vodka dosing. It did go away as soon as I stopped though. That also turned me off of it.

[Delphinus]

The folks who do a combination of vodka, sugar and vinegar are (IMO) probably getting the more balance out of it, but to me is it doesn't really come with a great set of instructions and vendor support that say Zeo does.

Taylor Aquatics NO3 Destroyer is sort of like that too, and comes with dosing instructions (which includes eventual weaning of your tank off it), which is something you may want to consider if you find you are battling high nutrients but don't want to commit to a full Zeo/UL system. (I use this stuff, works awesome).

I did try sugar dosing for a while and indeed it does pull NO3 down like crazy but it too can be overdosed creating a bacterial bloom (cloudy water).

The one thing I really liked about Zeo was how polished clear my water was when using it. Night and day difference before and after (on "day 2", not a word of a lie, I was wondering what was wrong with my lights because they were so much brighter all of a sudden. I thought they were about to explode or something they were so much brighter, it seemd. Then it occured to me why they seemed brighter, it wasn't the lights, it was the water).

But there are many tanks out there that don't do Zeo or sugar or vodka or whatever, Zeo alone doesn't make or break. Anyhow just some food for thought.

[Rbacchiega]

that's what I'm talkin bout!

Thanks for the first hand experience there GSP. I don't know if I will try either method for the time being. I'm getting good polyp extension on the SPS I have in the tank currently and the LPS and zoas are doing well also.

I might, however, consider going Zeovit on the bedroom tank when it's up and running....

[o.c.d.]

I've dosed with vodka to lower nitrate and it worked for me but I started very small doses an added a extra skimmer while dosing. I have used nitrate destroyer it also works IMO and many others it is Vodka just watered down with some garlic added maybe a dash of sugar, o ya and instructions. I did ask Tailored Aquatics what the difference was and they replied ".The whole Tailored Aquatics line gives very affordable alternatives for people not willing to take the risk of miss dosing on any kind of do it yourself recipes. Tailored Aquatics Nitrate Destroyer has been tested and formulated under many various conditions over the past few years. Nitrate Destroyer’s carbon sources not only reduce Nitrates and phosphates, but also enhances natural coral coloration, stimulates polyp extension and feeding, leading to healthier specimens. Tailored Aquatics Nitrate destroyer is extremely safe and provides clear directions taking the guesswork out of the dosing process.
thanks for reading,"
Brad
I'm not bashing this vendor just think vodka is a lot cheaper

[phillybean]

Vodka is working for me. 0 Nitrates, 0 phosphates and staying there. Allows me to over feed. Corals look great, water is clear and less film algae.

I dose very little (2 ml/day) and it works great. Ive thought about going full Zeo and I might in the future, but for now, Vodka works

I was doing Vodka + Sugar but got massive Diatoms when I added Sugar.

[pterfloth]

I have been dosing vodka for 3 months now because I shudder at the cost of Zeovit or UltraLith. I never had nitrates over 5 ppm but my phosphates were hard to keep below 0.1 ppm. I slowly increased my Vodka in weekly increments to the present 2.5 ml/day. I never had any bacterial blooms and my nitrates are now unreadable. The phosphates never came down though. In the last week I changed out the Rowaphos in my TLF reactor and the phosphates came down immediately to 0.03 ppm (colorimeter).

I have increased feeding, fish and corals, of my mixed reef tank three-fold, since dosing vodka and plan to keep it up unless conditions change. Everything is growing like mad. SPS frags double or more in size every month, LPS and softies doing great. Very happy with PE and colors.