Vodka Dosing

I am consedering trying this but am very limited in my info about how much and how to start. I do not want to put anything into the tank until I fully get it. Is there any readings people can link here and any personal experience would be excellent also. Thanks a bunch and I also hear it work alot with the skimmers production of skimate?

 

IMO don't do vodka. Go bio-pellet method if you are able. Do some research on it....good stuff. Waiting for my reactor and Eco-bak to get here next week.

 

have u considered doing np biopellets it alot easier with the same effects

 

I have a next reef xl reactor on order with the bio pellets already have them but I was thinking to just start things. Only reason I even ask is because I hear it worked through the skimmer creating it to pull a ton of stuff? I may be wrong I really dont know much about it. I do have the pellets and will have it hooked up soon but I hear you need very low nitrates with the pellets or you get a huge bacteria bloom and the tank goes cloudy. This is what the lfs store I got it at said to me.

 

The store also told me that the bio pellets will not start working for 4-6 months also.

 

LOL...don't think so.Everything I've read has them starting at about 4 weeks.Haven't heard anything about bacterial blooms with low nitrates either.In fact,I've read the opposite...More like bacterial blooms from vodka dosing being irradicated by the bio-pellts in a reactor once seasoned.

I can't tell you what to do for certain,but here's what I'm gonna do when I get My NextReef reactor(good buy!!)that's replacing my Fluval Nitrate box. Once I get the reactor going I'm going to keep a close eye on PO4 and Nitrates as I expect them to spike until the bio-pellets do their thing.I'll perform water changes as needed to keep levels as low as I can.The detailed article I read on the swap to pellets from vodka dosing saw them active in 1 month's time.The user slowly reduced his vodka dose weekly and by the 4th. week bio-pellets had taken over what his dose was accomplishing.I don't have a link to the article,sorry, but do some google searches and I'm sure you'll come across it.

 

The little I could find on the subject sounds like the article your talking about. I am looking forward to trying this. I also read to introduce the pellets slowelly or you get blooms. He told me that if not it will be a big mess. The lfs I go to for this stuff is 1hr20 min but great info and very helpful.

 

I'm going to start with approximately 250mL in my reactor.I was considering running my fluval in conjunction with the reactor for the first month to keep things somewhat clean. I don't believe anything I read until I try it. I'll let you know how it goes. Don't have anything in the tank currently that can't be replaced, hence the reason for such open experimentation.

 

That is my problem I have things I can replace but cost a whooooooolllllee lot of money and I dont want to go down that road. Not that this not an expensive hobby but I like more rare stuff so its tough when you lose anything.

 

I personally would not do the vodka, the vodka causes a certain type of bacteria to grow rapidly and over time that bacteria kills alot of the other good bacteria. So you have a hard time stopping dosing. I wish I knew what article I read that in so I could link it.

I don't know what type of bacteria grows on the bio-pellets or if it is the same type, I just know I wouldn't want to prematurely hurt bacteria I might need for the easier long term solution of bio-pellets.

it took 2 weeks for the bio-pellets to work for me. also the bloom isn't that big of a deal unless you have really sensitive corals.