Starting Vodka Dosing

OK. I'm going to do it. Vodka dosing.

I am going off a thread I found a few days ago, if anyone wants to know I'll hunt around and find it for ya.

So my tank has been having some issues. My nitrates are around 40-50. Phosphates are 0 nitrite is 0 ammonia is 0 blah blah blah. Just nitrates. I use tap water which checks out with no phosphates but as of now I am going to this RO machine ate a Rite-Aid down the road for my water.

Ok, so for the testing. I measured the NO3 and PO4 and NO3 was 40 and PO4 was 0 on my new API test kit.

According to the instruction, I added 0.1 mL for every gallon (net water volume). With 125 net gallons, I started with 0.5 mL of vodka. It is 80 proof, 40%.

Yesterday I checked the levels again and NO3 had dropped to around 30. Due to the vodka? I don't think so, but it was still cool. I guess I wont be seeing any results until days 5-9. these first 3 days I am dosing 0.5 mL then on days 4-7 I will double the dose to 1.0 mL.

I am using a 19G syringe that my dad who is a surgeon got for me so I am ensured on accuracy.

Here are the results so far.

Day 1: NO3-40 PO4-0 Dose-0.5 mL
Day 2: NO3-30 PO4-0 Dose-0.5 mL

 

So I just did todays' dosing and testing, and the results were pretty awesome!

My NO3 dropped another 10!

Day 3: NO3-20 PO4-0 Dose-0.5 mL

By the way, I am testing BEFORE I am dosing.

 

Fishies gettin into the holiday spirit yet?

Nitrates going down is a good thing keep it up .. but watch for drunk swimmers..

 

Hi Patrick,

I just wanted to drop a post on the subject – more of a warning to future thread readers looking for that magic cure for their nitrates. Carbon dosing is not for newbies – this is an advanced technique for the advanced aquarist….if you came across this thread and you are a new tank owner with an algae issue please believe me, there is no substitute for hard work and patience.

I am glad to see you are getting positive results right from the get go, a drop of 10 is huge. I wish you success here !

 

I totally agree. You have to keep up with it because if you miss a few days like i did when I went out of town, the results will definitely show. at the rate you are going you will only have to dose the .5 ml to keep things low.

 

interesting Patrick, thanks for sharing

 

Hi Patrick. I am glad to hear that your nitrates are dropping. However, a few things don't quite make sense.

First of all, when you start dosing vodka, it typically takes weeks before you build up enough bacteria to start reducing your nitrates. To see a drop of 10 after only 3 days of dosing, especially such a low dose, is very unlikely. I'm not saying it didn't happen, but might there be another reason for the change (eg. new test kit, water change, carbon change, etc)?

Also, the bacteria that your vodka is feeding use phosphate and nitrate proportionally. So if your phosphate is truly zero, your nitrates will not reduce due to the vodka dosing. What test kits are you using for nitrates and phosphates?

In general, vodka dosing is best for mature tanks where nitrates and phosphates are low, but not quite zero. These tanks should have excellent protein skimmers to remove bacterial wastes and mulm, and should run carbon to reduce DOCs in the water. For newer or more unstable tanks, it's better to start with refugiums, good skimmers, and water changes until things stabilize. Not to say this necessarily applies to you (I don't know how old your tank is), but perhaps for others who may be reading this thread.

Having said all this, I've been dosing vodka for about 1.5 years now with very good results, and have recently switched to biopellets. Hopefully you continue to see good results.

 

Like I said, I dont think the nitrates dropping have anything to do with the dosing... but it is just a simple coincidence. I am running carbon and have a new bubble mag that i got about a month ago. I have had a fuge for about a year. I did add some new carbon about a week ago which is probably the culprit for the nitrates. I actually have quite a bit of experience with this stuff...

thanks for your concern!

 

+1

very important

 

So today my nitrates were back up to around 40... Who knows. The dose starting today is and was 1.0 mL and will be until day 8 where I will jump to 1.5 mL.

Day 4: NO3- 40. PO4- 0. Dose- 1.0 mL