Which type of Vodka

Oliver Nivbrant · #1 03/20/2006, 04:15 AM

I have been suggested to try a vodka method to try and get rid of cyano from my tank. I was just wondering if smirnov tripple destilled was the only one that can be used or if other brands or types are fine to use aswell. Is the main thing that they have been tripple destilled or something else??

thanks for all the help

pscheel · #2 03/20/2006, 07:31 AM

How does getting drunk get rid of cyano??or....does the beer goggles effect just make it look better??

j/k Is this a new way to combat cyano?

Mr James · #3 03/20/2006, 08:09 AM

I always thought that it was just a simple vodka, nothing too expensive and not one brand in particular. I am also surprised to hear that this combats cyano. I am interested to see what others who have tried this will have to say.

Anemonebuff · #4 03/20/2006, 08:28 AM

Make sure you have extra airation. When the bacteria consumes the sugar in the alcohol they will use a lot of oxygen.

tibbs2 · #5 03/20/2006, 09:59 AM

I think any vodka will work. We just had Mike Paletta speak at our club this weekend and I was kind of surprised to hear he doses vodka.

cfarrow2 · #6 03/20/2006, 10:11 AM

Interesting. Does anyone know how much to dose?

pnsnowboard · #7 03/20/2006, 10:23 AM

does this actually work

maby ill use it as an excuse to get a whole bottle of vodka

trippyl · #8 03/20/2006, 11:02 AM

you need an excuse???

Mr James · #9 03/20/2006, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by cfarrow2
Interesting. Does anyone know how much to dose?

I started to say then determined I don't remember.

MiddletonMark · #10 03/20/2006, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by pnsnowboard
does this actually work

The theory is:

Vodka addition [a carbon source, really] will spur a bacterial bloom.

Heavy skimming will pull some of this bacteria out, bacteria which contain some Nitrogen + Phosphorus compounds ... thus exporting some N + P out of the tank.

Due to this bloom - oxygen levels can fall rapidly. Too large a bloom can cause other problems - I would read the various threads on this, play it very safe when starting, and be sure to test as you dose.

You can kill your tank this way, doesn't even seem that hard if you don't test, don't read on the method, or get aggressive.

Done safely, you can export nutrients. Be safe.

RevHtree · #11 03/20/2006, 12:06 PM

If you know the cause of the cyno problem and can fixit and now just need to get rid of what's in there, then use Chemi-Clean. I had 4 Anthias die in my 125 that sparked a major cyno issue. MAJOR! Everything was covered in my 125. That's alot of ground. I dosed one dose and 2 days later it was all gone. All coral including sps are still thriving and growing. I have used it in the past when I started to get a small hair algae outbreak. It was fine then too. I have since added a MR2 skimmer to help curb problems.

ReeferAl · #12 03/20/2006, 05:51 PM

I dosed vodka for awhile. The best stuff to use is whatever is cheapest. I have now switched to dosing sugar since it is waaay cheaper, adjusted for the amount of carbon you are adding. I dosed about 30cc in my 500gal system daily. Most just dump it in. Since I had an extra dosing pump I wasn't using I dosed it 24/7 with that.

What I notice is that the skimmer produces more and that it is tan colored instead of dark green. My filter sock quickly get coated with bacterial slime and I have to clean it almost daily. If you add too much you will see strands of bacterial slime coming off the rocks. That is a definite sign to cut back.

I figure that by constant dosing I get a more even bacterial growth that gets removed rather than a bloom-crash cycle. So far I have seen no ill effects on corals and I have seen a die-back in problem algae. Interestingly, although the over-all amount of algae has decreased, I also have small patches of different kinds of algae that I hadn't seen in the tank before. Likely the nutrient shifts have favored them over the turf algae I had before.

Allen

Bandsaw · #13 03/20/2006, 06:18 PM

I remember reading somewhere that a standard doseage is 1ml per 10g of water.

I done some research on this once before. I personally concluded that the risks outdid the gains and stayed away from using Vodka.

I do have a de-nitrator in my system. I feed it 10ml of a saturated suger water solution once a week. I have never had Nitrates in my tank (I test using two different brands of NO3 kits). Like all de-nitrators, they use a lot of O2, so I test O2 once a week as well. So far, no ill effects.

pnsnowboard · #14 03/20/2006, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by trippyl
you need an excuse???

im only 17

Ti · #15 03/20/2006, 07:16 PM

I like to use something SMOOTH like Grey Goose.
I had no issues with Grey Goose.

MiddletonMark · #16 03/20/2006, 07:21 PM

FWIW, here is the `big thread' about it. Sometimes not the best behavior going on ... but enough information to make it worthwhile.

Likely more good threads out there ...

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=288714

Oliver Nivbrant · #17 03/21/2006, 05:40 AM

The reccomended dose is 3 ml per 100L twice a day for the first day. Then halve the ammount every day after the first, but still does twice a day.

I'm gonna try tomorrow and i'll tell how it goes

Wiskey · #18 03/21/2006, 08:42 AM

I heard it reccomended that you start VERY slow, I started at 0.2 ML for 50 gallons and that may have been too much.

Be sure you have a great skimmer, and keep an eye on your tank and perams.

Whiskey

hllywd · #19 03/22/2006, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ti
I like to use something SMOOTH like Grey Goose.
I had no issues with Grey Goose.

Trust me I've had issues with Grey Goose...

I love learning strange new things... vodka in my reef is definately one of them...

Amazing. Maybe a reason to raise some taters and build a still

How's that for an excuse????

Mekong · #20 03/22/2006, 06:29 PM

How bout everclear? Wouldnt that be a even more pure source? Or even good ole moon shine?

My fish preffer olive gin martinis...

kirstenk · #21 03/26/2006, 02:36 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Oliver Nivbrant
The reccomended dose is 3 ml per 100L twice a day for the first day. Then halve the ammount every day after the first, but still does twice a day.

I'm gonna try tomorrow and i'll tell how it goes

Totally inaccurate information.

Below, I copied a post from Jorg Kokott who wrote the article on Vodka dosing.

DSB tanks react very sensitively on vodka supplementation, thus be careful! If you run a DSB without a skimmer, you should add one to your tank.

Vodka should be supplemented daily during the lighting phase.

You can start with 0.1 mL/100 L for the first three days.
Then you increase the vodka volume to 0.2 mL/100 L for day 4-7.
Subsequently to this initial week you increase the vodka dose by 0.5 mL per total tank volume (this is important, do not dose on a per 100L basis, but on the total tank volume!) every week.

So, e.g. for a 500 L tank:

day 1-3: 0.1 * 5 = 0.5 mL
day 4-7: 0.2 * 5 = 1 mL
2. week (day 8-14): 1 mL + 0.5 mL = 1.5 mL
3. week: 1.5 mL + 0.5 mL = 2 mL.

After these 3 weeks you should recognize changes in the nutrient levels (nitrate, phosphate). If the nutrient levels are still unchanged, you should further increase the dose by 0.5 mL per total tank volume.
As soon as you recognize either nitrate or phosphate to start dropping you shouldn't further increase the vodka volume but watch the nutrient levels, even in the first three weeks.

You should log your nutrient measurements and monitor the nutrient levels on a regular basis (every 3 days).

As Heinz said, skimming is important and you will recognize your skimmer to work much more effectively.

I have posted the dosing recommendation as I fear that people start dosing vodka by using too high volumes. I still recommend to wait for the article.