Vodka Vodka Comrades!

[vanny]

Hello people,
I have two questions,

1- is it okay to dose my tank with vodka (i just started out in the hobby and my tank is 1.5 weeks old no fish yet but I have some algae growth and I suspect high phosphate a nitrate levels,)
does anyone vodka dose their tank and what are the results

2-have to buy a powerhead for a 40 gallon tank, what flow rate would you recommend and what brand?

txs in advance

 

[Donya]

If the tank is only 1.5 weeks old, algal blooms are quite normal and don't warrant any intervention. You shouldn't need to go a rout like vodka or vitamin C dosing until the tank is pretty well-stocked. However, if it turns out that there is high NO3/PO4 in the newly added water at water changes and it's not all coming from food going into the tank, then it's better to address the problem at the water source rather than waiting until it's in the tank the tank. Has the tank cycled? If so, CUC might be all it takes to sort out the algal growth, although I'm not seeing a lot in the way of nuisance growth in your pic...is that cyano in the pic instead of coralline?

 

[SaltNoob]

VANNY! Welcome!

Looks great! A good amount of rock, nice looking substrate. Great start!

As far as water movement 20X turnover is fairly optimal or a hair more, so 40X(20) about 800gph total. Position so you do not have super slow spots as best you can. Doesn't really matter what position you put them in, because as you add things you will move them around anyway. most put one on either end of tank and point somewhere forward/middle ish.

Preferred brand by me? Koralia. Quiet and does not produce a ton of heat (bad in summer).

I would not dose the tank with anything. Just do a good size water change each week for now. Introducing new elements into the tank is more of a pain sometimes than a commodity. And I'd rather drink the vodka...

-Tyler

I like that background also.

 

[BigbruiserAl]

Can i just add with tropical but even more so with marine you should not suspect/assume water chemistry. the 1st thing that should have been purchased is the test kits to make sure you know how to tackle a problem if there is one. I would look up red sea or sailferts kits to help you out

 

[vanny]

thank you for all the advice

If the tank is only 1.5 weeks old, algal blooms are quite normal and don't warrant any intervention. You shouldn't need to go a rout like vodka or vitamin C dosing until the tank is pretty well-stocked. However, if it turns out that there is high NO3/PO4 in the newly added water at water changes and it's not all coming from food going into the tank, then it's better to address the problem at the water source rather than waiting until it's in the tank the tank. Has the tank cycled? If so, CUC might be all it takes to sort out the algal growth, although I'm not seeing a lot in the way of nuisance growth in your pic...is that cyano in the pic instead of coralline?

Hi the first pic was on day one ths pic is from day 12:

 

[SaltNoob]

Diatoms! Totally normal. CUC will eat it up =) Astreas and Turbos LOVE that stuff. Ceriths too I believe.

-Tyler

 

[Lady J]

No need to dose vodka at this point (don't mess with the cycle). Vodka is a very good way to remove nitrates, however, you need an exceptionally good skimmer or otherwise you're going to have problems.

 

[jeasko]

No need to dose vodka at this point (don't mess with the cycle). Vodka is a very good way to remove nitrates, however, you need an exceptionally good skimmer or otherwise you're going to have problems.

Strictly speaking a skimmer is not going to sort your problems, it will help to extend the frequency of water changes but ultimately it won't stop algae on its own, algae need light & phosphate or silicate so to reduce algae look at Lighiting cycle feeding regime (not applicable to this thread) and water changes, water changes are the biggest exporter of nutrients even with a skimmer you should up your water change either in volume or frequency or both to reduce algae along with adding a phosphate remove.

All this said it is normal in a new system for diatoms and algae while the tank is cycling, also I'm guessing as this thread is a few months old the issue is resolved

 

[Lady J]

Yes, water changes are extremely important. Vodka dosing is used to reduce nitrates---I don't believe it is used for algae control (although it certainly won't hurt). However, if a person decides to dose vodka way later on, after the tank is cycled and has been running a while, you do need a good skimmer to remove waste daily. If you're trying to reduce algae, a phosban reactor is excellent and inexpensive.

 

[jeasko]

Vodka is dosed to reduce nitrates and phosphates which are big contributes to algae hence its commonly used to control algae, which is what the original post was referring to

Vodka is dosed to reduce nitrates and phosphates which are big contributes to algae hence its commonly used to control algae, which is what the original post was referring to

 

[ainsy]

Vodka is dosed to reduce nitrates and phosphates which are big contributes to algae hence its commonly used to control algae, which is what the original post was referring to

Correct, but it works by by binding them into a form that can be removed by skimming so without the aforementioned powerful skimmer it will be of very little benefit.

 

[jeasko]

Ladyj apologies I read that as dont use vodka use a skimmer instead.

Ainsy not that I think vodka dosing is good but you can dose without a skimmer (admitted not advisable) but In An Eco system the miracle mud will actually benefit from the bound nitrates and phosphates in effect feeding it rather than having to replace it, not something I've tried or am likely to either but worth a mention

 

[ainsy]

Ok

I was making the assumption that the majority use skimmers for nutrient export rather that an eco system.

I suppose you are correct - but having used vodka with a good skimmer & witnessed first hand the amount of gunk that dosing produces I would be extremely sceptical that any sort of eco system would cope with it on it's own.

That is what came off my 1000L tank in just 15mins after a dose

 

[Lady J]

Ladyj apologies I read that as dont use vodka use a skimmer instead.

Ainsy not that I think vodka dosing is good but you can dose without a skimmer (admitted not advisable) but In An Eco system the miracle mud will actually benefit from the bound nitrates and phosphates in effect feeding it rather than having to replace it, not something I've tried or am likely to either but worth a mention

Oh geez, no apologies needed jeasko. Marine chemistry can get VERY difficult. My marine expert is Dr. Holmes-Farley who has a phD in chemistry (even owns his own company). Vodka does help with phosphates and algae but there are other ways to reduce algae than with vodka. Of course, there are other ways to reduce nitrates as well. Reducing nitrates can be a task from hell though. When I initially responded to the thread, I advised not to interfere with the cycle at all but way later on if the chemistry continues to be off. At that point you could dose vodka and use a strong, capable skimmer. You are absolutely correct that people can dose to reduce both nitrates and phosphates. I know that many people use very inexpensive phosban reactors to control phosphates which in turn controls algae. IDK, some people believe strongly in vodka dosing while others don't. Personal preference I guess---I never used it. The only algae I had in my reef tank was hair algae in the overflow, growing on the plumbing. I didn't worry about it too much and just pulled it off. I was forced to use distilled water and there was a low level of phosphates in the water, but never enough to cause huge algae outbreaks. I only needed to clean the glass every few days, and there wasn't much algae present anyway. Using macrolgae is also a wonderful, natural way to reduce phosphates---the micro and macro algae fight for the nutrients.

Algae can also get away from us when the bulbs get old and haven't yet been replaced. I've had that happen as well. As I stated earlier, marine chemistry can get verrrrry complicated.

 

[jeasko]

Ainsy don't get me wrong I'm not a fan of dosing vodka and I certainly wouldn't tell anyone to try it skimmer less, the only reason I mention it is because I'm nearing the life end of my fuge MM and lots of people advise to dose vodka or carbon to feed the MM rather than replace it, tbh though I think it's a dangerous game to play about with vodka as its so easy to over do or make an error such as volume miss calculation that can and does have devistating effects when it goes wrong, all for a relatively small cost of replacing the MM

LadyJ all to often lighting is over looked as a key component in many aspects of this hobby both for getting it right and wrong! Me personally I left my system to it for nearly 2 years due to personal reasons, I let the lamps burn to extinction done infrequent water changes etc and other than algae my tank survived with reasonable water prams be seen when I got my head back into it, first thing that needed replacing was all my lamps and then just dug in for the long run of water changes and hey what Di you know my tank is thriving!

The only thing that kept my tank going was my MM fuge with macro algae and still now I don't skim as I haven't for nearly 3 years! With no I'll effects!