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Unread 12/05/2017, 12:15 PM   #4
tmz
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Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: West Seneca NY
Posts: 27,691
Hard to say. Vodka is ethanol and water. The ethanol goes to acetate which feeds heterotrophic bacteria that use it as a carbon source ;they also deplete other elements particularly PO4 and NO3. Both are used by corals in their growth process including their control of the growth of the skeletal matrix ; depleting them requires the coral to adjust. If deficiencies in nitrogen or phosphate occur it can throw the balance for controlled growth off; more so it seems when higher alk encourages faster calcification.

FWIW I have been dosing vodka and vinegar for over 8 years in a a heavily fed mixed reef system with a majority of sps. PO4 holds between .02 to .04 ppm with NO3 under 1ppm. alk in the 8 to 10 dkh range doesn't occasion burnt tips or other stn in my case.

Once in a while a very small of sodium nitrate offsets any potential nitrogen deficiency.


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Current Tank Info: Tank of the Month , November 2011 : 600gal integrated system: 3 display tanks (120 g, 90g, 89g),several frag/grow out tanks, macroalgae refugia, cryptic zones. 40+ fish, seahorses, sps,lps,leathers, zoanthidae and non photosynthetic corals.
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