how long does vodka dosing take to see results?

[jayb12]

ive been dosing my 250 for just over a month and i thought i was seing results but then used a more accurate test kit and its still has not changed, im up to 4.1ml a day now, my nitrates are about 40 and holding. any predictions how many more weeks to start seing resultS?

[coralmojo]

Be patient...6-8 weeks I'd expect is the time frame...

Your other options are...adding a little vinegar/sugar to the vodka...adding microbacter 7 or zeobac to expand your bacteria population...

DrMerle

[jayb12]

sounds good ill read up on it thanks

[Eric45]

Four ml for a 250g is a very small amount. I use 4.0 ml for a 72 and also add 2 ml of vinegar or a half teaspoon of sugar every afternoon.

I began only w/vodka and it took a few months to get down to zero. I suspect it could have gone faster, but I started at 1 ml and slowly increased from there until I reached my current level of 4 plus vinegar or sugar.

[usefulidiot213]

it took about 6 weeks on my 100 gal to see results, but the results were good.

[jayb12]

i feel like im playin with fire so slow and steady is the best method i think. 6 weekish seems to be when things start to decline from what ive been reading ill just stick to my schedule of .5 ml increase a week and go from there, tommorow im adding 4.6 ml tommorow

[strendo]

Same here took 6-8 weeks

[jon1985]

I must be the oddity. I started dosing vodka on my 80 using meleevs directions and saw results by day 4. I started with my nitrates at 80mg/L (not sure about that unit) they where about half by the end of week one. I didnt bother increasing my dosage according to the directions and decided to wait and keep with the starting dosage to see if the nitrates kept droping. It has been 3 weeks now and I have zero nitrates and I feed heavily.

[Garage1217]

Heck I am at 10ml on around 140G total water volume for a year now. 4ml at 250G would not do a whole lot.

[rossruiz]

im my 100gallon i was at 10ml within the 7 week when a notice it went to 0 know im dosing 6- 7 ml daily for the past 3 months

[linnyesg]

I'm dosing 2 ml of vodka in my second week. MB7, I started one week later at 6 caps full for two weeks of seeding. How much vineger and or sugar should I add? Which is it, just vin. or just sugar, or is both ideal?

[Eric45]

One thing I noticed was that over the 6 months I've been dosing things were really set back when I went away and stopped for a week or two. I'd get back and my nitrates would be back up to 20-25 ppm and it would take weeks to get them back down again. I think its an up and down thing, but woulld love to hear from someone who has been dosing for at least a year and has achieved steady, low to zero nitrates.

On the vinegar and sugar, I dose 1/2 teaspoon of regular sugar or 2 ml of vinegar each afternoon - in addition to the 4 ml of vodka in the morning - on a 72g with a 20 g sump.

[HighlandReefer]

1/2 teaspoon of sugar per day in 100 g. system is quite a bit. 1/4 teaspoon per day is pushing the zone where sugar can cause problems for coral.

In general, I believe that reducing your nitrate level by about 1/2 ppm per day or less, in a 150 gallon system is fairly safe. Unfortunately nitrate test kits do not provide the capablility to see this kind of change, except when tested about every month. FWIW, this means it may take at least 100 days to drop a 150 gallon system from 50 ppm nitrate down to zero. I usuall drop my nitrate slower than 1/2 ppm per day when necessary. If a hobbyist is dumping lots of food in their system, this will effect the results drastically. I would cut back on feeding to once every two days or so, if this is the case, rather than risk adding too much carbon source.

[Eric45]

Thanks for the advice. I'll cut back somewhat on the sugar. I really have no idea how I arrived at 1/2 teaspoon anyway. So I guess you see a clear correlation between how much vodka you add and how much it reduces your nitrates. Otherwise, how can you lower them in such a controlled fashion. Have you documented it? Also, what test kit do you use? It must be pretty sensitive.

[HighlandReefer]

In my case, I have been using sugar to reduce nitrate. I have used vinegar in the past with similar results. This is based on my system only. There are many variables when it comes to how much your nitrate will drop per a given amount of carbon source. Many other hobbyists have experienced about the same amount of drop in nitrate when dosing carbon sources correctly. The main thing is not to overdose any carbon source and rush things too much. It does take several months or so to reduce nitrate from higher levels. FWIW, sugar is much more potent as a carbon source than vodka and can be overdosed and cause problems with coral much easier.

[Algae Growwer]

I started dosing vodka 6 months ago.Was about 8ml according to the charts in rc mag article before I started to see any real drop in nitrates .Have backed it down to around 4 ml and nitrates are still at 0.0 . Thats also after breaking down tank and moving about 1 month ago.The skimmer is still pulling dark blk/grn skimmate From the water just give it time and don't jump the gun and over do it .Ramp it it over time.It will pay off.How deep is your sand bed? My tank is a 220 w/50 gal sump

[jayb12]

Originally Posted by Algae Growwer

I started dosing vodka 6 months ago.Was about 8ml according to the charts in rc mag article before I started to see any real drop in nitrates .Have backed it down to around 4 ml and nitrates are still at 0.0 . Thats also after breaking down tank and moving about 1 month ago.The skimmer is still pulling dark blk/grn skimmate From the water just give it time and don't jump the gun and over do it .Ramp it it over time.It will pay off.How deep is your sand bed? My tank is a 220 w/50 gal sump

my tanks a 250 with a 100 gal sump. right now my nitrates are sitting about 40-50. they have been that high when i started dosing. my sand bed is about 1" to about 3" at its deepest.

[sparty30]

I use microbacter7 as well as vodka and it's working great. Here's a dosing chart for vodka, I don't need near as much as what it calls out but it could be used as a starting point until you get your system where you want it.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-0...e1-40Proof.jpg

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-0...e2-80Proof.jpg

[graha321]

I have a total water volume of about 160g, and it took me around 2-3 months to get down to 0 nitrates. I was up to 12mls of vodka per day to get it to zero, and then cut it back to 8mls per day. I think it really depends on the individual system, but that is my experience.

[ATLJonathan]

Switching to Vodka, biopellets are just to nasty, yellow film constantly.

[drtrash]

No pox a hybrid recipe of all ingredients?

[HaroldT]

Took me about 8 weeks to see results.

[Horace]

Most people over think this. You are not playing with fire. So long as you dont dose a huge amount and cause a bacteria bloom, you will be perfectly fine. The whole going slow thing is to not shock the system by dropping nutrients super fast. Even though super high nutrients arent great for corals, having them in that environement for a long time, and then stripping them away overnight is a larger concern...so that is why you need to ramp it up slow. You will notice over time that your glass stays algae free longer and longer. Once you get that to last about 4-5 days w/out a wipe then you know your nutrients are pretty damn low.