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dose some vodka to encourage bacteria grow


al404

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I'm not sure if is a bed idea but i would like to know if occasionally dose some drops of vodka to encourage bacteria reproduction in an establish tank, maybe when i add a new shrimp or fish, could it be a good idea?

 

I have a 17G nano with skimmer

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every feeding we do causes some population changes up and down and back to steady state, including carbon sources like wodka or vinegar, adding some isn't a big deal but its not super helpful unless you are doing the detailed carbon dosing/skimming routine. its incidental addition in the way you are describing it and the bac it boosts are the same groups that regular feeding and tank work will boost temporarily

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm not sure if is a bed idea but i would like to know if occasionally dose some drops of vodka to encourage bacteria reproduction in an establish tank, maybe when i add a new shrimp or fish, could it be a good idea?

Dosing carbon doesn't help nitrifying bacteria. I don't believe that this would be a good application of carbon dosing.

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i'm not really interested in reducing NO3 more in reducing PO4 since my tank doesn't have a sump and i can't run rowa

i ave softy and some LPS

 

last year i did 1 water change a month but my PO4 got high

 

NO3 about 10 mg/l

PO4 about 0.10 mg/l

not sure is it was also cause from some changes i did during summer

at the end of september i used rowa inside an hang of the back filter and did a 20% + 10% water change and evening got really well

i also added i new light like the other 2 i previously had and lowered the white and raised the blue

i also star dosing live photo plancton but it just seems to pollute the water

i started using kalwasse once a week and my corals seems happier the day after

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I would test for calcium, alkilenity and magnesium along with nitrates and phosphates before you start dosing.

What is you're maintenance schedule?

Normally people don't carbon dose in a smalll tank because they can just change more water improve on tank maintenance.

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I stated this tank a 17G tank, is an ADA 60P, last year in september

After cycling period i start doing a water change about once a month

 

i did dose live phytoplankton for the first 2 couple of months, after that i didn't dose anything else

 

since i have a pistol shrimp, i'm now pretty sure is not a manthis shrimp, this summer i did take out all my rocks to see i could get out the shrimp

i also spray some of the holes with carbonated water but whiteout success

 

i knew that i had some nasty guest, after i came back from vacation i got a gorilla crab out of my tank

 

after that i got a mate for my clown, now i have 2 clown and really few copepods at least that i can see

my older clown never picked on rocks the new one is always looking for food on rocks like a mandarin fish

 

so i'm not sure if what i did during the summer or my new fish is the cause for lower pods but since a couple of weeks i star dosing live phytoplankton that i get from LFS but it seems to pollute my water an not getting that great pods grow so i'm going to suspend it

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Why are you dosing live plankton? It will pollute the tank.

 

Yes, moving rocks can disturb detritus but the big factor is maintenance.

 

10-15% weekly water changes with ro/di, ro, or distilled water is far more beneficial than 1 waterchange a month, especially in a small tank.

 

Vacuuming the sand, using a turkey baster to blast the rocks, weekly will reduce your issues.

Cleaning your hob monthly, changing floss 2 times a week. Testing every week, this is essential maintenance and will get you alot better results than dosing.

 

Dosing vodka or vinegar is not meant as a short cut on water changes. Its usually done in high nutrient level tanks that still have weekly water changes.

 

I think if you look into your maintenance routine and make changes, you will see a big difference in nutrient levels

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sorry but english is not my primary language

 

Vacuuming the sand, using a turkey baster to blast the rocks, weekly will reduce your issues.

Cleaning your hob monthly, changing floss 2 times a week.

 

what do you mean with blast the rock? and changing floss?

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Not to worry about the language barrier. :)

I'm Italian with many non english speaking family members, so no worries.

 

Filter floss. I wasn't sure if you use it in your filter. It traps all the stuff your filter takes in. If you use it, it needs to be changed 2 times a week.

 

A lot of people will use a turkey baster to blow water on the rock during water change. It helps remove any particles, food, and poop from the rocks.

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thanks for the explanation

 

i only have a skimmer and 2 power head in my nano tank

i used after the summer for a copule of days an hang on the back filter with rowa to low PO4

 

i never heard before about turkey buster for rocks but every day for about 10 minutes both my power herds are on and they make a really good water movement

 

i also have 2 hermit and 2 shrimp i doubt i can have any particle of food in my tank :D

 

i will post a picture later

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