Vodka Dosing a 29G Biocube

[jeirdo]

I am thinking about doing a short term vodka dosing on my biocube. I have a slight hair algae problem, and I am trying to zero out my nitrates (currently they run between 5 & 10). I've heard that if you are running a good skimmer that vodka dosing can help the skimmer break down and remove dissolved organics. I just started running a Tunze 9002. I've read an article on vodka dosing, but wanted to hear what you guys said first. Any advice? If you do dose...how much? Thanks. Jerod

[nanoreefnate]

you know that vodka is meant to be a continuous regiment of dosing and not just meant to fix algae problems.vodka requires a long to to get on it an a long time to get off it.

IMO if you have a slight algae problem just do more water changes.

[beeker]

Check out my thread, have over a months worth of log for Vodka dosing on it

[organism]

I dosed in my 32 gallon solana and had phenomenal colors with no hair algae. Start with the directions on the article and go from there, everyone's tanks are different so I can guarantee that what's worked for others won't be applicable to your tank. I did it a different way, I just kept increasing the dosage .5ml a week until I saw the hair algae dying off and then dialed it back a bit, but that's not very recommended since you can get some pretty gross bacterial blooms that way. I think I was up to 1ml in the morning and 1ml at night, which is probably way too much for your tank...

[jeirdo]

Check out my thread, have over a months worth of log for Vodka dosing on it

Wow...I didn't know you could fit so much in a biocube! I see that you had some hair algae...has the vodka helped this at all? Thanks...for the info.

[Phixion]

For HA, I wouldn't just go dosing vodka. It's really meant for a well established tank and not to cure HA problems, or it's also used to jumpstart a brand new tank.

 

Have you looked into alternatives first like turbo snails, lettuce nudies or sea hares? The sea hare worked best for me, and my BAD hair algae problem went away within days. I just say stay away from vodka for now because it's a pretty precises science with our hobby, shouldn't be done just short term, and if not done right can backfire on you. That said, I dosed on a tank I had, only a 10g custon AIO and was up to I believe like 1mL after a few weeks and I honestly did not notice much with my tank the 2 months I was dosing it for. Like Organism said above, what works for one won't for another and all tanks WILL require different dosings and regiments. Good luck!

 

Also, if your concerned about your trates, setup a fuge with some chaeto, that will surely decrease your trate level, as well as a hefty W/C say like 40-50%.