Trinituner Fish Keepers, Aquarists & Aquascapers...

[netsket]

Saltwater Aquarium and Fish for sale

can i get a closeup pic of the black clowns?

[Reefplanet]

Cool might go the show, but fish only

[HondaB20B]

Anyone see this in any petshop around recently? I bought 3 from nu image earl last year and they dont have any more. A pardner looking for 2 right now locally. You plug it in and when power goes it automatically switches on.

http://www.amazon.com/Silent-Series-Bat ... p+air+pump

[HondaB20B]

Tecpure, where i am right now i cant answer my phone. PM me

[mojosodope]

anyone have any experience with keeping german blue rams with discus? thoughts concerns etc

[HondaB20B]

How many reef men are there on the forum by the way.

Hondab20b
Ziggy
UML
Fishman.......(dont know if he still around)

[Reefplanet]

Me! well reef young man...

[HondaB20B]

Me! well reef young man...

your tank not up yet so you dont count

[Reefplanet]

AWWW...

[UML]

Anyone see this in any petshop around recently? I bought 3 from nu image earl last year and they dont have any more. A pardner looking for 2 right now locally. You plug it in and when power goes it automatically switches on.

http://www.amazon.com/Silent-Series-Bat ... p+air+pump

you check nu image in atlantic plaza?

cause i went there before u made this post....but i glimpsed something blue on the wall....cant hurt to check.

How many reef men are there on the forum by the way.

Hondab20b
Ziggy
UML (wouldnt really consider it a "reef" nah )
Fishman.......(dont know if he still around)

Sharkman
ARES
LucaG

[HondaB20B]

How many reef men are there on the forum by the way.

Hondab20b
Ziggy
UML
Fishman.......(dont know if he still around)

Sharkman
ARES
LucaG

well actually i think sharkman is FOWLR (correct me if i'm wrong)
Ares scraping d tank
and also luca selling out.
Fishman tank actually still running
and i dont know what WRXdevil have (FOWLR or reef)

[UML]

it had someone with a pic of a blu vodka bottle dosing a tank...not sure who it is

[HondaB20B]

it had someone with a pic of a blu vodka bottle dosing a tank...not sure who it is

think that might be fishman. There was another guy but he had carried most of his stuff by raj to sell. Cant remember his name. Actually i bought 1 or 2 of his coral.

[Reefplanet]

Still don't understand this vodka dosing.

[HondaB20B]

Was speaking to Raj a couple wks ago concerning the amount of full reef men it had in the country and he could not count 25 men that come by him to buy coral. There are allot of Fish men though

[UML]

any good information on vodka dosing?

would u recommend a newbie to try it?

how much? how often do u dose?

really getting fed up with the nitrate problem

did the nitrate test before and after the water change hondab2ob recommended....and it was the same

[HondaB20B]

Still don't understand this vodka dosing.

Google is you friend

[HondaB20B]

Still don't understand this vodka dosing.

Google is you friend

http://www.aquariumslife.com/saltwater- ... ing_vodka/


Dosing Vodka to reduce NO3 and PO4 in Saltwater Aquarium
Submitted by AquariumsLife.com on February 19, 2010 – 7:00 amOne Comment

vodka dosingI won’t go deep into the scientific area of this. I’ll leave this to others who are more comfortable with this topic. To make a long story short, the goal of dosing Vodka is to provide an organic carbon source to grow bacteria in order to consume phosphates and nitrates. Bacteria are then exported via the protein skimmer and so are the nutrient that it consumed. The idea here is to reduce Nitrate and Phosphate to create a better environment for the fish and invertebrates and reduce the chances of an algae outbreak.

Even though there is scientific literature to back up the idea, this dosing method was achieved trough experimentation and observation. Many fellow aquarist shared their results and observation on forums to finally come up with recommended dosing rates (see: ReefCentral.com, Nano-Reef.com). In general, users note a dramatic decrease in nitrate and phosphate molecules, while others note increased coral coloration and clearer water.

Note: This method should do well for systems that do not effectively remove NO3 and PO4. Systems with very low levels of NO3 and PO4 may not benefit to any great extent by dosing carbon.
Why Vodka?

Phosphate and nitrate are the two main nutrient reduced when adding organic carbon. Basically, dosing and other kinds of any organic carbon would give you the same results.
People have also experimented this with vinegar, sugar, etc (all of which are organic). The reason we use vodka in comparison to other spirits is that vodka is more pure in composition. Vodka is mostly water ethanol: no additives, no flavor added, etc.
How does it reduce NO3 and PO4?

By adding organic carbon, we increase bacterial growth and reproduction. The reason why we do this is because bacteria use nutrients such as nitrate and phosphate to build new cells which result in rapid NO2 and PO4 reduction. Like us, they need their carbs. Bacteria are then exported via the protein skimmer and so are the nutrient that it consumed. Most vodka users note a notable increase in skimmate production, removing more waste than without vodka addition.
The Skimmer

A good skimmer is a key requirement for this method. Cultivating bacteria to lower NO3 and PO4 is one thing but you also need to remove those bacteria from your system. If you keep the bacteria in your system, they will eventually set those nutrients free when they die. You can’t rely on water changes for that so make sure you have a good skimmer! The other reason for using a skimmer is gas exchange. The increased bacterial biomass will decrease your dissolved O2 levels which can cause stress (or death) to the reef inhabitant.
Dosing Instructions

1. Your first step is to test your system’s NO3 and PO4 levels. Do not try this method if you don’t know this!!!!!

2. Estimate the net water volume of your system. The water volume is the sum of the aquarium volume, the sump and refuge minus live rock displacement. It is ok to underestimate the net water volume but it is risky to overestimate it.

3. Start with 0.1 ml of vodka per 25 gallons (100 L) daily for the first three days.

4. Then, double the daily dosage to 0.2 ml per 25 gallons (100 L) for days 4 to 7.

5. On week two, add an additional 0.5ml to the daily dosage, regardless of the aquarium volume. Always test your system’s NO3 and PO4 levels. If your NO3 and PO4 levels start to drop during that 2nd week, maintain the current daily dose. If your NO3 and PO4 do not drop, add an additional 0.5 ml of vodka to the daily dosage on week three. Add 0.5 ml to the daily dosage every week until your NO3 and PO4 start to drop.

6. When your NO3 and PO4 levels drop near undetectable levels, cut your current dose in half. This will be your daily dose.

7. Keep dosing vodka every day (the dose on point 6) and keep monitoring your NO3 and PO4. If levels become detectable again, increase your daily dose by 0.1ml per week until the levels start to decrease again. Your NO3 and PO4 levels will eventually drop back to undetectable. This will become your new daily dose.

NB: Those instructions are for 80 proof vodka only (40% ethanol by volume).

[UML]

wah brand and type of vodka you use?

[HondaB20B]

Absolute................... any vodka will work, once its not flavored.
The key thing is your skimmer, must be over rated

[UML]

k thanks

wish me luck

i hope i doh drink it out while watching meh tank

[HondaB20B]

that happens to me sometimes................... oood thing it wasnt my JW Green i had to use

[mojosodope]

Freshwater fellas I need some help
I started to fishless cycle my 150gallon on the August 1st, did daily tests and my ammonia still hasn't risen past 0.25ppm, my gh is 125ppm and the kh is 143ppm as of this morning. Also my ph for some reason has risen from 7.6 to 8.2. I eventually want to keep discus so I know I need to keep my ph down and the hardness. So my question is what can I do to maintain a low ph and hardness and where I can get pure ammonia to buy to properly cycle the tank. Thanks.

[Fishman]

Yeah fellas. I am still around. Been busy so have not had time to post. UML I use the Blu Vodka. Brand does not matter but proof does. Before starting the vodka dosing you should try to bring your nitrates down to a lower number. Water changes will do it, but it must be multiple water changes over time to make an impact. One water change will not change the nitrate level. Here is a good article on Vodka dosing: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php

Also do not rush the system. If you dose too much too quickly you could have a bacterial bloom. A bacterial bloom depending on how bad it is can suffocate the animals in the tank. Getting to the correct dosage for your tank could take months, which is why I advised on getting your Nitrates to a more manageable level before starting. It took me about 4 months before i reached my maintenance dose. Make sure to read a lot about vodka dosing or any carbon dosing before starting so that you fully understand it.

I'll post a full tank shot later when I get some time to show my tank progress.

[sharkman121]

he lives

[Fishman]

LOL. Yes I'm still here. Here are a couple of FTS's. Crappy camera so sorry for the quality of the pics.

[UML]

Yeah fellas. I am still around. Been busy so have not had time to post. UML I use the Blu Vodka. Brand does not matter but proof does. Before starting the vodka dosing you should try to bring your nitrates down to a lower number. Water changes will do it, but it must be multiple water changes over time to make an impact. One water change will not change the nitrate level. Here is a good article on Vodka dosing: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php

Also do not rush the system. If you dose too much too quickly you could have a bacterial bloom. A bacterial bloom depending on how bad it is can suffocate the animals in the tank. Getting to the correct dosage for your tank could take months, which is why I advised on getting your Nitrates to a more manageable level before starting. It took me about 4 months before i reached my maintenance dose. Make sure to read a lot about vodka dosing or any carbon dosing before starting so that you fully understand it.

I'll post a full tank shot later when I get some time to show my tank progress.

i have been doing waters changes for a few weeks....started doing it every 2 days and now i doing it every week with no significant changes in nitrate level.

i started doing the vodka dosing for the first time last night and so far so good cause my fish still alive i was worried about my calculating capabilities

so i hoping for the best...i will be testing my nitrates after the first 3 days and then the 7 days


anyone know if this vodka dosing could be applied to freshwater tanks as well? or if i can use an alternative product to dose my freshwater tank to lower the nitrates as well?

[HondaB20B]

Ey fishman, the tank really looking good. Nice SPS tank. Love the pagoda coral.

[UML]

nice tank fishman. really impressive.

[Fishman]

Thanks Fellas.