Advice And Experience With Vodka Dosing
- Thread starter nathan
- Start date
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2012
- Location
- Rocky Mountains BC
Just get pellets. Same thing and 100x more easy/stable.
Skip vodka in your tank and drink it yourself. Go for vinegar. I have been using vinegar for a while now. I started with vodka on my bar tank, then went to vinegar and then moved to pellets on my 120 long tank. I used pellets on this penninsula tank for a while. Pellets are super easy, just one more peice of equipment to maintain and monitor. They are low maintenance.
I went to vinegar again around January this year. I dose with a doser throughout the day. I personally prefer it over pellets. To me it is easier and cheaper as I used a lot of pellets. It is also much more convenient for me to get vinegar at the local store for $2 and have it last a year vs obtaining pellets.
There is a guide somewhere online about vinegar dosing and the volumes to start with. Follow it.
Sent from my SM-G925W8 using Tapatalk
I went to vinegar again around January this year. I dose with a doser throughout the day. I personally prefer it over pellets. To me it is easier and cheaper as I used a lot of pellets. It is also much more convenient for me to get vinegar at the local store for $2 and have it last a year vs obtaining pellets.
There is a guide somewhere online about vinegar dosing and the volumes to start with. Follow it.
Sent from my SM-G925W8 using Tapatalk
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2012
- Location
- Rocky Mountains BC
I go through about 1 bag of pellets every 1.5-2 years(!). I use a dedicated pump but likely could use the same pump I use for the gfo and carbon. It doesn't get much easier than that 
Spanky
New Member
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2014
- Location
- Listowel, Ontario
Salty, if you had the pellets in line with your gfo and carbon, would you place the pellets before or after? Would it make any difference at all?
I was going through A LOT more then that with my shitty water lol.
I go through about 1 bag of pellets every 1.5-2 years(!). I use a dedicated pump but likely could use the same pump I use for the gfo and carbon. It doesn't get much easier than that
Sent from my SM-G925W8 using Tapatalk
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2012
- Location
- Rocky Mountains BC
I would likely just split the output line from the pump, I don't think I would want that in line with the gfo/carbon, but all 3 need very little water movement, so 1 pump would likely do. My pellets tumble a lot now with the dedicated pump...
zoomster
Active Member
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2014
- Location
- Port Rowan, Ontario
I completely agree with @Salty Cracker.
I would put the pellet reactor on its own pump or at least a tee off the other pump.
Pellet reactors need a different rate of flow and sometimes the flow needs to be increased or decreased over time as pellets will get smaller and lighter, then when you add more and so on.
I would put the pellet reactor on its own pump or at least a tee off the other pump.
Pellet reactors need a different rate of flow and sometimes the flow needs to be increased or decreased over time as pellets will get smaller and lighter, then when you add more and so on.
zoomster
Active Member
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2014
- Location
- Port Rowan, Ontario
I got tired of all the smaller pumps so I now use a big Mag pump hooked up to a Manifold.
It now runs my fuge, GFO, carbon, (Pellet reactors when I was using one) and has a couple more tee offs if I want to add to it.
I can adjust the flow to every piece of equipment individually as needed, as well.
Hope this helps you!
It now runs my fuge, GFO, carbon, (Pellet reactors when I was using one) and has a couple more tee offs if I want to add to it.
I can adjust the flow to every piece of equipment individually as needed, as well.
Hope this helps you!
Spanky
New Member
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2014
- Location
- Listowel, Ontario
Yep. Thanks for the advice fellas
What size are the feed lines for the pellet reactors?
zoomster
Active Member
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2014
- Location
- Port Rowan, Ontario
1/2" I.D. bud.
AdInfinitum
Super Active Member
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2012
- Location
- Thorndale, Ontario
My personal experience has been that pellets are excellent for maintaining a low nutrient tank but are far less successful for bringing down the nutrient levels in an established "dirty" tank. If your tank has been struggling with higher nitrates for a while I would be inclined to go with vodka or vinegar dosing to bring levels down to where you want them. Then gradually switch the tank over to pellets for maintenance. Using pellets in a high nutrient tank caused endless Cyano blooms for me while vinegar/vodka allowed me to easily adjust the amount of carbon going into the system to better keep the bacteria in balance.
Thanks that's great advice
zoomster
Active Member
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2014
- Location
- Port Rowan, Ontario
+1 with @AdInfinitum
Thats pretty much why you may have noticed in my earlier reply I said "when I was using one"
I found that the cons outweighed the pros.
Slowly took it off line and voila, no more issues.
AdInfinitum always has good advice, offers compelling evidence and alternative options.
Not to mention pretty darn knowledgeable!
Thats pretty much why you may have noticed in my earlier reply I said "when I was using one"
I found that the cons outweighed the pros.
Slowly took it off line and voila, no more issues.
AdInfinitum always has good advice, offers compelling evidence and alternative options.
Not to mention pretty darn knowledgeable!
Last edited: