Do you dose vinegar and/or use an algae reef scrubber?

[Jan]

Have you started to dose vinegar? Why? How is it going? Do you have any information to share;articles, sites, etc..?

 

Show me your algae reef scrubber. Post any linkes, sites, etc..

 

Thanks

Jan

[Origami]

When I started carbon dosing, I was dosing regular sugar to my sump. I changed over to vinegar in my top off water for what I hoped was convenience. After taking my GFO off line, it helped pull my nitrates down to < 5 when it seemed stuck at ~25. An added benefit was increasing calcium via my kalk reactor. I stopped dosing vinegar a while back when I started getting bacterial growth in my top off container. I messed around a bit with vodka dosing, before trying PLA (polylactic acid) pellets, a biodegradeable plastic, as a form of "solid vodka" or what we now call biopellets. I just took the PLA off line a few weeks ago and will move to a different plastic pellet as the PLA did not seem to get consumed quickly enough.

 

If interested in carbon dosing, Jan, you might want to search for VSV dosing (vodka, sugar (glucose), vinegar). There's a thread on it over at RC.

[astroboy]

When I started carbon dosing, I was dosing regular sugar to my sump. I changed over to vinegar in my top off water for what I hoped was convenience. After taking my GFO off line, it helped pull my nitrates down to < 5 when it seemed stuck at ~25. An added benefit was increasing calcium via my kalk reactor. I stopped dosing vinegar a while back when I started getting bacterial growth in my top off container. I messed around a bit with vodka dosing, before trying PLA (polylactic acid) pellets, a biodegradeable plastic, as a form of "solid vodka" or what we now call biopellets. I just took the PLA off line a few weeks ago and will move to a different plastic pellet as the PLA did not seem to get consumed quickly enough.

 

If interested in carbon dosing, Jan, you might want to search for VSV dosing (vodka, sugar (glucose), vinegar). There's a thread on it over at RC.

 

 

One thing to be aware of if you're using bio-pellets: The pump circulating water thru my bio-pellets reactor shut down for a few days. As I recall something got caught in the pump. So I started the pump again, and all the fermentation products (ie, hydrogen sulfide) that had resulted from the reactor bacteria sitting there for three days 'cooking' when into my tank. I lost one or two corals, all my fish where lying on the bottom apparently dead. I had enough salt water on hand to do a 100% water change which saved the fish and the rest of the corals.

 

I now just add a couple drops of vodka every couple of days, if I remember, which seems to work just as well as the biopellets. As far as I'm concerned bio-pellets are Russian roulette. If I hadn't been there the instant the pump started up again I'm sure everything in the tank would have died within minutes. The pump was still plugged in, there was no reason whatever was jamming the impeller couldn't have worked loose at any minute, and good bye aquarium!

 

Having said that, I didn't see any improvement with bio-pellets, although that was likely just because of the parameters in my particular tank; I was running GFO so likely the lack of phosphates was a choke point that prevented the carbon from the bio-pellets doing much good. The tank was pretty decent anyway.

 

In the end, I added chaeto to the fuge/remote deep sand bed, and I think that did more to clean the tank up that anything else.

 

You do get better water clarity with vodka (although you have to run carbon to prevent eventual yellowing), which I didn't see with bio-pellets.

 

 

[Ryan S]

Have you started to dose vinegar? Why? How is it going? Do you have any information to share;articles, sites, etc..?

 

Show me your algae reef scrubber. Post any linkes, sites, etc..

 

Thanks

Jan

 

I just added a BRS 1.1mL dosing pump and vinegar to my system last week. I did this per BowieReefer84's recommendation. I am running it along with GFO. I started with 6.6mL/day and will gradually increase it as needed, instead of using the chart that someone came up with.

[BowieReefer84]

I just added a BRS 1.1mL dosing pump and vinegar to my system last week. I did this per BowieReefer84's recommendation. I am running it along with GFO. I started with 6.6mL/day and will gradually increase it as needed, instead of using the chart that someone came up with.

 

Shhhh... Don't let the secret out. Seriously though, in the months leading up to my breakdown I was dosing Vinegar. It really surprised me the overall improvement I saw in my tank with no negative effects. I think with a good skimmer and vinegar you will not need chaeto or GFO. I would still run some carbon, but that's just me.

 

Some things to consider if you are dosing vinegar:

1 - You MUST have a skimmer, and the bigger the better.

2 - It can effect your PH, so it is best to dose small quantities throughout the day.

3 - If overdosed you can see a "bacteria bloom," but I never experienced this.

4 - It can lower your nitrates very quickly, so make sure you have a reliable test kit on hand to track your progress. Once you reach your goal (say 2-5ppm nitrate), than cut back to a "maint dose."

 

I am actually planning my new build around a giant oversized skimmer (Reef Octopus 8" body with BB3000 pump) and vinegar dosing. I think it allows for a simple setup, with less plumbing of reactors etc. My return pump will only be circulating from tank->sump->tank, so I can get away with less wattage. Also, vinegar is WAY WAY WAAAYYYYY cheaper than GFO will ever be, and most of us are buying it already to clean powerheads/pumps with.

 

Hope this helps.

 

I have no info on algae reef scrubbers.

 

Goodluck!

 

Edit- I am assuming you have seen this article:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php

Everything is the same for vinegar as vodka, but you use 8x more. IE: .8/ml vodka = 6.4/ml vinegar... SO, in that sense it is easier to dial in dosing.

Edited May 30, 2012 by BowieReefer84

[Origami]

One thing to be aware of if you're using bio-pellets: The pump circulating water thru my bio-pellets reactor shut down for a few days. As I recall something got caught in the pump. So I started the pump again, and all the fermentation products (ie, hydrogen sulfide) that had resulted from the reactor bacteria sitting there for three days 'cooking' when into my tank. I lost one or two corals, all my fish where lying on the bottom apparently dead. I had enough salt water on hand to do a 100% water change which saved the fish and the rest of the corals.

Good point. But anytime your water goes stagnant and without good oxygen exchange, you'll get hydrogen sulfide. The lesson here is to keep it flowing, or dump it.

[Packman@90]

I use an ATS on my 72 gallon Bow front. I started with a skimmer and was miserable, I had hair algae growing like crazy. I did some research and found out about the ATS and have not looked back. My tank is now 18 months old on the ATS and I am finally getting great growth (hair algae now gone) from my little frags. I also have started dosing with lime and vinegar, for a week so I still have the wait and see attitude on that. Love my ATS though.