Vinegar is just another form of carbon... You can do vodka, vinegar, sugar or a combination of them all.

I chose Vodka as that is what has the most abundant of info on.

You need to calculate the actual water volume. If necessary estimate on the low site to be safe. It doesn't matter what the size of the tanks are, if there are sumps, etc... It is the actual amount of water.

Then use the .1ml per 25 gallons to start and follow the recipe.

Yep. Here is the chart that I used. Although I backed off for a bit to get my doser set up, my No3 stayed at 2 on an elos kit. Here is the page that I used it provides charts for all kinds of proof vodka , as well as amount charts. Now the doser is up... the tank is back on the booze! Just click on the chart that says 80 proof on the top, it's for 40% just like we drink. yey
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php

You are correct, pellets are a carbon source, and basically almost impossible to overdose compared to vodka. But I found that I still wasn't getting the Pizazz I wanted and with the coral deaths. So the combo way I went running both. Probably don't need the pellets now, but oh well they are in.

There are differences. The pellets create a bacteria that reside within the pellet reactor. no were else... Vodka creates the same type of bacteria but within the whole tank area. So in my opinion if you have a huge bioload as I do, then maybe the pellets will help but not work fully, but the vodka can.

Just my 2 cents.

what volume of pellets are you running?

I have about 2.5 litres running, but was about 1.5 till about a week or so ago.

I've been dosing vodka for about a year. I have a 200 Gallon tank with a 60G sump. My nitrates were higher than 50 when I started, then dipped to an all-time low at 20, then back up to 50. I didn't think the vodka was doing anything, so I trickeled it down to zero over 2 weeks. Then after 6 weeks or so, everything turned brown so I restarted the dosing ramping up to 8Ml. This was around september or so. Finally by New years the brown was gone. I'm still dosing at 7Ml/day and nitrates are still hovering at about 50.

somewhere in January all of my culerpa died off, then all of my chato died (-- About a cubic foot) about 3 weeks after.

I also have 12 Mangrove plants, 4 inches of sugar sand, 200 pounds of live rock, and a coil denitrator.

I'm looking for alternatives to Vodka.

Just use mooore vodka!

How much more? Nobody seems to post what they actually end up putting in after a year for a ~260G volume... I'm a little worried to just keep increasing. I also don't know why my chato died, but I'm afraid that everything will turn brown again if I stop the vodka. I think my tank is addicted.

Fishtank or ****tank? :mrgreen: