vodka dosing or nitrate reactor?

[gatekeeperdi]

I'm trying to decide whether to try dosing vodka directly to the tank or setting up my deltec nitrate reactor again to control the nitrates on my tank. I've done quite a lot of reading about directly adding vodka as a carbon source, which seems like it could be a good way to reduce the nitrates and phosphates, but I'd be interested to see what people's thoughts are and why they feel one method's better than another.

Thanks, Diane

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Both work well, but the decision might relate to how you also intend to export phosphate.

 

[gatekeeperdi]

Both work well, but the decision might relate to how you also intend to export phosphate.

Thanks for your reply. I am running a deltec phosphate reactor using Rhowaphos at the moment. The nitrate is 20 and the phosphate is 0.092 (on the elos high sensitivity test kit). I had read that vodka dosing can export both nitrate and phosphate so wondered if that might be worth a try? I am also waiting for a fellow reefer to send me some chaeto to start growing in my sump. This is the first tank I have had with a sump so that had not been an option previously. What would you recommend as the best way to control both nitrate and phosphate levels?

 

[Feltman]

I feel nitrate reactors are better long term for the main reason once there set up there mainly set it and forget it where vodka dosing adds abother chore to the tank that can be forgotten. Stablity is the goal in the end that's why the less I have to touch and the more I can enjoy the better.

 

[gatekeeperdi]

I feel nitrate reactors are better long term for the main reason once there set up there mainly set it and forget it where vodka dosing adds abother chore to the tank that can be forgotten. Stablity is the goal in the end that's why the less I have to touch and the more I can enjoy the better.

Thanks for your reply. I'm really torn with which way to go to be honest.
I thought that once a maintainance vodka dose had been achieved the dosing could be automated via a dosing pump, in the same way as it can be to a reactor, is that not the case? I've always had to clean out the nitrate reactor every month or so too as it was getting blocked up with bacterial mulm. I'd then have to go through setting it up again. :-(
I never seem to be able to get the phosphates down to where I want them with the phosphate reactor either so I thought the vodka may help with that too. However I wonder if using a nitrate reactor is safer and less likely to cause a problem in the tank though?

 

[gatekeeperdi]

I've decided to set up the Deltec NP509 reactor again for now. I will need to set it up with fresh tank water as I had to throw out the stuff that was in it previously. I am dosing zeobak, biomate, coral snow & zeozym but not using biopellets. I have read some threads where bacteria such as zeobak has been addded to the reactor when it was set up to speed up the bacterial development. Would you think this is worth doing?