My adventure into vodka dosing ...

week 2

week 2

I am now a week into dosing and I have noticed a few things while dosing for the first week. I am now into dosing .9ml daily for week 2. I am splitting the dosing into .4 1/2ml between my am and pm doses. This will be done daily through-out week 2.

I have noticed a few things with the corals. I haven't noticed much coloration changes as of yet, for the corals from madfrags .. but it's still early in the game. I have been speaking with Murray a little bit on the phone, and he advised me of some amino acid's that I should probably start looking into for future use to help with coloration of the corals. He recommended looking into Pohl's Extra, which is made by Zeovit. It's definitely something I'm going to be looking into for sure.

Now, onto the corals. I will be getting some photos up (hopefully tomorrow) of what it is that I am seeing. I am seeing some growth already occuring on some of the corals, which is quite a bit of growth honestly. Especially on one of the Mille's that I got from madfrags. The coloration is not quite there, for whatever reason -- but I'm hoping that it does change.
 
like previously stated, some of the bad algae you have may be from phosphates in your tank. doesnt that egg crate you have on the left of your tank release phosphates into the water? also the flow might not be how it should be down low. is there a current down low? or just the mp10 on the side and the return? also if you just got those corals, then obviously the polyps are going to extend more once they acclimate better to your tank and might not have anything to do with the vodka. im just curious..
 
godlyme said:
like previously stated, some of the bad algae you have may be from phosphates in your tank. doesnt that egg crate you have on the left of your tank release phosphates into the water? also the flow might not be how it should be down low. is there a current down low? or just the mp10 on the side and the return? also if you just got those corals, then obviously the polyps are going to extend more once they acclimate better to your tank and might not have anything to do with the vodka. im just curious..
Click to expand...

No, I have a K3 in the tank as well. The algae that I am experiencing is bryopsis. Which is why it is that I am dosing and raised my magnesium levels up using Kent Tech-M. I don't have any other algae issues other than the bryopsis, which is not much btw. Just appears to be. I will be adding some K1's to the tank to help with the flow down on the bottom as well.

Also, as for the corals. You have great questions!! I had the corals for a good week or so before I started dosing the vodka. Therefore, the PE was good with them after being adjusted to my tank, but the overall PE all on all of my SPS (including what was already in the tank prior to getting the ones on the frag rack) are experiencing more PE.

I haven't noticed much of an increase in color change on the frags on the frag rack. Just a slight bit, some of the corals though have shown a difference. For example, my green slimer changing colors that was a real bright yellow and starting to get a tad bit of a green tint on it, depending on how you're looking at it.
 
Ok ... I smooth forgot that I am going out of town this weekend and noone is going to be home! AHHHHH.... so, I am on week 2 of my dosing. I have been dosing a total of .9ml per day, splitting it into .4 1/2 ml per am and pm. I am leaving tomorrow morning and coming back Sunday nite.

Anyone got some suggestions? I know it is recommended to do 4 1/2 through am and pm ... but cld it be that I do .9 for both days in one dose or no?

Thanks!
 
Yeah, I would just dose on your way out and when you get back and not worry about the period in between.
 
Week 2 round up

Week 2 round up

So, I learned I'm not going out of town tomorrow! But thought it was time for me to update the thread.

(cut and pasted from my local thread!)

Alright, so I have been monitoring things closely and I am still noticing huge differences. My water column is becoming "clearer" aside from the sand that's in the column. I'm still playing with my flow some, so we'll see how it works out. I've been so busy lately, that I haven't had a lot of time to play w/ the flow.

Anyhow -- back to my results. I have tonight and tomorrow remaining for week 2 recommended dosage. I have some photos that I thought I'd post to give you guys an idea of how things are going. I tried getting some straight on from the side photos and then some top down photos.

Updated photos:

ORA Red Planet and Lemonade (will have to look up exact name)

DSC_0514.jpg


Blue Tip Tenius (two different views)

DSC_0546.jpg

DSC_0544.jpg


Green Slimer (this use to be more of a yellow color, it's starting to color up nicely)
DSC_0543.jpg


Unknown SPS
DSC_0557.jpg


Red Monti Cap (straight on and top down)
DSC_0558.jpg

DSC_0558.jpg
 
Pretty in Pink Mille
DSC_0530.jpg


Idaho Grape Monti
DSC_0538.jpg


Watermelon Milli (will need confirm name)
DSC_0534.jpg


Cesar, what's the name of this frag?
DSC_0539.jpg


Here's a top down photo, as best as I could get with the reflection of the lights along with the canopy on.
DSC_0567.jpg
[/B]

As you can see, the colors are starting to change and brighten up. For some of these though, you can't see it if you are straight on with the coral at eye level. However, if you get up to the top of the tank and look down or get really close then you can see the colors starting to change and brighten up.

Tell me whatcha think so far! Excited to hear what your feedback is!
 
I have reached the end of week 2's dosing. I have now moved on to week 3's recommended dosage of 1.4ml per day. This will be broken up into .7ml per dosage to maintain an equal amount of dosing between the am and the pm.

The growth on my zoa's seems to be improving quite a bit. I don't know if this is because of the vodka or what, but it is definitely improving for sure. All the SPS are definitely showing quite a bit of a difference as well. I am showing some pretty good growth on a lot of the corals (you can definitely see some growth on the tips in the photos above).

I am still noticing some algae growth on the glass and etc., but it is nothing like what it was before. I am not getting as much cyano as I was before. I am fighting a detrius/food build up on the sand (as you can see in the photo) I ordered some clean up crew awhile back, needless to say not much made it. I am in the process of trying to figure out if I want a sand shifting starfish or a serpeant star to help with this.
 
I have had some stuff creeping up on the sand as of late. I'm not quite sure if this is cyano or not. This only started occuring after I started dosing vodka.

2010-02-02131046.jpg
 
What the holy hell is this stuff?

What the holy hell is this stuff?

HighlandReefer said:
It looks like cyano to me. Is this stuff blue in color or perhaps reddish-purple? What kind of substrate do you have?
Click to expand...

No, it's brownish/blackish in color. I have the CaribSea sand that comes in the bags.

Genetics said:
It's hard to tell from the picture. I would lean towards cyano.
Click to expand...

Someone recommended cutting my dosing in half to see if it goes down in the cyano? They said it could be a bacterial bloom?

Could it be a bacterial bloom? Should I decrease my dosing??

Here is a FTS to show you where it is. I can take it out of the tank one day, not there during the day .. but at night .. it's there. I'm thinking it's a bacterial mass of some sort? Considering that it is only developing during the night?

2010-02-03134628.jpg
 
Last edited:
The only way you can tell would be to look at this growth under a scope. FWIW, the way it grows looks most like a cyano which come in a variety of colors.

Regardless of whether it is bacterial, algal or cyano it is most likely feeding on the organic materials built up in your sand substrate. I would lightly vacuum your sand to remove organic materials in it and keep this stuff cleaned out of your tank. ;)

As far as vodka dosing, many hobbyists report cyano problems while dosing it. Your goal is to make your tank conditions more desirable to bacteria which is very difficult to do. Persistance in keeping this growth out of your tank will hopefully pay off. :)
 
I'm going to get a sand shifter. Not quite sure, yet what it is going to be. I figure it will keep the sand stirred enough to keep the organic build up off the sand. What do you think?

While, I try to keep my hands out of my tank ... I dont want to keep getting my sand stirred up and possibly causing some nitrate issues later on by disturbing any pockets of gas under the top level of sand.

Do you have any recommendations on dosing something with the vodka? For example, MB7. I have heard mixed things on the MB7 and vodka.
 
"Red slime algae is actually not a "true" algae at all, but classified as a cyanobacteria. Most forms found in saltwater range in colors from blackish green to blue-green, orange-yellow to reddish-brown, and often appear as deep purple to fully black in color."


redslimegrnhair_600a.jpg
 
@Highland .. the way it forms is like that, but it's not that color as we know it can range in color.

Any suggestions to help with cyano? Would you recommend cutting my dosing into half? My basic understanding of cyano is that it is photosynthetic, therefore it requires light. However, this stuff blooms at night mainly?

Could a sand shifter help prevent cyano build up from occuring in the tank all together or a combination between a shifter and MB7?
 
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