Vodka and GHA

[captjab]

I have a 125 mixed reef with mostly SPS. I started dosing Vodka 6 weeks ago and I'm starting to get GHA and my sps are very faded. I feed Rods original food most everyday and other days I target feed mysis shrimp to some Duncan's and a few other LPS. Here is a little info about my system and my dosing schedule and a few of my parameters.
150 gallons total
22" deep 125 flat back hex
4" sandbed
2 96watt actinic PC lights
2 175 watt Iwasaki mogul base halides
All bulbs are 4 months old
The power compacts are on 10hrs a day and the halides are on 7hrs.
I have 2 MP 40wes set at 90% on reef crest and a mag 7 for a return.
I run filter socks in my sump and they are changed out every 4 days. (could this be the problem)?
I run 2 TLF 150's with GFO and BRS large particle Lignite Carbon. I really can't remember the amount, but it is about half of the recommended amount on the box they came with. I have my reactors marked so I can refill them to the same spot every time. I change this about every 3 to 4 weeks.
I top off with kalkwasser mixed with vinegar. I make up 5 gallons at a time and use 10 tsp of kalkwasser and 5 tsp of vinegar. These are dosed via ATO at approximately a 1 1/2 gallons a day.
I run a SRO RO-PS-3000 skimmer.
My nitrates show 0 as do my PO4, but I know it's there or I wouldn't have GHA, or at least I think I'm right on that, please correct me if I'm misinformed.
I dose the 2nd part of a 2 part for calcium and never add any alkalinity buffer because my Alk is always at 11dkh or 4.0 meq/l and my ph stays at 8.12 read from a reef keeper 2 probe.
I started my vodka dose at .5 ml and I'm now up to 1.5 ml.
I guess this title should've been something different being that I'm probably wrong thinking it's the vodka causing the problem, it's just that it started 2 weeks after I started dosing it, but my glass does stay cleaner now.
Oh yeah magnesium stays around 1450 and calcium stays at 420.

Thanks for any help and feel free to ask questions of more info is needed.

 

[tmz]

I don't know why you are dosing calcium. Th calcium hydroxide provides it in an amount balanced to the alk it provides.

The algae may be feeding off PO4 leaching from the rock or detritus accumulations. Maybe the sand bed.

So, you are dosing about 50ml of vinegar equivalents( 1.5 gallons at 5 tsps ,25 ml per gallon ,=38ml + 1.5 ml vodka x8 =12ml vodka equivalents =50ml daily for 150 gallons total water volume or about .33 ml of vinegar equivalents per gallon of water volume.

I dose about .45 vinegar equivalents per gallon as a mix that's about 75% vodka and 25% vinegar and have for about 4 yrs. My tanks have a large number of well fed fish though : NO3 is a round 0.2ppm and PO4 between 0.01ppm and 0.03ppm. Alk is 8.9 to 9.3. Lighting is similar. Colors on sps are vibrant. Perhaps the zero PO4 and NO3 coupled with the higher alk is contributing to paling sps. More food or amino acid dosing might help.

How old is the sand bed?

What is the sg?

 

[novazul1]

You dont need to dose vodka if you have used kal with vinegar because basiclly vinegar already do the job to add more calicium plus food for bacteria in your tank ...so i think if you add more vodka that will too much for you tank.....

 

[captjab]

"I don't know why you are dosing calcium. Th calcium hydroxide provides it in an amount balanced to the alk it provides."

My calcium continued to drop even with the kalkwasser dosing, but my Alk remained the same. Should I dose the Alkalinity with the Calcium, or stop dosing the Calcium and up my Kalk?


"So, you are dosing about 50ml of vinegar equivalents( 1.5 gallons at 5 tsps ,25 ml per gallon ,=38ml + 1.5 ml vodka x8 =12ml vodka equivalents =50ml daily for 150 gallons total water volume or about .33 ml of vinegar equivalents per gallon of water volume.

I dose about .45 vinegar equivalents per gallon as a mix that's about 75% vodka and 25% vinegar and have for about 4 yrs. My tanks have a large number of well fed fish though : NO3 is a round 0.2ppm and PO4 between 0.01ppm and 0.03ppm. Alk is 8.9 to 9.3. Lighting is similar. Colors on sps are vibrant. Perhaps the zero PO4 and NO3 coupled with the higher alk is contributing to paling sps. More food or amino acid dosing might help."

I was wrong on my total water volume. I didn't take in consideration for the rock and sand, so I'm guessing that I'm closer 110 to 125 gallons.

Am I dosing to much?


"How old is the sand bed?"
6 months

SG is at 1.026

Thanks for your help Tom. I was really looking forward to info from you, along with Jonathan, Randy, and David. I feel like the 4 of you can get me headed in the right direction.

 

[captjab]

You dont need to dose vodka if you have used kal with vinegar because basiclly vinegar already do the job to add more calicium plus food for bacteria in your tank ...so i think if you add more vodka that will too much for you tank.....

Thanks, I have been thinking that I was probably ODing the system.

 

[captjab]

If I am dosing to much, should I stop cold turkey or back off slowly the same way I started.

 

[captjab]

Bump

 

[novazul1]

Stop dosing vodka if you are using kal + vinegar and see what happen ......but still dosing the calcium if kal+ vinegar doesnt supply enough calcium

 

[bertoni]

I might consider ramping the GFO volume some, and I'd probably keep dosing. Stopping the feeding for a few days might be an interesting experiment, too.

 

[captjab]

Ok Jonathan, you suggests I keep dosing the 1.5 ml of vodka along with the kalk/vinegar and calcium, but stop feeding the fish and corals for a few days.
It is time for me to change out my GFO, so I will up the dosage by 1/4 if that sounds safe.
I will also measure the amount I'm using so I can post that here.

 

[bertoni]

I think that sounds like a good plan. Good luck!