Vodka dosing=cloudy tank

[rayn]

I have two tanks, one a 55 and one a 120.

The 55 went cloudy about a month ago. I did a 20 gallon water change, turned up the skimmer, and added a powerhead. I have the water churning fairly well at the surface and am pulling out a large amount of gunk daily but the cloudiness is not improving.

The 120 just started to cloud up last night, it is very faint but I can see it. Skimmer is pulling gunk out and I aimed the powerheads at the surface more.

I have quit dosing the 55 completely for two weeks now, and now I will stop the 120 as well.

What can I do to help clear this up?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

How long and how much have you been dosing?

I will clear on its own with skimmng and no organic additions, assuming it is a bacterial bloom and not something else.

Are you dosing anything else?

 

[rayn]

I started dosinggboth at the same time. 55 made it to 11ml per day in half doses, the 120 was up to 24ml in half doses. I would do half in morning and half at night.
55 is/was dosed with nothing else, it is a predator tank with no corals just live rock. This tank became covered in HA up to two inches long. Along with vodka I cleaned and harvested as much as I could and added a pencil urchin. Currently there is no HA in the tank or sump. I also ran gfo till this bloom and switched to carbon(forgot that before). I have had phosphate down to .1 but nitrates never below 40. I know in a fowlr nitrates aren't as big a deal, but I believe they were contributing to the growth.

The 120 was dosed with baking soda and calcium till about two weeks ago when I switced to kent two part. I was worried about overdosing one or the other. Phosphate in this tank has never been below .2 and nitrates are a battle to get below 50. I run gfo and carbon both in seperate reactors.

Water changes are biweekly of 20%. I could bump these up, but I didn't think these really helped clear it up from what I have read.

 

[JT3069]

It is a bacteria increase
when you dose vodka i perfer a heaviler skimmate because all your really doing in locking your n and p in bacteria and if not properly removed you get what u got or a release of the n and p
but some experts will correct me if im wrong

 

[rayn]

The 55 uses a psk-100 with a mod on the water output to make adjustment easier. Here is my skimate after a day

The skimmer on the 120 is a warner marine k2 and doesnt get the dark skim near as much.

 

[rayn]

Any help would be appreciated. The 120 has basically cleared up with skimming and the stopping of the dosing. The 55 hasn't changed a bit. There is np dosing of anything in this tank, only food. Skimmer pulls a cup a day of dark gunk out with no change in the tank. What else can I do?

 

[HighlandReefer]

Perhaps increasing water circulation in the still clouded tank will help. Also you can add a filter bag to your system which will collect bacteria as well.

 

[rayn]

There are two powerheads in there now and there are two tube nems. I think they are at the limit on circulation. Would a hob filter be worth it or about the same as the bag?

 

[HighlandReefer]

There are two powerheads in there now and there are two tube nems. I think they are at the limit on circulation. Would a hob filter be worth it or about the same as the bag?

A hob filter will help just like a filter bag.

 

[rayn]

Thanks. I have a brand new one sitting there I will use.

 

[HighlandReefer]

You're welcome.

 

[rayn]

Well it has been three days now with a hob filter and I honestly can't see any difference yet. Is there anything else I could try? If I get a chance tonight I'll do a water change and test all my levels. If not over the weekend for sure.

 

[curlykid]

you're supposed to up your dosing i think.

 

[bertoni]

What kind of media is in the HOB?

 

[rayn]

It is a penguin hob. Their media filter, floss and carbon.

 

[bertoni]

The floss might help some with the cloudiness, but I don't know how much. If you have a diatom filter, that might help, but I wouldn't buy one yet. I might stop all feeding for a few days, to see what happens. I assume the water color is grayish?

 

[rayn]

I can stop the feedings. It is mostly silversides, some krill, and occasional salmon. Here are a few pics
fts

looking from the end

 

[celamb89]

seems to be a bacterial bloom... how were u dosing? what was ur max dose?
if u already stopped the vodka i would get the skimmer going like u did and run some carbon and just wait, as long as everything is looking good, i wouldnt worry too much...
Maybe u overdosed the vodka?

 

[rayn]

My max dose was 10 ml with 5 in the morning and 5 at night. I have stopped vodka, added a powerhead, did water changes, and now the hob. It has looked like this for over a month. Fish all seem healthy and all eat readily till their bellies are full and bulging a bit. I just don't like the look of it.
Skimmer is going like that continuously, I clean about a 3/4 cup of that a da:bounce1:y right now. I was running gfo, but also changed that over to carbon and change it weekly. I can be patient with it, I'm just at a loss with what to do.

 

[bertoni]

If you could borrow a UV unit for a few days, that might do the trick.