Who's dosing vodka? And why?
- Thread starter spleify
- Start date
this tank was neglected before... no water changes for more than 6 months... since this was only fowlr before... the figures did not really matter that much as compared to a reef tank.
im slowly planning to convert this... and adding soft corals now...
feeding has been reduced to twice a day... to once in two days.
detritus is being sucked out every water change
im slowly planning to convert this... and adding soft corals now...
feeding has been reduced to twice a day... to once in two days.
detritus is being sucked out every water change
Aqua Keepers
New member
I would not add any corals til you get this under control.
DheereCrossing
New member
Also a quick reduction in PO4 with those products I've read may send any corals into light shock by clearing the water to quickly. The DOC that gets tied up in precipitating phosphate, then removed through mechanical methods should make the water much clearer.
Marc gave you some real good advise above.
How about changing out some of the current rock with some fresh cured pieces?
Marc gave you some real good advise above.
How about changing out some of the current rock with some fresh cured pieces?
spleify
Premium Member
Great advice like always Marc.
I would also suddest you wait to put corals in until you have lowered your number. Its likely they will not survive and you will only get frustrated and discouraged, not to mention the money you will waste and the fact you will be killing animals.
I would also suddest you wait to put corals in until you have lowered your number. Its likely they will not survive and you will only get frustrated and discouraged, not to mention the money you will waste and the fact you will be killing animals.
Sisterlimonpot
Premium Member
you can continue to conduct water changes. I think Marc went without WC so he could actually accredit his 0 nitrates to vodka dosing alone and nothing else.
Although many might say that was an excuse to save time and money on changing water in his big tank 
A.VOID
Premium Member
<a you can continue to conduct water changes. I think Marc went without WC so he could actually accredit his 0 nitrates to vodka dosing alone and nothing else.
:lol: :lol: :lol:
Nate bragged about that crap too.
melev
Well-known member
Yes, I actually Laughed Out Loud at that comment by Leif. :lol: I don't mind doing them THAT much, but I did want to know if the vodka worked instead of the regular water changes.
Pong, have you considered just removing the livestock to a quarantine holding tank, so you can just get the main tank back to normal parameters? Without any livestock, you could really clean it up and probably get this resolved in record time. I'd imagine even with PO4 leaching out of the rock, you might be able to get numbers that stay down within a month to a month and a half. (Purely a guess, considering how aggressively I would take that challenge myself.)
It looks like all your fish are tiny, other than the foxface.
Pong, have you considered just removing the livestock to a quarantine holding tank, so you can just get the main tank back to normal parameters? Without any livestock, you could really clean it up and probably get this resolved in record time. I'd imagine even with PO4 leaching out of the rock, you might be able to get numbers that stay down within a month to a month and a half. (Purely a guess, considering how aggressively I would take that challenge myself.)
It looks like all your fish are tiny, other than the foxface.
Sisterlimonpot
Premium Member
The 2 weeks that I stopped dosing shot my nitrates up to 10PPM. Since then I just went back to the maximum dosing that I was doing to bring them down the first time (4.6ml). And now it's slowly going back down. I haven't witnessed any ill effects of going from not dosing for 2 weeks to straight back to the normal routine.
Was this risky, should I have started all over again with the .5 weekly increments?
Was this risky, should I have started all over again with the .5 weekly increments?
melev
Well-known member
Hopefully Nathan will chime in since he tends to babysit these threads, but my initial thought would be that it would be best to do a half dose daily for a week, then back to the full dose to let the NO3 drop. It seems that would be a better way for the tank to absorb this sudden addition.
Jerm77
New member
sorry for linking to another forum but this reading may be worth your while.
like others have said, you may need to replace or "condition" your live rock like shown in the below thread. I would like to side with others saying that you may have a nitrate factory somewhere in the system or just not enough bacterial diversity or mass.
check this out:
http://www.ultimatereef.net/forums/showthread.php?t=211460&highlight=35ml
Sisterlimonpot
Premium Member
All that reading and Scoob sums it up pretty well on page 3. I'm curious why you can't just do this to 1 rock and place it in the tank and allow it to seed the entire tank? Not to get off subject but I would definitely like to explore this a little further.
melev
Well-known member
That was a fascinating read. I had to find a different thread to see pictures from his tank. His A. valida made good progress from what it was to what it became.
It does make me wonder if I should be adding a few extra bacteria strains to my tank, which is turning five years old in three more months. I'd have to imagine new corals being added to the system brings new bacteria as well, but if you don't add them on a regular basis, that could be a limiting factor.
It does make me wonder if I should be adding a few extra bacteria strains to my tank, which is turning five years old in three more months. I'd have to imagine new corals being added to the system brings new bacteria as well, but if you don't add them on a regular basis, that could be a limiting factor.
Sisterlimonpot
Premium Member
Maybe a theory for OTS as well?
Jerm77
New member
I would agree that a monoculture is likely in captive reef systems over time. vodka wont fix this, especially if the strains in the rock or system are inefficient or useless. But, I'll have to leave the science on this to someone else.
I believe supplementation is necessary. I'm also a believer in diversity. there may be a couple of beneficial strains that have shown beneficial results. but, but I don't believe it stops there. I believe competition also is important.
I have learned this from some of the "microbial rich solutions" brewed for gardening. some products containing only one strand of bacteria have problems with shelf life and overall success. while, other products with a wide range of diversity are more successful, but still have a problem with shelf life - because one strain or food source loses and others take over. refrigeration is also necessary to keep the strains from reproducing and consuming rapidly.
I believe supplementation is necessary. I'm also a believer in diversity. there may be a couple of beneficial strains that have shown beneficial results. but, but I don't believe it stops there. I believe competition also is important.
I have learned this from some of the "microbial rich solutions" brewed for gardening. some products containing only one strand of bacteria have problems with shelf life and overall success. while, other products with a wide range of diversity are more successful, but still have a problem with shelf life - because one strain or food source loses and others take over. refrigeration is also necessary to keep the strains from reproducing and consuming rapidly.
Sisterlimonpot, I've been away for awhile and not sure the amount of time I will be spending on these boards for the next year or so. As for your question on 0.5mL increase or going straight back to full dose, I always recommend finding a dose your tank can handle and then moving anywhere from zero to that dose without worry. Higher than tested doses can sometimes cause detrimental effects but not always. If you don't dose for a few weeks to months I would start lower than your maximum dose but be up to that level by the end of the first week.
