Who's dosing vodka? And why?

[mrkalel]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14972650#post14972650 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MarineGirl411
LOL. I don't dose Vodka silly! I'm pretty interested in this though.

Well I have a little crappy tank.. but ever since I saw how well Marcy Marc's tank did, I had to try it...

I have went from 45 trate's to about 15 trate's right now... some I'm hoping I get to 0 in a few weeks...

But if you wanna see some pics... you have to see them in person...

 

[melev]

I'm reducing my dosage to 10ml per day to see what happens. I continue to see some bubbles in certain parts of my rockwork that look like they want to become cyano bacteria, but never do. If I skip a dose one day, they don't appear. So I'm guessing perhaps I can lower the dose a bit, as the vodka may be fueling cyano a bit.

My angled tank has some ugly patches of cyano, which is odd since it is the same water. The flow is different, but the bulb is new. I don't feel like I'm overfeeding that tank, as I only shake some pellet food once a day for the clowns.

 

[mrkalel]

As for the cyno thing... I def. think that the vodka is the source, cause now I have cyno in any little spot that doesn't have great circulation... but I am still trying to get my 'trates to zero... so I will lower down after...

I rather have zero trates and a little eye sore, than be were I was a few mnts ago...

 

[melev]

I haven't treated for cyano in my system in over a year, so that's gotta mean something.

 

[Joshsmit56001]

Well I am a happy "customer" of vodka dosing so far. When I started my Nitrates were at 20 and phosphates were low but still present. After about 2 months of dosing my nitrates are down to between 5 and 10 and phosphates are 0. My hair algae has stopped growing but has not began to die off yet.

Josh

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

Vodka and cyano..... Is this your finding Marc, mrkalel? Based on my experience I would agree with that.... I have cyano in my fuge (slow flow)which started to show up after dosing. Maybe a happy medium should be found between no nitrates and no cyano. I am going to start lowering my dosing in the reverse order (0.5ml per week) to see if I can find that “happy place”.

 

[spleify]

Wow the tanks are looking great Marc!!

Yes I to have some cyano. I try and suck it out as best I can, but there are a couple of spots that just keeps getting it.

Thanks for the updated pics Marc.

 

[tmz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14981402#post14981402 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
I haven't treated for cyano in my system in over a year, so that's gotta mean something.

:lol: Cool. But I'm not sure what it means. Since using vodka, vinegar and a bit of sugar , I am very pleased with phosphate and nitrate levels after 90 days of dosing. Over the last week, however, I have been getting a bit of cyano in two of the basement frag tanks on the sand bed and rock. Hadn't seen any mats for at least a year before this. Probably coincidendental and it's not anywhere else in the system but I'm watching it closely.

 

[melev]

Well, what I meant was in the past I would use RedSlime Control or Chemi-Clean to get rid of it. I probably used it 3x a year, but haven't had to in a long time.

I do think too much per vodka dose can make it worse though, because if I back off or even forget a dose, it seems to weaken it. I just don't think it is a coincidence.

 

[ktweddle]

I'm using sugar as opposed to Vodka. Same principal I suppose. To encourage increased bacterial activity and then skim it out.

I have looked at this as a parallel for a concept I studied in Agriculture college called Mutual Antagonism. Encouraging or tolerating the presence of a less problematic or benign organism that competes with a problematic organism for space and resources. Or something along that line . . .

I have been dosing sugar at 1/2 tbs into the sump of my 90 gal (110 gal total water volume) every night for the past month. I had some cyano, bryopsis, diatom and possibly dinoflagilate strings. Just that last little bit of bryopsis hanging on to one rock now.

My intention is to wean off it once the last of the bryopsis is gone and use a DI unit on my source water to clean it up a bit better.

 

[mrkalel]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14982198#post14982198 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sisterlimonpot
Vodka and cyano..... Is this your finding Marc, mrkalel? Based on my experience I would agree with that.... I have cyano in my fuge (slow flow)which started to show up after dosing. Maybe a happy medium should be found between no nitrates and no cyano. I am going to start lowering my dosing in the reverse order (0.5ml per week) to see if I can find that “happy place”.

Yea man, I believe I'm hovering around ~15 trates now & as for the cyano, it definitely popped up after the first couple of weeks of dosing, but it doesnt bother me at all...

I make sure that it isnt on any of the corals.... and I blow it off the areas on the sand every few days...
What I will do is try to get my trates to 0, and then start seeing what I can do about getting that "happy medium" like we are all talking about...

In the meanwhile, if you guys figure anything out let us all know about it...

 

[herring_fish]

New Load of Fish

New Load of Fish

I expect to receive a large shipment of fish in a week or two. I will be going from 1 flame angle to a 130 G tank full of fish. I know this is not the way that it should be done but it will be the result of a trading deal so it’s now or never.

As I have mentioned before, I have an algal turf scrubber in my tank that has been running for several months. I have a 55 G sump full or coral rubble but it is brand new so it probably won’t help much. I don't have a skimmer to fire up in the short run. Between dosing vodka, and having only one fish, my nutrient testing measures zero so the scrubber isn’t producing any algae right now.

When I add the fish, all at one time, there will probably be a spike of nutrients that the system may not be ready to handle. I don’t think that I can quickly restart the vodka dosing and ramp it up to match the load. A slow build up is always advocated to prevent a low oxygen crash.

How should I prepare the tank for this big on slot? Should I go out and buy nutrients of some sort? If so what and where? I'm sure that someone will say that I should draw from a certain very inexpensive source for adding uric acid to my tank.

 

[MarineGirl411]

Is that chemi clean safe to use in your reef tank? I know it says it is, but I believe I have read people do not like using it. I have some cyano and I try to siphon it out, but to tell you the truth it will not. What can help take care of it???

 

[DheereCrossing]

Re: New Load of Fish

Re: New Load of Fish

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14990859#post14990859 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by herring_fish

I expect to receive a large shipment of fish in a week or two. I will be going from 1 flame angle to a 130 G tank full of fish. I know this is not the way that it should be done but it will be the result of a trading deal so it’s now or never.

As I have mentioned before, I have an algal turf scrubber in my tank that has been running for several months. I have a 55 G sump full or coral rubble but it is brand new so it probably won’t help much. I don't have a skimmer to fire up in the short run. Between dosing vodka, and having only one fish, my nutrient testing measures zero so the scrubber isn’t producing any algae right now.

When I add the fish, all at one time, there will probably be a spike of nutrients that the system may not be ready to handle. I don’t think that I can quickly restart the vodka dosing and ramp it up to match the load. A slow build up is always advocated to prevent a low oxygen crash.

How should I prepare the tank for this big on slot? Should I go out and buy nutrients of some sort? If so what and where? I'm sure that someone will say that I should draw from a certain very inexpensive source for adding uric acid to my tank.

Put them in your quarentine system and then slowly (over months) add them to your display.

 

[melev]

Re: Re: New Load of Fish

Re: Re: New Load of Fish

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14991005#post14991005 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DheereCrossing
Put them in your quarentine system and then slowly (over months) add them to your display.

How many fish is he talking about? A load is kinda vague.

Adding them from a quarantine tank is a great idea, assuming he has a big enough quarantine to hold them all in the first place.

At the very least, if they all must go in the tank at once, plan on LOTS of water changes to keep the water healthy. Perhaps twice a week at first. Watch for ammonia to spike. Have some Prime (by Seachem) on hand to dose the tank if you see a spike in your test kits.

Clean the skimmer daily. Try to avoid overfeeding your tank.

For vodka dosing, don't change your dose because you have more fish. Dose what you were dosing, then add .5ml next week, continuing to ramp up slowly just as before. Test frequently to see how it is working, and to avoid overdosing.

 

[melev]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14990867#post14990867 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MarineGirl411
Is that chemi clean safe to use in your reef tank? I know it says it is, but I believe I have read people do not like using it. I have some cyano and I try to siphon it out, but to tell you the truth it will not. What can help take care of it???

I've used it many times without issue. Make sure if you get some, it is white. If it is yellow, return it for white powder. Chemi-CLEAN works. (Not Chemi-Pure; totally different product)

Turn off the skimmer, stop running carbon and GFO, and let it work on your system for 3 days. At the end of that period, you shouldn't see any cyano at all. If you do, let it run another day. During the dosing period, you may need to add an airstone to the tank to add oxygen to the water, so consider that part of your plan.

When the treatment is done, a big water change will help your skimmer settle down more quickly. On my 280g tank, even with a 55g water change, once the skimmer is started up, it wastes about 12-14g of water in the next 6 hours - and that is with the skimmer dialed all the way open. The product really creates a volcano effect, but eventually it settles down. I throw out the skimmate as it collects, and add newly mixed saltwater to the system to replace what was lost. That keeps salinity where it should be.

 

[MarineGirl411]

Thank you Marc. =)

 

[herring_fish]

Prophylactic Simulation

Prophylactic Simulation

I have stopped the dosing of vodka for now because my nutrients are staying at zero and my scrubber is overly depressed. If I re-start, I will need to go back closer to the beginning of the dosing schedule.

I can’t say for sure, how many fish will be added to the tank yet. I am just planning for the worst.

Can I add something now (to simulate the fish) that would make the tank start to become acclimated to the big load that is expected in the near future? I would like to get the scrubber to ramping up (I could add Miracle Grow for that.) and get the bacteria to multiply in response to fish waste or something that would simulate that. There may be something better that would do both. In my old tank, I added fish fertilizer if things started running too lean and clean.

 

[melev]

You could feed your tank a little more for now, which would increase the bacterial population.

 

[herring_fish]

Now I Have a Game Plan

Now I Have a Game Plan

OK
1. Buy Salt for changes
2. Buy some Prime
3. Ramp up the feeding for now

Sounds good thanks