Yet 1 more Vodka Dosing Experiment

[inkandtonerman]

The Gonipora might have some issues with the nitrate at 20 ppm, but the other animals will be fine. I'd likely cut back feeding a bit, and ignore the nitrate as long as the animals are healthy.

Thank you. Several members now have suggested i am feeding too much, so i will definitely cut back to once a day, but still alternate amongst my different food types each day.

Bertoni: do you think the nitrates @ 20ppm is what is causing my 2 Kenya Tree frags to remain closed up? i am going on day 13 now since i added them to the tank and they are still closed. i sometimes see them open just a tiny bit, but nowhere near how spread out the trunk and branches were when they were on display at my LFS.

this is way longer than the typical 2-3 day periods i have heard Kenya Trees sometimes close up as part of their normal routine. any ideas on what i can do to get these 2 guys to open up? i have tried a low-light/low-flow part of the tank and a high-light/high-flow region as well. neither worked.

 

[bertoni]

I don't have enough experience with Kenya trees to be sure, but I doubt that the nitrate is the problem. Kenya trees seem to close up from time to time, or there might be some chemical warfare. I would wait for a week or so to see whether the corals stop sulking on their own.

 

[125G Reefer]

Agreed. Kenya Trees are basically like weeds. They are tough to kill once you get them going. Give em some time. Trates are usually ok with them. They don't need alot of light nor do they need alot of flow. Some light, not shady, and light flow. But, moving them around the tank like you have, they will and probably have sounded the toxin alarms.

 

[inkandtonerman]

Agreed. Kenya Trees are basically like weeds. They are tough to kill once you get them going. Give em some time. Trates are usually ok with them. They don't need alot of light nor do they need alot of flow. Some light, not shady, and light flow. But, moving them around the tank like you have, they will and probably have sounded the toxin alarms.

Thank you. When you say "sounded the toxin alarms", how long do they usually take to recover assuming that is what has occurred?

 

[tmz]

I keep a small forest of Capnella imbtcata (kenya tree) in a 65 g tank which is not integrated into the larger system .Nitrates often run 40ppm or higher in this tank which runs off a canister filter. Therw are several well fed fish in this tank. They do very well here under moderate to low light in this tank. They are thought to rely less on their zooxanthelae and photosynthesis than many other corals and more on food sources from dissolved materials.

As for toxins, they are one of the least toxic. Eric Boneman, Reef Aquarium Corals, pg 136"..The relative toxicity of Capnella has been found to be relatively low in the species examined. They seem more prone to be affected or disturbed from contact or near-contact with both stony and soft corals.."

 

[bertoni]

I think he meant, "tocsin alarms."

 

[tmz]

Nice Jonathan, Thanks for chiming in. Maybe a lemon peal centropyge did it.:rollface:

 

[Ann Marie]

I don't think that nitrates bother Kenya trees all that much. I have a couple growing in my seahorse tank and the nitrates are probably 40+ in there. As far as toxins it and a toadstool often brush each other and neither looks as if they are having any problems at all.

I've been dosing my reef tank for one week now and haven't seen the nitrates decrease. I haven't seen them increase either. I have seen a difference in what my skimmer is pulling out.

 

[125G Reefer]

I keep a small forest of Capnella imbtcata (kenya tree) in a 65 g tank which is not integrated into the larger system .Nitrates often run 40ppm or higher in this tank which runs off a canister filter. Therw are several well fed fish in this tank. They do very well here under moderate to low light in this tank. They are thought to rely less on their zooxanthelae and photosynthesis than many other corals and more on food sources from dissolved materials.

As for toxins, they are one of the least toxic. Eric Boneman, Reef Aquarium Corals, pg 136"..The relative toxicity of Capnella has been found to be relatively low in the species examined. They seem more prone to be affected or disturbed from contact or near-contact with both stony and soft corals.."

All true. But in a closed system, how do you determine relatively low? I had so many I was pulling them off the rocks. Did so many at one time, they ****ed off everything else in the tank. I have seen it, therefore I mentioned it to him.

 

[125G Reefer]

I think he meant, "tocsin alarms."

:hmm4:

 

[tmz]

All true. But in a closed system, how do you determine relatively low? I had so many I was pulling them off the rocks. Did so many at one time, they ****ed off everything else in the tank. I have seen it, therefore I mentioned it to him.

Thankyou for sharing the observation.
I remove them frequently and haven't observed them leak like sinularia or other leathers nor have I observed stress from other corals when handling the capnella even if I pry them off the rock.. They do have an odd smell though. .

 

[bertoni]

Different animals might have different tolerances to toxins, so that might be part of the issue.

 

[inkandtonerman]

Update:

Today is Day 6 of the experiment on NO3 is still holding steady @ 20ppm on the API test kit. Per the dosing instructions detailed in the first post of this thread, i have doubled my dosing to .52ml now and i am patiently waiting for the NO3 to start to drop off.

After reading so many warning about overdosing the vodka, i will be checking NO3 twice daily hoping to catch the NO3 drop as soon as possible.

Can anyone else who is vodka dosing share how many days it took for them to see their NO3 start to drop?