Randy Holmes-Farley
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My Tank Thread
I found some old posts of mine on another site that more clearly relate what happened at very high doses than i can remember now:
OK, I've been experimenting with upping and upping the vinegar dose for my tank. Hoping to stop any green algae on the glass and kill off some macroalgae and maybe bryopsis (which has not worked).
I've been adding more and more vinegar and less and less vodka.
Well, at the recent limit of 410 mL of lime-saturated vinegar, the tank really was noticeably poorer.
Most particularly, the RBTAs browned up (still orange, but darker and the white parts are now brown) and they expanded less and less, and the H. crispa also expanded less. Some soft corals were also shrunken.
Cyano also started to grow faster again.
Also, the green algae on the glass seemed to grow faster! Bryopsis is also out of control, although that may not be related.
So I’ve decided to cut way back and try 150 ml of lime-saturated vinegar with no vodka for a bit and see if things go back to normal.
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FWIW, I was expecting to start to see bacteria, but I haven't seen any in the display tank. I also never saw anything turn pale.
It is clear to me that the zoox in my RBTA's can clearly consume the acetate and so they increased in population. Maybe that isn't true of SPS corals, and that is why they turn pale and not brown (I don't currently have any SPS). My LPS seem largely unchanged.
The dose of 410 mL was about 2 ml per gallon per day. Maybe a bit less.
I don't generally track calcium and alkalinity, since it never varies much from acceptable ranges, but I do not think there is much rise. The amount dosed is equivalent to about 2 gallons of limewater per day, and that is well within the amounts I usually dose. This is a low evaporation time of the year for me, and so the top off limewater is slow.
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Yes, it was a fairly gradual rise, made in jumps, but still over a long time (months).
Yes, I'm fairly sure the brown is zoox levels being higher. I expect they will drop back.
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OK, I've slowly backed all the way down to about 44 ml per day, spread over the daylight hours. Things look much better. I did not realize how cloudy the water had gotten, presumably with suspended bacteria.
The RBTA's are largely back to normal, but I did loose one that I'd had for only about a month (not sure if that is related or not, but it could well be). The H. crispa seems back to normal.
The cyano is largely gone.
The green algae on the glass is growing more slowly again.
The soft corals are expanding fully again.
All in all, looking good, and I may add some new livestock (anemones and/or fish) in the next few days.
OK, I've been experimenting with upping and upping the vinegar dose for my tank. Hoping to stop any green algae on the glass and kill off some macroalgae and maybe bryopsis (which has not worked).
I've been adding more and more vinegar and less and less vodka.
Well, at the recent limit of 410 mL of lime-saturated vinegar, the tank really was noticeably poorer.
Most particularly, the RBTAs browned up (still orange, but darker and the white parts are now brown) and they expanded less and less, and the H. crispa also expanded less. Some soft corals were also shrunken.
Cyano also started to grow faster again.
Also, the green algae on the glass seemed to grow faster! Bryopsis is also out of control, although that may not be related.
So I’ve decided to cut way back and try 150 ml of lime-saturated vinegar with no vodka for a bit and see if things go back to normal.
---------------------------------------
FWIW, I was expecting to start to see bacteria, but I haven't seen any in the display tank. I also never saw anything turn pale.
It is clear to me that the zoox in my RBTA's can clearly consume the acetate and so they increased in population. Maybe that isn't true of SPS corals, and that is why they turn pale and not brown (I don't currently have any SPS). My LPS seem largely unchanged.
The dose of 410 mL was about 2 ml per gallon per day. Maybe a bit less.
I don't generally track calcium and alkalinity, since it never varies much from acceptable ranges, but I do not think there is much rise. The amount dosed is equivalent to about 2 gallons of limewater per day, and that is well within the amounts I usually dose. This is a low evaporation time of the year for me, and so the top off limewater is slow.
--------------------------------------------
Yes, it was a fairly gradual rise, made in jumps, but still over a long time (months).
Yes, I'm fairly sure the brown is zoox levels being higher. I expect they will drop back.
-------------------------------------------------------
OK, I've slowly backed all the way down to about 44 ml per day, spread over the daylight hours. Things look much better. I did not realize how cloudy the water had gotten, presumably with suspended bacteria.
The RBTA's are largely back to normal, but I did loose one that I'd had for only about a month (not sure if that is related or not, but it could well be). The H. crispa seems back to normal.
The cyano is largely gone.
The green algae on the glass is growing more slowly again.
The soft corals are expanding fully again.
All in all, looking good, and I may add some new livestock (anemones and/or fish) in the next few days.
