Vodka Dosing...

[Dtech07]

I forgot to mention about using MB7 and amino acids to complement the Vodka or it will not work, you might end of crashing your tank without these supplements.

I never have a crash due to the lack of either of these supplements Vodka is a carbon source just as Bio-Pellets, Carbon pellets ect. You adding MB7 is what same as what the vodka is doing, adding it is just diversifying the bacteria type but not a needed additive. Crashes are caused when you SWING or INCREASE one or several types of bacteria and their count increase to fast and the even though its a benefitcial bacteria that will starve out others like (cyno, hair, diatom ect bacteria) for organic waste thus is the reason why Your tank has to adapt to the increase gradually or it will crash. I like being at sea level in the city then trying to run up Mt Everest you'd pass or die because you rushed in faster than your body could adapt. Even though the air quality would be better still you weren't ready for the drastic change and it works both ways. The more positive bacteria you add adds to the diversity of it in your tank but like all things "To much of a good thing is bad". Know what you add and what it produces and take it slow with a accurate log and your tank will have great results but rush it and run the risks.

 

[kuansreef]

I like vokda dosing. it really works. if you have zoas, they are a good indicator to the amount of vodka dosed. I always observe the color of zoas to see if I need to reduce vodka dosing. If you see color fading, reduce it right away. I also dose microbacter7/prodibio weekly and dose fuel and energy a and b aggressively to keep up if I see color fading.

I use a doser to auto dose 2 times a day. No way to keep up if dosing by hand.

 

[larangcon]

MB7 is the beneficial bacteria you will need to get rid of the so called bad bacteria in your tank, this is the reason that you need a good quality skimmer to remove this compounds in the tank, and still need amino acid to supplement the lost nutrient in the water column to prevent an unbalanced system. This is what I gather in the acticle mentioned in RC. I do agree that you will need to do things gradually in the beginning, until you get the nitrate down. I also agree that a log is necessary to see where you are at. Testing is also a must to keep your system balance on what supplements are needed to have an even keel. I kept a log, due to aggressive dosages I am applying in my tank. I am experimenting of conducting an aggressive dosage to see what will happen if dosage of Vodka with MB7 and AA combination will result in a level of bringing the nitrate down to zero in a short time without harming the corals and fish in the tank. So far the result in my tank has been sufficient enough to contain acroporas without harm.

 

[mike007]

You know them corals are happy they are drinking vodka. You have to buy them some Grey Goose. lol

 

[mike007]

Redsea nopox is great and i can't drink it so my corals are loving it.

 

[Toto851]

ok, I'm going look into this Vodka thing! (For my Fish!)

My Nitrates seems to like staying at 40 ppm and I am hoping that maybe this will help!

 

[Fishinwall]

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[navila06]

you do not want your nitrates to go down to zero. shoot for .25ppm.

Budman, like I said, I rarely test for nitrate and with tons of fishes and heavy feedings it can get high. Mine was blood red on the Salifert test kit and the first sign to me was when a friend gave me a frag of the green slimer it did not take more than a couple of hours to died in front of my eyes like a forest fire, just lit up and turned white. like I said test often and know when to cut down on the Vodka, so far all corals are fine. Place some more SPS and got the colors right away. I have not gone below 10 as of today and the corals are much happier now. Just bought more corals this week and came out fine except the ones that did not make the trip when delivered. The only draw back now is constant testing until the nitrate is down to zero.
Then I would know the normal dosage.

 

[navila06]

will do. waiting for my nitrates to climb a little higher before starting

Start a thread on your progress I'm interested in your results.

 

[larangcon]

you do not want your nitrates to go down to zero. shoot for .25ppm.

Will do. What's your nitrate now.

 

[navila06]

I have stopped vodka dosing for 1 week exactly, I just checked my no3 tonight and they are still showing zero (red sea). I don't get it, I thought maybe I did it wrong so i rechecked, still zero. I believe and read somewhere that going below .25 causes balance issues with zooxanthellae. So that's why i want to start the no3 po4 routine, it states that nos levels are easier to manage using no3 po4 x than using vodka. at first i thought of course they will say that they want you to use there product. So once I start this nopox treatment, i will see if its true.

you do not want your nitrates to go down to zero. shoot for .25ppm.

Will do. What's your nitrate now.

 

[larangcon]

Navila06 what is your phosphate reading, do you have fish in the tank?

 

[navila06]

my po4 is .08, and yes i have 7 fish in a 55 gallon blue tang, kole tang, 3 chromis, 1 six line wrasse, and a lawnmower blenny.

I know the blue tang requires a bigger boat. hopefully no tang police read this.

Navila06 what is your phosphate reading, do you have fish in the tank?

 

[Dtech07]

will do. waiting for my nitrates to climb a little higher before starting

I like you, you like to play with fire haha.

 

[navila06]

lol. I really am confused cause when i first did a reef back in 2004, I didn't pay attention to no3 or po4, and my tanks did amazing, I took a 4 year break from the hobby, started back up and really watched the no3 and po4 (kept a low nutrient tank), and my tank doesn't look nearly as good as my 2005 model.

I like you, you like to play with fire haha.

 

[Fishinwall]

lol. I really am confused cause when i first did a reef back in 2004, I didn't pay attention to no3 or po4, and my tanks did amazing, I took a 4 year break from the hobby, started back up and really watched the no3 and po4 (kept a low nutrient tank), and my tank doesn't look nearly as good as my 2005 model.

Besides not paying attention to levels, what else was different from your tank back then?


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[navila06]

I used a pc light fixture, a less powerful skimmer, and I used a canister filter along side my sump. Oh i used crushed coral back then now i use sand.

Besides not paying attention to levels, what else was different from your tank back then?


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[larangcon]

Try feeding heavy for a two days and retest, if you are still reading zero, I would suggest getting another test kit or borrow from a friend. You might have a bad test kit or your tank is super clean.

 

[Reefing Madness]

Test your tap water, bet it doesn't read 0.

 

[navila06]

I have a api test kit that, I have used before getting the red sea, I tested with that an it also shows zero, I will try the heavy feed and test in a couple days, I also think maybe the vodka bacteria, may still be present in the water.

Try feeding heavy for a two days and retest, if you are still reading zero, I would suggest getting another test kit or borrow from a friend. You might have a bad test kit or your tank is super clean.