Vodka dosing

[KAV84]

Three weeks of vodka dosing and nitrates are gone. I am noticing some bleaching/ peeling from my montiporas and the other sps corals look lighter in color but not appear to by dying. I also thought the algae on the sand bed would disappear.

I also had an outbreak of red slim algae. I used the ultra slime remover last week. Since then the slime is now gone off the rocks and skimmer has been back to normal for a week.

Here's two picture of my nitrates and tank. I'm getting frustrated. I can seem to get tank on par. The tank will be two years old next month and this is the worst it's looked

The nitrate picture on left is today. One on right is last week. Should I lower the vodka dosing ? Thanks for any help.

 

[Oscar47f]

Apparently I've heard that montiporas require some nutrients so like very low nitrates as close to 0 without it actually being zero would help? and maybe you shocked the system by suddenly dosing unless it was done gradually? What kind of alga is on the sand bed?? maybe try and manage phosphates since its a key component in algae growth?? just some ideas hopefully others will pitch in..

 

[joeyhatch11]

I too have used vodka in the past to drop nitrates and like you over did it. I was always told zero is the number to shoot for to have a happy healthy reef. I lost lots of SPS this way and came to realize that some levels of nitrates are required to keep sps healthy and growing. I've also switched to feeding every other day vs everyday. This has proven to help keep things in check.

 

[Waterjockey]

Once you have driven your nitrates down with carbon dosing (vodka, vinegar, etc), the general rule of thumb is to cut your dosing in half as a starting point for your "maintenance dose". I dose carbon via dosing pump to maintain a level of nitrates somewhere around 5 ppm and a bit of phosphate. My system is mostly lps, and they do *not* do well with 0.0 detectable nitrates or phosphates.

 

[joeyhatch11]

I found that cutting back once they dropped was still too much and it had a really bad effect on everything. I feel that once they are down to acceptable levels, its best to stop and keep a watchful eye on your feedings as they are usually the cause of elevated nitrates.

 

[Oscar47f]

Just a question couldn't you then up the nutrients by feeding more heavily while on your maintenance dose of carbon dosing??? I've seen a couple people talk or do it and it seems to work, any opinions?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Just a question couldn't you then up the nutrients by feeding more heavily while on your maintenance dose of carbon dosing??? I've seen a couple people talk or do it and it seems to work, any opinions?

You can lower the dose or up the feeding.

I never found my nutrients to drop too much when vinegar dosing, even with huge doses, but I allowed detritus to collect endlessly in my sump.

 

[KAV84]

Great. Thanks for the help. The vodka started in December 1st. I'll cut dosing in half and cross my fingers.

I thought the algae on the sand bed was red slime as well but obviously not. I've been stirring the sand occasionally to help break it up but rebounds quickly.

My tank looked sharp in July and since been on a downward spiral.

 

[KAV84]

Go going back to my nitrate picture above. Would an acceptable color be the slightly orange one on the right rather than the yellow pictured on he left ?

 

[Waterjockey]

Go going back to my nitrate picture above. Would an acceptable color be the slightly orange one on the right rather than the yellow pictured on he left ?

You sort of have to figure out what works best for your system. Mine looks more like your sample on the right (I use a different kit, but 5-10 ppm is what works for me). I don't change my "maintenance dose" of carbon based on my nitrate tests. I either up the feed or cut back a bit. I like to feed heavy for the lps. If I cut back a bit the fish don't suffer
Your absolute best indicator is your corals...not so much the test kit.

 

[KAV84]

Now since my nitrates finally lowered will the algae in the bed start disappearing. Since I started dosing vodka on dec 1st I haven't noticed a difference. How can I make this ugly algae go away.

 

[Oscar47f]

That depends on the type of algae that is on the sand bed?

 

[KAV84]

I need some help identifying that algae. I didn't go away when I used red slime remover.

 

[KAV84]

Honestly this is what it resembles with this bubble looking thing rising up from sand bed

 

[Cory]

That pic is dinoflagellates, not an easy cure. But in your tank pic it looks like cyanobacteria.

Do you do waterchanges? Use ro/di water? How much vodka do you dose daily? What filtration do you use? What kind of lights?

I dose 2-4ml of 80proof vodka on my 40ish gallons total. Depends on evaporation and what i dose. Tank is always foggy. But vodka brought my montipora back to life.

One thing you may want to test is potassium, some say it can get low from bacteria consiming it.

Nitrates dont cause too many problems for fish or coral. Phosphate does, too little or too much can be a problem. Usually its the latter.

 

[Cory]

Is that a snowman in the tank? Whats it made of?

 

[KAV84]

120 gallon tank
2 radion lights
Vertex skimmer 180i
Has three socks in sump
20 gallon water changes about every two weeks
Neptun apex
Two mp40s
Vodka dosing 9 ml daily. Going to cut down dosage since test has yellow results
And snowmen are stickers on the outside glass courtesy of the kids elf on the shelf. Lol
I'll try to get closer picture of algae

 

[Cory]

120 gallon tank
2 radion lights
Vertex skimmer 180i
Has three socks in sump
20 gallon water changes about every two weeks
Neptun apex
Two mp40s
Vodka dosing 9 ml daily. Going to cut down dosage since test has yellow results
And snowmen are stickers on the outside glass courtesy of the kids elf on the shelf. Lol
I'll try to get closer picture of algae

Lots of people report vodka can increase cyano growth. So you might want to cut that back or get something that eats it.

 

[jenreefer]

120 gallon tank
2 radion lights
Vertex skimmer 180i
Has three socks in sump
20 gallon water changes about every two weeks
Neptun apex
Two mp40s
Vodka dosing 9 ml daily. Going to cut down dosage since test has yellow results
And snowmen are stickers on the outside glass courtesy of the kids elf on the shelf. Lol
I'll try to get closer picture of algae

I would vacuum the sandbed to manually remove as much of that as possible. I would also up your water changes to weekly until it is under control. I am old school and find that manual removal still works best.
Some are using hydrogen peroxide dosing to aid in removal of many types of algae. I would read up on it though as I have not tried it yet.

 

[KAV84]

Here's a closer look at algae. Please help me in identifying thanks