Vodka?

[spoofer]

Hello all, sorry to ask a silly question, but i've heard alot about vodka dosing, but i haven't seen any refrence materials on how to? I'm assuming i've over looked this, but i'm in the process of switching from 2 part dosing to Limewater via dosing system, and i'm curious to the application of vinegar/vodka?

What are the pro's and con's of Vodka Dosing, also what type of vodka and what is the formula for determining dosing?

I'd appreciate any info.

Thanks :)

[HighlandReefer]

What are your nitrate & phosphate levels at now?

[spoofer]

yikes, ....phosphate have been between 0-.25 i'm using hagen test kit's and i'm not sure if there accurate. I don't remeber the last time i tested for nitrates, i'll check tonight and post updated information.

[HighlandReefer]

The reason I ask, is to help see where you are at with your problem before you venture into vodka dosing. Usually you dose Vodka or Vinegar to help reduce your nitrates & phosphates. Your goal to help prevent microalgae growth would be <0.03 ppm phosphate and <0.2 ppm. nitrate.

Some things you should be doing first:
1) Using rodi water
2) Wet skimming
3) Growing macro in a fuge. Iron dosing will help increase growth.
4) Possibly install a remote deep sand bed or add it to a larger fuge (the bigger the better for a fuge).
5) Proper feeding habits.

You are using GFO already. Increasing the amount you use and/or replacing it more often will help further decrease your phosphate level. Are you having microalgae problems?

Problems with carbon dosing:
1) Decreased oxygen levels can kill fish and corals if overdosed.
2) Bacterial mats developing.

For vodka dosing see: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php

For vinegar dosing see: http://web.archive.org/web/20001102180738/http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish2/aqfm/1999/oct/bio/default.asp

[spoofer]

cool, thanks for all the advice and info links.
I use 6 stage RO/DI and monitor the performance via TDS meter
I just switched to a Vertex IN-100 skimmer to hopefully improve my wet skimming.
I've had cheto growing for a few years, recently I added two mangroves into my fuge and i've ran a phosphate reactor with real low flow for the last two years.
I do tend to feed on the heavy side, by feed a varity of frozen, flake, DT's Phyto and even live brine about once a month.

I don't really have alge problems, but i do have the smallest touch of Byropsis that i've been managing for the last 3 years- it's literally a a few rouge tuffs, that I trim while siphoning once every two weeks.

If I cut back the Phyto feast i can really it's growth or use a bigger plate type coral- like my chalice i can cut off the light, but i'm not able to completely eliminate it.

I'm going to run a full system test tonight and post my results, I appreciate your feedback

Happy Reefing

[tranlehung]

Quote from Highlandreefer
3) Growing macro in a fuge. Iron dosing will help increase growth.


first, thank you very much Highlandreefer, i do notice you are active in this forum. thanks.

i have question on dosing iron. can you talk more about this. i am interested to have the macro grow quick.

thanks

[HighlandReefer]

Randy Farley-Holmes has written a very nice article:

First Iron Article: Macroalgae and Dosing Recommendations
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/aug2002/chem.htm

I dose about 5 ml. of Randy's Do-it-yourself Iron Formula per week and have seen an increase in my chaeto growth. If I stop dosing the iron, the chaeto growth seems to stop also. There is some preliminary research that indicates iron dosing may increase the growth of some soft corals. :)

[Michael]

[QUOTE]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14044615#post14044615 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by HighlandReefer
[B]The reason I ask, is to help see where you are at with your problem before you venture into vodka dosing. Usually you dose Vodka or Vinegar to help reduce your nitrates & phosphates. Your goal to help prevent microalgae growth would be <0.03 ppm phosphate and <0.2 ppm. nitrate.

Some things you should be doing first:

2) Wet skimming


QUOTE]

good advice about the wet skimming, 1 thing i would add to this is if wet skimming keep an eye on salinity, it skims out salt water and the sg can drop if your just making up water losses with plain ro,before you know it your sg can easily be down a couple of points:)

[spoofer]

Ok, the numbers are in-
calc 380
kh 90
mag 1225
phosphate less than .25
nitrate 0
salinity 1.023
temp 79 via chiller and heater

all these test were conduct with Hagen test kit except for Mag which was elos

I guess my real challenge is keeping calc and alk in good standing
I'm always low - i dose daily with B-ionic, and top off every or every other day. My Cheto grows fairly well, and so do my mangroves.

[HighlandReefer]

Your parameter's look good. :)
Personally, I like to keep my salinity close to NSW (1.0264)
"kH = 90", I assume is a typo. (recommended: 7-11 dKH)
Calcium is recommended: 380 - 450
Mag. is recommeded: 1250 - 1350

I would say you would not need to dose a carbon source, which is still very much experimental. Most reefer's would die to have your water parameters. :D

[Genetics]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14048900#post14048900 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by HighlandReefer

"kH = 90", I assume is a typo. (recommended: 7-11 dKH)


Actually, kH is 18.9x dkH. Your dkH is 4.8, which is extremely low. You should have a minimum of 150kH for a reef tank.

Or it could be a type-o ;)

[spoofer]

Ya, the Hagen test kit has odd parameters for measuring alk- the kit has a test for fresh and salt, but they claim the standard range for alk on this parameter is 105-125 for normal, and my level is supposedly low???
I do run a "Carbon" with hydro carbon but again on a very low flow and usually only for a week at a time maybe two once a month.

So is it beneficial to have higher salinity on reef tanks, I usually keep it at just .24???? Area

[tranlehung]

Highlandreefer, thanks very much for the article. now i know why my chaeto growth is slow.

i believe dosing baking soda would increase the KH or dKH

[Genetics]

If your corals are doing well I would not change it. 1.024 is acceptable as salinity constantly changes around the coastline. However, I think most people shoot for 1.026. Personally, I would be more worried with the alk being so low. Is this a softie tank or fish only?

[HighlandReefer]

It has been a while since I have seen the use of KH not meaning dKH. I was not aware that the Hagen kit uses KH and not dKH. :D

There is the possibility that there is test error. Which salt mix are you using and do you add any alk. supplements?

[spoofer]

I have a heavily stocked tank of SPS, LPS, Annenome, 5 fish, 6 clams, about 20-30 red and blue shrooms and I frag my SPS's about once a month.
I dose the tank with B-Ionic two part solution for ALk and Calc, and supplement Iodine, Mag, Vit C, Coral Vital.

I was using Tropic marin for my salt and have used it for the last 6 years with all my tanks, about 6 months ago I blended and evenutally switched to "tropic marin pro reef" salt.

I created a dilligent schedule of replacing bulbs, filters, media and dose alk and calc almost every day sometimes every other, adn add the supplmental doses weekly.

outside a few tuffs of byropsis about the size of a half dollar, and a light film of alge on the glass the tank does very well, but it's a challenge to get alk, and calc stable.

I've been trying to figure out how to switch to Kalkwasser- which i used in the very beginning of my hobby experience, but i just haven't found the right set up or collected enough ideas about limewater.

[psteeleb]

I totally agree with highland reefer

I will add another alternate to a DSB is adding more (or denser) rock. Both provide havens for the anaerobic bacteria to thrive and in turn consume the nitrates (completing the cycle)

[IslandCrow]

I've been trying to figure out how to switch to Kalkwasser- which i used in the very beginning of my hobby experience, but i just haven't found the right set up or collected enough ideas about limewater.

It doesn't sound like kalkwasser alone would keep up with your tank's demand, but it never hurts to supplement that in addition to the two-part. If you haven't already, you should read this article: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.php. I use kalkwasser as my topoff. I mix up a 5gal bucket about once a week, and use an Aqualifter pump connected to a level sensor to automatically add the kalkwasser.

[HighlandReefer]

I have seen so many errors do to alk. test kits (especially as they get older), I would check to make sure the kit is reading properly before I would increase your alk. very much. :)

An easy way to run a quick check would be to mix up a small batch or your Tropical Marin Pro to a salinity of 1.0264, using a properly calibrated refractometer. Your readings should be approximately:
Calcium: 450
Alk: 8.5
Mag: 1380

[Genetics]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14050701#post14050701 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by HighlandReefer
I have seen so many errors do to alk. test kits (especially as they get older), I would check to make sure the kit is reading properly before I would increase your alk. very much. :)


Yes. The fact that you have a viable sps tank means that the test kit is old and wrong. At an alk of 5 you probably wouldn't have much living.

[spoofer]

Wow, thanks for the feedback this will really help. I'm going to investigate the auto top off this weekend.

I remeber i stopped using kalk, because i kept having to supplement alot------ ironic i'm back at the same point..lol..

I feel skeptical about my test kit as well, i think i'll invest in some new alk/calc/ phosphate kits?

Any recommendations on kits? Seachem, Elos ??? Red Sea??

[spoofer]

Island Crow i've heard of aqua lifter pumps, but where did you find the sensor?

thanks, for the article i'll read over that in a bit.

appreciate the info :)

[IslandCrow]

I use Salifert for everything, and I've been very happy with it. They're finally starting to include a reference solution with their alkalinity kit, which is nice. Someone in this forum posted some test results from a bunch of different calcium test kits, and most of them had pretty similar results, but I can't remember which ones.

Oh yeah, I use a Spectrapure Level Controller. You can pick one up at Marine Depot, and probably a few other online retailers: http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~idproduct~SP5113.html. Just don't use the suction cups. If you haven't figured this out already, suction cups are almost never a good idea in a reef tank. I ended up supergluing a couple neodymium magnets (http://www.kjmagnetics.com/products.asp?cat=164)in place of the suction cups and secured it to my sump that way.

[spoofer]

i've never heard of such a thing- so just to clarify, this sensor doesn't have any moving parts, but can determine the depth of the water it is set at ( i assume you set it a portion in and out of the water and it can then determine the level of the water?)

once it reaches a low point it energizes a outlet? on a strip or a wall outlet? does it matter? and you could have a power head pump top off water till it meets the set level and then it would kick off?

Sounds to good to be true, i have a ATO system, that utilizes these ****y brackets and they started to coraline over and i got worried that it would overflow so I stopped using it and this was some years ago....i think it's time to update the system

[spoofer]

I'd love to start a top off system and I think the Kalkwasser will balance my tank out. it only has about 1 gallon of evaporation a day, so to use a 5 gallon bucket and hook up some system would be awesome!

Thanks again for the info and if you have any others tips, PLEASE keep it comin :)