View Full Version : Vodka dosing=cloudy tank
I have two tanks, one a 55 and one a 120.
The 55 went cloudy about a month ago. I did a 20 gallon water change, turned up the skimmer, and added a powerhead. I have the water churning fairly well at the surface and am pulling out a large amount of gunk daily but the cloudiness is not improving.
The 120 just started to cloud up last night, it is very faint but I can see it. Skimmer is pulling gunk out and I aimed the powerheads at the surface more.
I have quit dosing the 55 completely for two weeks now, and now I will stop the 120 as well.
What can I do to help clear this up?
Randy Holmes-Farley
06/22/2011, 01:37 PM
How long and how much have you been dosing?
I will clear on its own with skimmng and no organic additions, assuming it is a bacterial bloom and not something else.
Are you dosing anything else?
I started dosinggboth at the same time. 55 made it to 11ml per day in half doses, the 120 was up to 24ml in half doses. I would do half in morning and half at night.
55 is/was dosed with nothing else, it is a predator tank with no corals just live rock. This tank became covered in HA up to two inches long. Along with vodka I cleaned and harvested as much as I could and added a pencil urchin. Currently there is no HA in the tank or sump. I also ran gfo till this bloom and switched to carbon(forgot that before). I have had phosphate down to .1 but nitrates never below 40. I know in a fowlr nitrates aren't as big a deal, but I believe they were contributing to the growth.
The 120 was dosed with baking soda and calcium till about two weeks ago when I switced to kent two part. I was worried about overdosing one or the other. Phosphate in this tank has never been below .2 and nitrates are a battle to get below 50. I run gfo and carbon both in seperate reactors.
Water changes are biweekly of 20%. I could bump these up, but I didn't think these really helped clear it up from what I have read.
JT3069
06/22/2011, 01:56 PM
It is a bacteria increase
when you dose vodka i perfer a heaviler skimmate because all your really doing in locking your n and p in bacteria and if not properly removed you get what u got or a release of the n and p
but some experts will correct me if im wrong
The 55 uses a psk-100 with a mod on the water output to make adjustment easier. Here is my skimate after a day
http://i496.photobucket.com/albums/rr321/dougcobb/2011-05-29_21-42-22_514.jpg
http://i496.photobucket.com/albums/rr321/dougcobb/2011-05-29_21-42-49_61.jpg
The skimmer on the 120 is a warner marine k2 and doesnt get the dark skim near as much.
Any help would be appreciated. The 120 has basically cleared up with skimming and the stopping of the dosing. The 55 hasn't changed a bit. There is np dosing of anything in this tank, only food. Skimmer pulls a cup a day of dark gunk out with no change in the tank. What else can I do?
HighlandReefer
06/27/2011, 05:13 PM
Perhaps increasing water circulation in the still clouded tank will help. Also you can add a filter bag to your system which will collect bacteria as well. ;)
There are two powerheads in there now and there are two tube nems. I think they are at the limit on circulation. Would a hob filter be worth it or about the same as the bag?
HighlandReefer
06/27/2011, 05:31 PM
There are two powerheads in there now and there are two tube nems. I think they are at the limit on circulation. Would a hob filter be worth it or about the same as the bag?
A hob filter will help just like a filter bag.
Thanks. I have a brand new one sitting there I will use.
HighlandReefer
06/27/2011, 06:14 PM
You're welcome. ;)
Well it has been three days now with a hob filter and I honestly can't see any difference yet. Is there anything else I could try? If I get a chance tonight I'll do a water change and test all my levels. If not over the weekend for sure.
curlykid
06/30/2011, 05:22 PM
you're supposed to up your dosing i think.
bertoni
06/30/2011, 08:52 PM
What kind of media is in the HOB?
It is a penguin hob. Their media filter, floss and carbon.
bertoni
06/30/2011, 09:02 PM
The floss might help some with the cloudiness, but I don't know how much. If you have a diatom filter, that might help, but I wouldn't buy one yet. I might stop all feeding for a few days, to see what happens. I assume the water color is grayish?
I can stop the feedings. It is mostly silversides, some krill, and occasional salmon. Here are a few pics
fts
http://i496.photobucket.com/albums/rr321/dougcobb/2011-06-30_22-05-07_128.jpg
looking from the end
http://i496.photobucket.com/albums/rr321/dougcobb/2011-06-30_22-05-19_886.jpg
celamb89
06/30/2011, 09:20 PM
seems to be a bacterial bloom... how were u dosing? what was ur max dose?
if u already stopped the vodka i would get the skimmer going like u did and run some carbon and just wait, as long as everything is looking good, i wouldnt worry too much...
Maybe u overdosed the vodka?
My max dose was 10 ml with 5 in the morning and 5 at night. I have stopped vodka, added a powerhead, did water changes, and now the hob. It has looked like this for over a month. Fish all seem healthy and all eat readily till their bellies are full and bulging a bit. I just don't like the look of it.
Skimmer is going like that continuously, I clean about a 3/4 cup of that a da:bounce1:y right now. I was running gfo, but also changed that over to carbon and change it weekly. I can be patient with it, I'm just at a loss with what to do.
bertoni
07/01/2011, 12:18 AM
If you could borrow a UV unit for a few days, that might do the trick.
I'll see if I can get one this weekend. Thanks
HighlandReefer
07/01/2011, 05:37 AM
Keep in mind that bacteria are typically 1-10 microns in size. To filter them out, you need at minimum 60 micron size filter material (100 micron filters will work, but take a little time to clog), which will clog with other suspended particles and organisms til it gets down to the small pore size that will collect bacteria. ;)
If you add a small pump and run it through a 60 micron filter bag, that will help the most. :)
FWIW, 60 micron size particles are about the smallest you can see. Coffee filters are around 60 micron pore size filters.
I'll look for a filter that will work. May add it and the uv and attack it from two angles.
The dosing was relatively high at 11ml vodka for a 55 gallon. FWIW, I dose only about .06 ml per gallon equivalent to about 3 ml for a 55 gallon.
The PO4 is also high in both tanks and gfo may be needed for the coral tank.
Running some granulated activated carbon and/oir purigen may help as well. Keep skimming aggressively and be sure to get enough oxygen in the water during the blooms via extra surface agitation. A series of 15% water changes might hep as well.
I thought it was high too, but I started out at 3.5 and upped a half each week. Nitrates never below 40 and phosphate never below .7.
Well after a week with a HOB filter the tank is gradually clearing up! I can see almost clearly from the front and can see through the cloud past half way now from the end. I looked at the filter tonight and is it DIRTY! But I shall leave it for now in hopes of it clearing up the rest of the way.
Thanks for the help again.
bertoni
07/08/2011, 10:47 PM
You're welcome! Good luck!
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