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My Vodka Dosing Experiences

Update.....

I'm on day 83...I'm up to 6.5mL and going to 7mL on Wednesday. Everything is doing great, but it seems like the tank stabilized as the algae on the glass is growing kind of quickly once again.

The corals have INCREDIBLE polyp extension, especially when the lights go out for the night. And they colors are doing great! I have't gotten any blue back in my Superman Monti yet, but my fingers are crossed.

The skimmate in my cup is the darkest and smelliest it's ever been.

So far I am happy with the dosing!! I'll update with some pics soon!!
 
Another thing that I think is happening from the dosing is that my filter socks are become filthy and clogged in just 2-3 days. It's annoying having to keep cleaning them but if I don't they overflow and make tons of noise in the sump.
 
Well the level was at 50 before I started dosing. I have not tested in a few weeks. I will post my new results later today.
 
lol, sorry to be ignorant, but I can't find any of the original mention as to why you would dose with vodka. Have any links? Beautiful tank btw ;)
 
pbecot01 said:
lol, sorry to be ignorant, but I can't find any of the original mention as to why you would dose with vodka. Have any links? Beautiful tank btw ;)

Are you talking about links of where I did my research...or why I personally decided to do it?
 
pbecot01 said:
I was looking for both actually :)

Thanks for the link!

Well personally I decided to dose vodka because of my Nitrate problem. Never could get my Nitrates below 25 even with water changes. I also wanted to get more polyp extension and coloration out of my corals.
 
So an update....I am now up to 8.5mL a day. I did a complete round of water tests last night and my reading are still high where they were when I started this in December. My Nitrates are at 50ppm and my Phosphates are at .03.

But, even though I have such high reading, my polyp extension has been out of this world....and my corals are coloring up except the blue ones, and most of them are growing extemely quickly.

I had a problem with burnt tips, but thats because my Alk was at 10dKH and Calcium at 450. So I lowered the Alk to 8 and Calcium to 425 and the tips are fine now.

My skimmer is pulling a lot of nasty nasty stuff. And the smell is terrible!! Never had my skimmate smell like this before.

My tank is also producing a lot of "mulm" on the back corners of the glass and in my return and drain lines....the glass I just use a mag float and allow my filter socks to catch it. But when I have to shut down and pump...when I plug it back in....man do I get a ton of flaky white stuff floating around in my tank!! But this is a good thing...it means the dosing is working.

The trick is having to clean my filter socks every 2-3 days to make sure the mulm doesn't clog them up!!

So far I am extremely happy with the results!!
 
Here is a picture of what my skimmer looks like when it needs to be emptied and cleaned!!!

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Nice i like the skimmer pic. SOme of the corals even certain sps dont seem to be effected by some nitrates. My tank tested a little higher than i would like for a little while. Most my corals seemed normal with good pe, only a couple didnt look as good as usual. But im sure no nitrate is best for the most part
 
Very cool... I wish I could do this.. it would be very hard on a 28g though..do you have a simlar avitar on SALTWATERFISH.com ?
 
Brando457 said:
Steve I think you should give me all your corals to hold on to ya know until you get your nitrates under control :)

HAHAHAHA....my corals are doing just fine!! You have to see how fuzzy this green slimer is now!! You have PE on yours??
 
Daftboy said:
Very cool... I wish I could do this.. it would be very hard on a 28g though..do you have a simlar avitar on SALTWATERFISH.com ?

There are a lot of people who dose vodka in small tanks....It's easier than you think!! Just start out slow and small.

Yes...same name and avatar on saltwerfish.com.
 
lol .. i just realized your actual name on here... you have a supra ? I actually am I big toyota fan myself... my new project car is a 92 MR2... i have a 3rd gen 3sgte i've been building... if you know what im talking about :/
 
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