I'm adding this thread here since even though Vodka dosing may not be considered advanced, it is to me. I will be documenting this thread with a pictorial, and posting along the way with my progress and or hinderances, my method to my madness of "unorthodoxness" and hopefully those who contribute and read can learn and share practices. (I am hoping for a 90 day regimen since that would be a considerable time frame to achieve some kind of measurable difference.)
I know there are a few vodka dosers out there in the club, and having your input should hopefully guide my directions and others interested in the process.
First, a few things about the system:
It's been up and running since January 2006, just the way pretty much looks now. Most of the liverock is from an established system of over 4-5 years, and is mixed with some DIY aggregate-cement rock to create the structure. If I am to guesstimate, I probably have less than 80 lbs of Liverock in my 90'ish gallon main system. Probably only half that weight (not volume) is from the actual "Liverock". The tank is 60X20X20 and the sump is about 15 gallons full, made by RichT.
I've never really had a hair algae problem until earlier this year due to lack of maintenance, a "bad" batch of salt, dying/dead clams, lack of maintenance, a wipeout of snails (from pyramidellid snails that killed the clams), lack of maintenance and oh yeah, lack of maintenance. Get the point? By no means does this thread admonish the procrastination of any aquarist, but rather to remind us that there are many ways things can be rectified, and I chose this path since it has always been something I was interested in. So it is being documented as close as I possibly can.
Now here's a forewarning: Please do not try this yourself until you feel comfortable enough in your eyes. I have been reading so much stuff the past few weeks, and I just decided to make the jump last week after a massive water change. Algae tufts are still growing however, and hopefully a recession will be in place (soon).
In my opinion, good coral health, fish health and great polyp extension are all signs of good water quality. Good meaning- 'liveable', not aesthetically pleasing in our eyes. Reefs have an abundance of algae, but it is constantly mowed down in the wild. In our tanks, it has become a "nuisance" because it does not have visual appeal, which is why I'm ripping it out
.
I no longer test my water. I do not test for phosphates since they always show up really faint in color which I make up numbers for to make myself feel better, or sometimes is colorless. No detectable nitrates have ever shown in my tank with 2 different test kits, and I know I have no nitrates since my chaeto in my sump NEVER grows. It just sits there, tumbling around. I vacuum the tank, the only detritus is the ones that collect all the way in the back of the tank where the hose can't reach. I feed heavy, but there never was a Hair algae bloom until earlier this year, around Feb or so.... basically, the only difference is the water changes. I have been doing huge water changes since July, and it just did not make an impact (but I still have to switch salts). I have everything that your "basic reefkeeper" has, I just don't test. . . . Well, with much less rambling, here it goes:
The tank, October 7, 2008.
The coral pictures preceding in this thread will NOT be edited and will be posted for comparison purposes.
FULL TANK SHOT.
This is approximately after 6 days of a completely sterile looking tank. Everything was scrubbed down and probably close to 2/3 gallon of hair algae removed. The front glass hazes everyday, but I wipe it down every 2 days. The rocks now have a light coat of brown film algae on it which is normal for a "re-cycling" tank. The corals browned out a bit, but I have always blamed that on the 6500 K Iwasakis. In November, I am actually replacing them with 12 or 14K's just because I've never gone that route before.
I know there are a few vodka dosers out there in the club, and having your input should hopefully guide my directions and others interested in the process.
First, a few things about the system:
It's been up and running since January 2006, just the way pretty much looks now. Most of the liverock is from an established system of over 4-5 years, and is mixed with some DIY aggregate-cement rock to create the structure. If I am to guesstimate, I probably have less than 80 lbs of Liverock in my 90'ish gallon main system. Probably only half that weight (not volume) is from the actual "Liverock". The tank is 60X20X20 and the sump is about 15 gallons full, made by RichT.
I've never really had a hair algae problem until earlier this year due to lack of maintenance, a "bad" batch of salt, dying/dead clams, lack of maintenance, a wipeout of snails (from pyramidellid snails that killed the clams), lack of maintenance and oh yeah, lack of maintenance. Get the point? By no means does this thread admonish the procrastination of any aquarist, but rather to remind us that there are many ways things can be rectified, and I chose this path since it has always been something I was interested in. So it is being documented as close as I possibly can.
Now here's a forewarning: Please do not try this yourself until you feel comfortable enough in your eyes. I have been reading so much stuff the past few weeks, and I just decided to make the jump last week after a massive water change. Algae tufts are still growing however, and hopefully a recession will be in place (soon).
In my opinion, good coral health, fish health and great polyp extension are all signs of good water quality. Good meaning- 'liveable', not aesthetically pleasing in our eyes. Reefs have an abundance of algae, but it is constantly mowed down in the wild. In our tanks, it has become a "nuisance" because it does not have visual appeal, which is why I'm ripping it out
. I no longer test my water. I do not test for phosphates since they always show up really faint in color which I make up numbers for to make myself feel better, or sometimes is colorless. No detectable nitrates have ever shown in my tank with 2 different test kits, and I know I have no nitrates since my chaeto in my sump NEVER grows. It just sits there, tumbling around. I vacuum the tank, the only detritus is the ones that collect all the way in the back of the tank where the hose can't reach. I feed heavy, but there never was a Hair algae bloom until earlier this year, around Feb or so.... basically, the only difference is the water changes. I have been doing huge water changes since July, and it just did not make an impact (but I still have to switch salts). I have everything that your "basic reefkeeper" has, I just don't test. . . . Well, with much less rambling, here it goes:
The tank, October 7, 2008.
The coral pictures preceding in this thread will NOT be edited and will be posted for comparison purposes.
FULL TANK SHOT.
This is approximately after 6 days of a completely sterile looking tank. Everything was scrubbed down and probably close to 2/3 gallon of hair algae removed. The front glass hazes everyday, but I wipe it down every 2 days. The rocks now have a light coat of brown film algae on it which is normal for a "re-cycling" tank. The corals browned out a bit, but I have always blamed that on the 6500 K Iwasakis. In November, I am actually replacing them with 12 or 14K's just because I've never gone that route before.
