Brightwell to Smirnoff - a change in the manner of carbon dosing

Discussion in 'Water Chemistry' started by steve wright, Jan 9, 2011.

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  1. Nor_Cal_Guy

    Nor_Cal_Guy Gigas Clam

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    Way to go Steve. I'm going to keep following this. I had the bloom problem with Vodka dosing, I'm going to keep with the 5ml dosing regiment of bio fuel in my 100 gallon system. I am more reluctant to use vodka again due to the risks.
     
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  3. steve wright

    steve wright Super Moderator

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    Thanks Nor Cal Guy

    I am on day 5 of 3rd week today and up to 1.5ml of Vodka
    which I dose in 2 parts, approx 12 hours apart

    still no negatives to report
    corals are improving in coloration
    SPS Acro frags made about 2 weeks ago are encrusting base and coloring up
    sand bed looks cleaner
    skimmer is working double time
    algaes are receding noticable
    general tank aesthetics are improving

    LPS corals not losing colour - been feeding with extra food stuffs and adding ammino acid based additives (no more than 5ml per day) in order to ensure nutritional needs are accounted for in the lower nutrient enviroment

    will progress to 2mls per day on Saturday this week
    my assesment at present is that it will not take many more weeks with the extra 0.5ml increase on weekly basis to start having positive impact

    Ill update with a few new pictures tomorrow when lights come on

    Steve
     
  4. Nismo400rgtr

    Nismo400rgtr Teardrop Maxima Clam

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    Steve, what sort of amino acid additive are you using?
     
  5. steve wright

    steve wright Super Moderator

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    Thanks Nismo
    Im using a combination of Brightwell Aquatics - Restor, and Kents Chromaplex
    both of these additives contain aminos and I alternate between the 2 on a daily basis


    Steve
     
  6. Nismo400rgtr

    Nismo400rgtr Teardrop Maxima Clam

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    I appreciate your reply.

    Is that 5mL the recommended dosage for your size tank or is it just your deemed regimen? What time of day do you add? Is it 5mL one shot or split? How long have you Been using these?-before the vodka or since you began?

    Sorry for soo many questions.
     
  7. steve wright

    steve wright Super Moderator

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    questions are appreciated Nismo

    the stated dose on both products would be 5ml for 50 gallons but thats when broadcast feeding
    I use a pipette to feed and thus 5ml in 75 gallons is OK IMO as Im putting more where the corals are and losing less to the skimmer / purigen/ carbon etc
    I have dosed both products even when I used Bio Fuel for the same reason, to add nutrients replacing the natural ones being stripped out


    Steve
     
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  9. Sacul1573

    Sacul1573 Millepora

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    Awesome thread Steve. Thanks for putting your reef "at risk" for the exploration of science and future benefit of countless reefs.

    Questions: Do you have a drip feed, or just slowly release the vodka over a period of say, 30-60 seconds in an area of high water movement?

    And you'd think the alcohol would evaporate off pretty quickly in turbulant water and 80 degree water?

    Keep posting!
     
  10. steve wright

    steve wright Super Moderator

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    Thank you Sacul

    at present with only using 1.5ml of Vodka each day
    I am using a cleaned out syringe from a test kit
    and load 0.8ml am, I have the tip under the water level and gently release it in front of a wave maker - I take about 3 mins to release 0.8ml
    I then do 0.7ml - approx 12 hours later using same method

    next week I will do 1ml AM and 1ml PM

    When/ If the Qty gets higher than I can feel comfortable adding with a syringe - (if in 10 weeks time Im still increasing and thus dosing 5ml or more) I will use the water collecting syringe from a test kit and set that up with clamped airline tube to release contents over a longer period of time

    Steve
     
  11. steve wright

    steve wright Super Moderator

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    Time to share some images
    hopefully the improvements will be visible on these photos

    This image came from my thread on Bio Fuel - it was taken after a few weeks using Bio Fuel

    [​IMG]

    these images where taken today
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    hopefully you can see that there has been a shift from green to purple on the rockwork
    as the green/ black algae dies off, coraline can encrust the vacant surface area

    Steve
     
  12. steve wright

    steve wright Super Moderator

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    Update

    after yesterdays water change
    I removed the Rowa from my filter and am going to see just what Vodka can achieve on its own
    still running Carbon and changing that every 4 weeks
    but wanted to see if there would be in increase in micro algae development resulting from the removal of GFO

    glass cleaning has been a twice weekly task up to this point (was doing it 3 times before carbon dosing so its improved the situation by 33% anyway)

    I have fresh on hand, thus if the next 7 days results in 1 additional need to scrape glass
    I can always re introduce

    Steve