Im started vodka dosing.

Well, just make sure the skimmer is a good one. Vodka dosing will encourage a bacteria bloom which in turn breaks down nitrates and the waste from the bacteria in addition to the excess bacteria must get skimmed out. Your skimmer will begin to produce some very putrid black nastiness. It is a very fine line between dosing too much and causing a large bloom suffocating your tank, too little which is not effective, and just right.

I see no reason for you to stop dosing alk, ca, etc. Water changes will be important as well.

 

So the vodka basically turns your tank into a bacterial fuge? Very interesting thread. Thank for bringing us all along with you.

 

well from last two days of reading forums etc.. it supplys sugar/carbon to help bacteria to dissolve nitrate into matter that can be skimmed out of the tanks water column faster.. over do it and you'll get bad bacertia bloom sucking up all oxygen and such. fish will be less resist to illness or death. other thing I read is that the sugar can all feed other bacertia in your tank that you dont want too.. we want the nitrate removal type bacteria to grow.. well its I little more complicated than that.. but thats the basic Ive learned... Long term effects is what Im curious about..

I'll give it a shot, since ive have had this tank as well as others for 10 years+ so I got some knowledge when to back ouf dosing if the time arises. "as fish or corals can get sick and die." but its defintly a gamble..

RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH -UNDERDOSING IS SAFEST-

 

There's a quote we can all learn from when it comes to adding anything to a system.

 

Cool thanks for the info. Kudos for trying it. I'd be a little to scared to try something like that. I've heard it helps a lot with coral coloration and polyp extension so I'm curious what your results will be.

 

well its day 3, and I have notice my skimmer is foaming up more now.. skimmate is a little darker too.. .25ml dosed today. will keep posted.

 

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well its day 5, and I have notice my skimmer is foaming up more & more now than ever before.... skimmate is a still little darker than normal..up'd my vodka to .50ml dosed today. will stay at .50 for next 3 days. then will up it again. I plan on not doing any water changes for a while, for this test. unless my substrate is getting dirty, then I'll suck up cyano and probly only change 10% WC. I will dose CA,MAG,ALK when needed.

I will also continue to feed once a day, with brine shrimp. and clean out my filters by-weekly.

Nitrates: 60-70ppm

Should notice a drop around week 2..

 

IMO, vodka dosing is a Band-aid and is risky. I wouldn't dose vodka until you tried every other natural approach to reducing nitrate. Here are some things that are known to reduce nitrate in no particular order.

1. Change your substrate from crushed coral to sand
2. Add more rock to your tank. (live or dry)
3. Get rid of the wet-dry filter and the bioballs.
4. Convert the wet-dry to a refugium with a deep sand bed.
5. Add chaeto algae in your refugium for nitrate export. Light the chaeto on a reverse ligut cycle.
6. Increase flow in the tank.
7. Eliminate all mechanical filters. My only mechanical filter is my chaeto. Any trapped material is consumed by pods and bristle worms.
8. Eliminate any bio-wheels in your system. They are great nitrate factories.
9. Reduce feeding. Feed every other day and reduce the amount.

You can get your nitrate to 0 and celebrate by mixing yourself a white russian using the Grey Goose you would've dumped in your tank.

 

LOL now thats funny!

I did answer your questions/comments above ^^^^ "in quote"

 

well day 6. still dosing .5 ml.. starting tomorrow will increase to .75 ml. for full week. Directions say to add .5ml every week until big drop in nitrates.. Im going to play it safe and only increase .25ml this week.

current specs
salinity: 1.024
temp 80
Dkh: 15 (dropped 1)
nitrite 0
amnonia 0
nitrate 60+
phos: 0-.25
PH 8.0 (this has dropped)
Calcium: 400
Mag 1300
Salt: Red Sea

I did dose a alittle kalkwasser last nite. Just tested ph and it dropped from 8.3 to 8.0.. and my dKH has dropped to 15.. (lowest its ever been) so Im going to add a little PH/dKH buffer and add a little salt to tank now.
corals look fine, and fish look good.

Little cyano outbreak and red bubble but thats normal for this tank with my high nitrates. no hair algae though.

FYI: Im also removing my media bag with phosphate remover out of my sump. because its already very low, vodka dosing requires both phosphate and nitrates to work properly.