Vodka Dosing.

spanko

spanko

Active Member
Ah but Ren, the opportunities abound. Tear down, rebuild, clean up, start dosing from the get go, have the Tank Of the Month!!!
 
9supratt4

9supratt4

Active Member
So I've reached 8.5 ML and although I haven't seen any change yet in my trates and phosphates, I am noticing a white cotton like stuff growing on my glass and inside my pipes. Is this normal?
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Sure is, I believe it is called mulm. (could be wrong about that though) You do need to be running a good skimmer while doing this to remove the dead bacteria and absorbed nutrients though and what you are seeing could be a result of not skimming enough. Is your water clear?
 
9supratt4

9supratt4

Active Member
It must be leading to good things!! I already have awesome PE....more than I've ever had!! And the water is nice and clear. I'm hoping that the corals start to color back up...especially my Superman Monti, once all the trates are out!!
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
On the mulm, keep cleaning it off your glass with a magfloat or whatever you use so that it can be taken out of the tank through the filtering. If you use filter pads or floss keep it changed so it does not clog it up. Your goal is nutrient removal, sounds like the skimmer is doing well, make sure everything else filter wise is too. How about any algae in your tank, are you noticing any changes there? Good to here about the PE, that and color was my main goal in moving to carbon dosing. It has served me well with my coral!
Whoda thunk vodka was good for things other than .......oh say.........spicy bloody Marys!!!
 
9supratt4

9supratt4

Active Member
Yeah....keeping up with the filter socks is driving me nuts!! Now that the dosing has started to make a difference, the socks are clogging every day to two days, ugh!! The algae on my glass is getting less and less....where I don't need to clean it too often.
And I like my vodka with club soda and a twist of orange!!
 
9supratt4

9supratt4

Active Member
I also just read something that stated that the mulm is along the lines of Marine Snow. Interesting. That could explain why my Paly's and Zoas like to eat it.
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
I am back to dosing. This is what my skimmer (an old school Berlin) is extracting after two weeks. it literally picked up the top of the collection cup

 
9supratt4

9supratt4

Active Member
So I'm up to 9.5mL daily and I'm getting a lot of cyano growth on one of my overflows. Do I have to cut back dosing? Or can I push forward in hopes that the continued dosing will remove the nutrient the cyano is using to grow?
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Yes, if you're getting a lot of cyano when dosing vodka, cut your dosage back in half and begin the progression again from there. Also perform all of the maintenance needed to rid yourself of cyano, water changes, siphoning, aggressive skimming, increased mechanical filter maintenance, reduction in feeding and lastly although I am not a big proponent, decreased lighting schedule.
Also how is your skimmer performing? You must have a good skimmer to remove the bacteria that is dying on a regular basis. If not the fuel for the cyano is just being accumulated and reintroduced to the system.
Also cyano, being a bacteria, also uses the carbon as a source.
What is your water source and could you be introducing phosphates in excess of what can be handled?(or perhaps food source introducing phosphates?)
 
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