After a bit over a year of research and reading tons and tons of material, on December 16, 2009 I decided to start vodka dosing my 180 Mixed Reef. Since I started I have had many people asking me questions about how it works and if I have seen any results. I will start this thread to record all of my experiences which will hopefully allow others to get enough information to make an informed decision if they are thinking about begining dosing.
I have a 180 Mixed Reef, heavy on SPS. Along with the corals I have a Blonde Naso Tang, Magnificent Foxface, Sailfin Tang, Bicolor Blenny, Chalk Bass, Blue/Green Chromis, a few shrimp, snails and a hermit. Over the course of the last year I have gotten good growth from my corals, but not the colors that I was looking for. And no matter how much I skimmed my water and how many water changes I did, I can never get my Nitrates below 25 and within a few days of the water change they are usually back around 50-75. Hence, this is why I decided to begin dosing vodka.
I followed the recipe from RC...I factored in that my tank is 180 Gallons, my sump holds 20 gallons and then water in my pipes and skimmer, so I estimated that my Gross Water Volume was 205. After subtracting for displacement from my Live Rock and Sand I came to a Newt Water Volume of 145 Gallons.
The next step is to figure out my starting dose. The starting dose of .1mL per 25 Gallons of NWV came out to .58mL. I lowered it to exactly .5mL as to be cautious since losing everything in my tank would be a HUGE loss!! I tested my Nitrates and Phosphates before I began dosing. The results were 50ppm Nitrates and 0 Phosphates. I used Salifert test kits.
I added the .5mL for the first 3 days, saw no change so on the 4th day I doubled the dose to 1mL for the next 4 days...still no change. I went into the dosing not expecting any quick changes and I figure my maintenance dose, once I get there, will be 12-15mL a day.
So now every week my dose is increased ,5mL. I am now up to 2.5mL and then 3 mL tomorrow.
I have not seen much of a change yet, except the water is a bit clearer and instead of cleaning my glass with a mag float every other day, I now clean it once a week. I did start to see a slight outbreak of cyano, which the vodka from what I've been told can either make it worse or cure it, that I've been keeping an eye on. But so far it seems as if it is dying off!
I will keep everyone updated on my dosing as I progress. Feel free to make comments and suggestions or ask questions!!
I have a 180 Mixed Reef, heavy on SPS. Along with the corals I have a Blonde Naso Tang, Magnificent Foxface, Sailfin Tang, Bicolor Blenny, Chalk Bass, Blue/Green Chromis, a few shrimp, snails and a hermit. Over the course of the last year I have gotten good growth from my corals, but not the colors that I was looking for. And no matter how much I skimmed my water and how many water changes I did, I can never get my Nitrates below 25 and within a few days of the water change they are usually back around 50-75. Hence, this is why I decided to begin dosing vodka.
I followed the recipe from RC...I factored in that my tank is 180 Gallons, my sump holds 20 gallons and then water in my pipes and skimmer, so I estimated that my Gross Water Volume was 205. After subtracting for displacement from my Live Rock and Sand I came to a Newt Water Volume of 145 Gallons.
The next step is to figure out my starting dose. The starting dose of .1mL per 25 Gallons of NWV came out to .58mL. I lowered it to exactly .5mL as to be cautious since losing everything in my tank would be a HUGE loss!! I tested my Nitrates and Phosphates before I began dosing. The results were 50ppm Nitrates and 0 Phosphates. I used Salifert test kits.
I added the .5mL for the first 3 days, saw no change so on the 4th day I doubled the dose to 1mL for the next 4 days...still no change. I went into the dosing not expecting any quick changes and I figure my maintenance dose, once I get there, will be 12-15mL a day.
So now every week my dose is increased ,5mL. I am now up to 2.5mL and then 3 mL tomorrow.
I have not seen much of a change yet, except the water is a bit clearer and instead of cleaning my glass with a mag float every other day, I now clean it once a week. I did start to see a slight outbreak of cyano, which the vodka from what I've been told can either make it worse or cure it, that I've been keeping an eye on. But so far it seems as if it is dying off!
I will keep everyone updated on my dosing as I progress. Feel free to make comments and suggestions or ask questions!!
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