I've had numerous threads on this and probably posted enough content to write a book, the results are by no means definitive, so I could not write anything fully factual...
As many of you know I've switched from 50% water changes (170 gallons of salt water) Monthly to no water changes over the past year and been dosing vodka for a while now.
I feel like I have enough data points to try to come to some conclusions. First I had tried reducing how much vodka I dose from 70ml per day down to 55 ml per day. The end result swas a a steady remaining the same to rise in nitrates and a direct correlatory rise in phosphates. As noted in the charts below. My Nitrates had risen from a stead average of 29 prior to May, to a median level of 36ppm, topping out at 44 ppm in June 22nd.
Phosphates climbed from .25 to .4 then bottomed out at .04 then rose between May and June to .36. Some of the fluctuation between May and August was due to having to intermittently dose Phosphate E to get the phosphates out of the rocks. I was dosing between 7 and 12 ml per day for a few weeks there to get it under control. In August, they rose steadily when I stopped dosing phosphate e and peaked at .4 ppm again. July to Current I increased my dosing back up from 55 ml per day to close to 80 ml per day of vodka. And no dosing of any phosphate E.
The interesting correlation there is that nitrates have stopped increasing or decreasing (by much, remaining stead between 23 and 29 on average), while phosphates are remaining steady at between .0 and .1 For close to the last month with a spike last week at .22, which I don't know why at all that occurred. Unless it was a testing error.
So, can someone with more expertise help me understand why phosphates continue fluctuating much more erratically than nitrates, and nitrates are remaining for the most part, in my opinion, the same week to week.
I know there is so much bacteria in my tank, because bacterial slime is covering all of my gyre blades, plugging the teeth on my overflows, the paper of my Red Sea Reef mat 1200 is cover in slime. The output of the reef mat has globs of gelatinous slimes on it. I put a cone filter on my return bulk head to prevent larger objects going into my external return pump (after I found zip ties bound up inside my pump a while ago) and that gets covered in bacterial slime as well. Slime floats on the return side of my sump, that slime is pinkish brown.
My skimmer constantly is pulling out brown and black colored water. I suspect there's so much bacteria in my water column that I don't know what to do with. I'm going through a roll of paper every 10 -14 days right now and that's been running 3 months.
A filter sock would plug up and over flow within 24 hours. I'd have to change them every 12 hours to keep water flowing through them.
I also run a 25 micron cannister filter (from Marine and Reef) It's not a typical cannister filter, but when I pull the cartridge out the pleated paper is covered in slime and globs of slime come out of it as I spray it out.
The plus side is my xenia garden is dieing off. I assume because of the lack of phosphates or because there's too much bacteria in the water.
What I need to know, I think... Is do I need to increase Vodka dosing (I'd be up to 100 ml per day if I increase it much) to reduce nitrates? Or is there a part of the equation I'm missing? I've ordered another Triton ICP test to ensure my testing is all valid. Any suggestions appreciated as I don't know if I'm doing something wrong or this is just the cycle of a reef? My PH is hitting 7.93 at night and 8.1 during the day. It used to bottom out at 8.1 and max out between 8.3 and 8.4.
My alk is remaining steadily the same. Almost exactly the same week to week month to month. So, no increased uptake of alk. If anything, I've had to back off on dosing alkalinity.
Tank is 340 gallon display with 75 gallon sump, Skimmer, Algae turf scrubber, dosing baked baking soda, Calcium, and all for reef and lots of vodka. using the Red Sea Reef mat 1200 and 25 micron Cannister filter as well as probably around 150-200 lbs of live rock and 200 lbs of sand. Entire system is 4 years old.
As many of you know I've switched from 50% water changes (170 gallons of salt water) Monthly to no water changes over the past year and been dosing vodka for a while now.
I feel like I have enough data points to try to come to some conclusions. First I had tried reducing how much vodka I dose from 70ml per day down to 55 ml per day. The end result swas a a steady remaining the same to rise in nitrates and a direct correlatory rise in phosphates. As noted in the charts below. My Nitrates had risen from a stead average of 29 prior to May, to a median level of 36ppm, topping out at 44 ppm in June 22nd.
Phosphates climbed from .25 to .4 then bottomed out at .04 then rose between May and June to .36. Some of the fluctuation between May and August was due to having to intermittently dose Phosphate E to get the phosphates out of the rocks. I was dosing between 7 and 12 ml per day for a few weeks there to get it under control. In August, they rose steadily when I stopped dosing phosphate e and peaked at .4 ppm again. July to Current I increased my dosing back up from 55 ml per day to close to 80 ml per day of vodka. And no dosing of any phosphate E.
The interesting correlation there is that nitrates have stopped increasing or decreasing (by much, remaining stead between 23 and 29 on average), while phosphates are remaining steady at between .0 and .1 For close to the last month with a spike last week at .22, which I don't know why at all that occurred. Unless it was a testing error.
So, can someone with more expertise help me understand why phosphates continue fluctuating much more erratically than nitrates, and nitrates are remaining for the most part, in my opinion, the same week to week.
I know there is so much bacteria in my tank, because bacterial slime is covering all of my gyre blades, plugging the teeth on my overflows, the paper of my Red Sea Reef mat 1200 is cover in slime. The output of the reef mat has globs of gelatinous slimes on it. I put a cone filter on my return bulk head to prevent larger objects going into my external return pump (after I found zip ties bound up inside my pump a while ago) and that gets covered in bacterial slime as well. Slime floats on the return side of my sump, that slime is pinkish brown.
My skimmer constantly is pulling out brown and black colored water. I suspect there's so much bacteria in my water column that I don't know what to do with. I'm going through a roll of paper every 10 -14 days right now and that's been running 3 months.
A filter sock would plug up and over flow within 24 hours. I'd have to change them every 12 hours to keep water flowing through them.
I also run a 25 micron cannister filter (from Marine and Reef) It's not a typical cannister filter, but when I pull the cartridge out the pleated paper is covered in slime and globs of slime come out of it as I spray it out.
The plus side is my xenia garden is dieing off. I assume because of the lack of phosphates or because there's too much bacteria in the water.
What I need to know, I think... Is do I need to increase Vodka dosing (I'd be up to 100 ml per day if I increase it much) to reduce nitrates? Or is there a part of the equation I'm missing? I've ordered another Triton ICP test to ensure my testing is all valid. Any suggestions appreciated as I don't know if I'm doing something wrong or this is just the cycle of a reef? My PH is hitting 7.93 at night and 8.1 during the day. It used to bottom out at 8.1 and max out between 8.3 and 8.4.
My alk is remaining steadily the same. Almost exactly the same week to week month to month. So, no increased uptake of alk. If anything, I've had to back off on dosing alkalinity.
Tank is 340 gallon display with 75 gallon sump, Skimmer, Algae turf scrubber, dosing baked baking soda, Calcium, and all for reef and lots of vodka. using the Red Sea Reef mat 1200 and 25 micron Cannister filter as well as probably around 150-200 lbs of live rock and 200 lbs of sand. Entire system is 4 years old.
