My Smirnoff Adventure

Iv been keeping a reef tank for about 5 yrs now,and would like to share my story. It seemed like i was always dealing with some issue (Cyno,Hair Algae,Diatoms) if it wasent one thing it was another.I know there is always a reason for these issues,but IMO i was doing everything I could (weekly water changes,not over feeding,changing bulbs,TDS at 0,testing water ) My system is by no means elaborate, nor am i an expert, 72 gallon bowfront,2-250 watt HQI,Reef Octo 110 skimmer,MP-40 es,Two little fishes reactor with at th time GFO/Carbon,and a tidepool 2 sump. So i started reading alot about Vodka Dosing, http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php. So in January I was fed up buying all the BS that is suposed to work at removing all the issues and started dosing slowly very slowly morning and night. I was also adding bacteria in the for of NitroMax marine.Well within about 2 weeks i noticed my skimmer was pulling a mess of dark skimate out of the water in return my water was crystal clear.After about a month i noticed what they call a mulm kind of a whitish slime on my filter pads in my sump.Its actually just a mass of bacteria doing what they do(eating,multiplying,etc).So at this time i removed the GFO from my reactor and only use carbon, cause i figured the bacteria were colinized enough that they could handle it. Well its been 10 months now and i dose 2ml in morning and 2ml at night.I am not perfect and do forget to dose every now and then,but its ok. I use an old baby medicine syringe to measure it out and squirt it in tank or sump. I know to some this is a hassle(come on it takes 2 seconds)I do it same time as i feed my fish.Iv also read up on the pellets that they are making now,this sounds awsome but not for me.My tank gets hot enough without having another pump/reactor, and im Not trying to add a chiller. keep it simple is how i like it.And I know a" BIO WHEEL in a reef tank" is what all the" know it alls" are going to say is a" no no". Well basically vodka=more bacteria right. BIO WHEEL=bacteria home.JMO .This year is abosolutly one of the best and cheapest years Iv experienced in this hobby as far as maintaining my tank.I think it all has to do with the introduction of VODKA. 10 months now 1 bottle of $10 smirnoff and no Cyno,Hair algae,or diatoms "knock on wood"  Now for some pics and remember No refugium,No GFO,NO calcium reactor,All i do is feed fish,water changes,dose vodka,and use carbon,and use skimmer.
"Sorry about the crappy pics took them with my iphone"

This is my Smirnoff adventure

 

WOW...impressive. thanks for sharing your information with that.

 

I really think vodka and the new pellets are going to change this hobby,and I think all  reefers should look into this./DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default/emoticons/wink.gif

 

Looks good!

 

Does it matter what kind of vodka? My husband is going to think he drinks more than he does...hahahaha

 

I don't think so.I just used a name brand.

 

Congrats on your sucess!!!!

 

Impressive looking setup. It sort of makes me think maybe I should start dosing vodka rather than drinking it. I would love to have a pest free tank, it seems I always have something growing that is undesirable weather it be hair algae, diatoms, cyano, or bubble algae.

 

Posted By IrishStock on 10/16/2010 06:18 PM
Does it matter what kind of vodka? My husband is going to think he drinks more than he does...hahahaha
Just make sure it's not flavored other than that any vodka will do.

 

It took me about 3 weeks of "should I or shouldn't I " before I finally started dosing. My girlfriend thought I finally lost my marbles when she first seen me putting vodka in my tank. :

 

Tank looks great! Extremly clean and corals look verry happy.

 

Posted By F.D. Reefer on 10/16/2010 10:31 PM 
My girlfriend thought I finally lost my marbles when she first seen me putting vodka in my tank. :

 

Very nice FD. Two success stories one with pellets (Fishbrain) and one with Vodka. Very cool! Great work guys, keep us updated.
After one week things are starting to color back up for me but I am doing some other cleaning chores as well. I am dosing 3 ml a day currently and will start increasing by .5ml a week.

 

I know everyone has posted their size of tank but I'm a dummy and can't remember everyone's tanks. It might be helpful to put the size of your tank when posting how much you dose...just a suggestion /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default//emoticons/smile.gif

 

72 gallon with about 5 in sump. but don't forget you need water volume when calculating how much to dose.Live rock, sand, pumps etc take up alot of space!

 

About 500 in tanks, but using 350 for calculations for dosing. The specs are in here:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php

 

Thanks for all the good reply's
I will try to keep an update in the future