Blog Comments

Sorry to hear about the hammer.
Did yo ualready make big water changes and add any carbon to deal with this or will yo ulet the tank process it?

Marc, NICE bracket setup and application of this setup with vodka.

Keep in mind that having the drip point lower than the reservoir creates a "siphoning" effect leading to the "leaking" of additive. Try to either raise the drip valve higher than the reservoir, or lower the reservoir below the drip valve. Add a $2 check valve to stop the additive from creeping back up the line (affecting the accuracy and precision of the dosing system). Though, won't be a big factor with the short length of your tubing.

Also, a very small air-gap in the lid of your reservoir will ensure that a vacuum won't occur (which will hinder the precision/accuracy). Make it as small as possible to minimize the evaporation of alcohol.

I have one that's been pushing Kalk up 2' of head for the last 2 years, it only produces a dribble with that amount of head pressure, and it's still going strong.

Marc, how do you think the pump will hold up with having the valve on it causing back pressure on it?

It is called Phosphate Control, sold by Blue Life USA. They had to rename most of their products for legal reasons, so odds are it is presently being sold as Phosphate RX by now.

Correct, and it took me a while to find it in all the irrigation stuff that Home Depot carries. It was around $2.50 for a two-pack.

Was the phosphate control the stuff that I had written a post about or stuff that you have used in the past? Just curious

BTW, Everything looks good in there.

auto vodka dosing...hilarious!

It looks like the one that I have. It is a drip line valve from the gardening department at Home Depot.

Marc, where did you find that little valve? All the airline valves I've found are pretty chinsy looking compared to that one.

Marc, This may be the stupidest question ever, but I was just sitting here wondering what would trigger such an event. I got to thinking about the fact that you just put up those ICE CAP retros, and wondered if they could have had anything to do with such a thing.

Nathan

Ahhh okay, thanks for the info, looks like.a nice setup!

The hammer showing any improvement yet?

Hat, I test my tank at least weekly for Alk and Calcium. I've found that for my system using Kalk (lime water) for top off, and dosing 1/2 teaspoon (2.5ml) of baking soda each day keeps those two parameters stable. When I keep Ca between 400 and 450 and Alk between 8 and 9 all my corals look happier and I seem to have less algae growth too. I'm planning to set up an auto doser like Marc just did for the baking soda.

I have been dosing 15ml daily for a long time now so if all of it went in at once it could be problematic. It is my hope that it will only add the 7.5 ml for five days. That is why I'm running the test this way.

Vodka is thinner than water and the valve leaked a little. By watching the fluid level in the vial, I can determine if that is a issue or not. Keep in mind the power to that pump is limited to 20 minutes per day. That lowers the risk factor.

Sara -- no not at this time.

The pump is an aqulifter pump, you can find it in most online stores and LFS.

Dosing Vodka is not for everyone. There is a lot of research that goes into dosing Vodka.

Dosing with Baking soda "A BiCarbonate" is use to help maintain and increase Alk. levels in our tank.

I do have 1 question Marc. Aren't you a little woried about over dosing with the vodka on that pump? I see you are only using a small tub that looks to have about 35ml in it which would be about 5 days for you. Can your tank handle that much vodka at one time if the pump or timer were to fail?

Cool Marc, I'm interested to see how the Vodka dosing works with the aqualifter pumps! I alway shy away from anything that requires daily dosing as I sometimes have to travel for work or we are gone on the weekends for some activity. I've got 2 of those aqualifter pumps just laying around unused right now! Are you also dosing any bacteria along with Vodka?

Another question, should I be dozing my tank? I put some Purple Up in my tank every other day, which is really calcium. I just follow the bottle instructions.

Very cool! But I have a few question. Does ya fish swim side ways because they are drunk? ;-) j/k

Ok, what is that pump? It looks like a regular pump but I know it can't be. Where do you het them? How much do they cost?

Now, an even better question. Could you explain why y'all dose vodka? And, while ya at it why ya dose baking soda too?

Hope ya hammer coral makes it Marc! The red serpent is beautiful. Your tank water really cleared up nicely.