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#1
07-30-2012, 06:29 AM
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I vodka (ethanol) dosed for a while and had good results, but having done similar reading (and fought cyano issues a bit) I would probably go with Vinegar were I to start it again. I think you will see positive results and cut back on your algae growth, but I would tackle the problem on another front as well... determine where these excess nutrients are coming from and reduce that input. I would make a couple of suggestions on starting points: buildup on mechanical filtration is decaying (clean daily), detritus buildup in dead zones in your tank or sump, inadequate protein skimming (this will become far more critical with vinegar dosing), over feeding... it's hard to say without knowing a bit more.
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Link to my Tank Upgrade Thread Dan Leus, Marine Biologist 20+ Years Marine Aquarium Experience Save the Reef, Buy a Frag! 
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#2
07-30-2012, 06:43 AM
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I have vinegar/sugar dosed for almost 2 years. During that time I had a dictyota outbreak. The Phosphate ranges from 0.02 to 0.05 and nitrate is 7mg/l. It is important to reduce nutrient load but I suspect there is more to algae outbreaks than just nutrients. Nutrients are the fuel but algae also requires the right type of light to convert the fuel into mass. My suggestion would be to use a higher k bulb. I use 20k Radiums with good results.
Cheers, Tim
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www.oceanfreshaquarium.com/foz-down.html - Foz Down - an easy way to eliminate algae outbreaks caused by Phosphate and bring back the fun of reef keeping.
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#3
07-30-2012, 02:44 PM
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Hmmm, thanks guys.There certainly food for thought. I'm sure I have been over feeding to some extent. Part of my problem lies in the fact that I have such good flow through my tank it's hard to tell sometimes if the fish are eating all the food or if a good portion is being wasted. I've got tons of hermit crabs, various snails, 4 shrimp, 10 fish (one a twin spot goby who moves a ton of sand) a sand sifting starfish and a tiger brittle star. My tank is also a full mixed reef with SPS, LPS and soft corals with 1 clam.
When I feed I turn off my koralia pumps but I'm still probably flowing somewhere in the neighbourhood of 1200-1400 gph through my 77 gal dt tank. The sand looks clean everywhere I can see and I'd imagine my CUC cleans where I'm not seeing fairly well. But I do worry that when I feed some of these creatures don't get enough because it does disappear so quickly. Because I have a basement sump (80 gal) I don't turn off my skimmer during feeding. For a skimmer I am running an SRO2000INT which works awesome although I don't clean the main body of it very often, just the collection cup. I have been feeding only once a day, but over the last week or so I've started feeding less 2X a day. Lighting: this is an area I have definitely neglected. I am running an Odyssea twin 250 W MH/ T5 light with the crappy Odyssea bulbs. I've been wanting to go to a DIY LED fixture and have been reluctant to purchase good bulbs as I would rather that $180 go to the DIY fixture. I had 2 - 20K bulbs in there but one blew on me so I replaced it with a 15K I had on hand. The algae growth is definitely worse on the 15K side. Since I'm not quite to the point where I can afford to drop $1000 on some LED's I may have to buy some better bulbs... My Po4 last check was running 0.06 on my Hanna checker and I haven't actually checked my nitrates in months. I only have a cheap junky Hagen nitrate test. I am running a DSB in my refugium (6" or so) which I am planning on removing when I switch out my sump for a bigger tank that I just bought off Brad (thanks Brad!). I did read in one of Randy's articles that carbon dosing is a bit trickier in those tanks with DSB's. Well, that's all the info I can think of to add. If you need any more or have other comments feel free to do so  Thanks for all the help!
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