Still conducting my ZEOvit experiment seeing minimal results three weeks into it. May be related to skimmer not performing up to par so I adjusted it to skim a little more wet. As part of my ZEOvit experiment, I will be adding an additional reactor with the ZEOvit to see if that part of the ZEOvit system has any impact. There are arguments it has minimal impact in a marine environment and I want to test those arguments.

Reduced Vodka dosing from 2.5 ml/day to 2.0 ml/day as part of transition to ZEOvit supplements. Was seeing bacteria bloom on the glass so knew time to decrease again.

Conducted a 4 gallon water change. Did not need to change GFO but need to ensure it is not caking or I see numbers increase. Changed GAC as part of the monthly routine. Notice the skimmer was not skimming because the pump was plugged. Cleaned skimmer.

The air pump for my air stones stopped working and need to replace. Disappointing as it is only a few months old. Using it as part of solution to combat low pH due to high level of CO2 levels in house. Air pump was located on outside of house to import external air to tank. Will need to replace. Looking at a higher end pump but will replace with cheap brand until I want to invest in more expensive model.

Placed the LiterMeter III which is dosing Kalk top off on a RKE timer so it is only dosing during dark phase of the photo period to stabilize the pH swings. Will need to adjust the liters per day to compensate for the change. It was set at 3.40.

My orange hammer is seeing STN now it has been retracted since bumping it with the teal acro a couple months ago. I am afraid I am going to lose it. Acros are showing good polyp extension with some color returning after the Flatworm Exit treatment. Adjusted photo period from eight hours of daylight to six hours as before treatment was seeing washed out colors from the NEP T5s. Still hoping the other light bulb companies jump on board by October to make the 18w size bulbs for my 20 inch fixture as I am looking at replacing them by then or upgrade to a 24w fixture. I want to utilize better bulbs than those provided by Current. I really like my NEP T5 fixture and do not want to replace it. Looking at the ATI 24 inch 6 bulb fixture.

Running into an issue with my RKE as the timers not working properly. My RKE with the latest firmware version 1.11 not recognizing the DoW (day of week) settings. This is impacting my new settings for separate timers for weekend photo period.

I noticed some little red blobs on my glass. Upon further inspection and a quick search on the internet, I realized these blobs were flatworms. These are reddish-brown “ghosts” appearing as small flecks on the glass. My infestation appears to be a variety which feeds on algae versus Acropora coral. With my Nitrates at 17.6 ppm and Phosphate fluctuating between 0.01 and 0.09 ppm, they have erupted as I have been providing them nutrients.

The Plan

To reduce the population, I first need to export the nutrients before I use a good remedy, Salifert Flatworm Exit. If I suddenly kill a large population off with Flatworm Exit, the dying flatworms will emit a toxin which will kill all tank inhabitants. If I do not treat the population eruption, when the algae is completely consumed, they will die off all at once which would also be lethal to my tank inhabitants.

Based on my type of flatworm, I need to reduce the nutrients in my system to effectively reduce the population. I have been disappointed with my Vodka dosing as I am up to 5 ml/day dosing with little impact on Nitrates and Phosphates. I should be only dosing 1 ml/day and seeing results. Therefor, I am trying a new regime as suggested by my LFS. I am using the ZeoVit system to increase beneficial bacteria colony which I was trying to attempt with the Vodka dosing. I am using ZeoVit ZeoStart2 (0.2 ml/day) and ZeoVit ZeoBak (1 drop – Wed & Sun).

Once I see a reduction in the flatworm population, I will want to employ the use of siphoning to remove as many flatworms as possible to reduce the risk of toxic release by the dying flatworms. Once I am sure I have removed every visible flatworm, I will then use the Flatworm Exit which is reef safe to all inhabitants to totally eradicate the flatworms. The instructions for Flatworm Exit indicate I need to add 20 drops (4 drops/5 gallons). Once employed, I need to ensure I observe my tank for signs the flatworms are dying off about 30 minutes after dosage. If I do not see this, I will need to add 50% more (10 drops).

Once the flatworms start to die, I will use preventative maintenance to export the lethal toxins produced by the dying flatworms using GAC (1 lbs fresh carbon/50 gallons), partial 20% water change(s), and physical removing the flatworms. I will repeat procedure in one week to eradicate any which may have survived first treatment.

Going forward, I will need to ensure I use Flatworm Exit as part of my dipping routine to introduce new inhabitants.

My Experience Using Flatworm Exit

• 4/12 at 7:30a: Determined I have removed all the flatworms I could see, turned carbon reactor off, and then added 20 drops of Flatworm Exit.
• 4/12 at 8:00a: Surprised as tank looks like it is snowing from the dead flatworms.
• 4/12 at 8:01a: Turn carbon (2 cups) reactor on to start filtering toxins emitted from dying flatworms. Placed filter pad to manually remove flatworms. Notice my Tenuis Acro is starting to appear stressed.
• 4/12 at 9:00a: Observe all corals except frogspawn and toadstool are stressed, withdrawn polyps, and omitting defenses.
• 4/12 at 9:01a: Turn on second reactor containing Carbon (2 cups).
• 4/12 at 9:10a: Begin 20% water change.
• 4/12 at 9:32a: Complete water change and changed filter pad while tossing the old pad.
• 4/12 at 9:46a: Observe corals and still stressed. Now I am stressed.
• 4/12 at 11:11a: Observe corals and still stressed but a few polyp extensions.
• 4/12 at 4:46p: All the corals seem to be returning to normal with decent polyp extension.
• 4/12 at 5:15p: Observed more live flatworms on front glass. Do not want them to erupt again.
• 4/12 at 5:30p: Turned carbon reactors off and then added 20 drops of Flatworm Exit to repeat process.
• 4/12 at 6:15p: Turned both carbon reactors on. Corals looking much better this round.
• 4/13 at 6:33a: Corals look good. Will repeat process this weekend. Still need to get nutrients in check as Nitrates at 17.6 ppm and Phosphates at 0.05 ppm.
• 4/17 at 7:47p: Still observe number of flatworms on front glass. Bit disappointed with Flatworm Exit at this point but giving it benefit of the doubt these were from new generation and will retreat this weekend.
• 5/5 at 11:21a: I have been putting off treating again based on the number of flatworm I saw and impact I had the first time with the Flatworm Exit treatment. I have been focused on decreasing the nutrients to naturally decrease the flatworm population before treating again to totally eradicate them. So far I have had success decreasing population. I have had this luxury as my type of flatworm is not directly detrimental to coral health.
• 5/22: Introduced Yellow Coris Wrasse which at time did not know would impact my experience with Flatworm Exit.

Conclusion

Ironically, the introduction of a Coris Wrasse eliminated all Flatworms better than the Flatworm Exit. Flatworm Exit did reduce numbers to manageable level but the Wrasse finished the elimination of all remaining flatworms.

DISCLAIMER: Your results may very as each system is very different from another. For my tank parameters and environment, this was my observations and conclusion. This was not a controlled experiment so there is a potential for very large margin of error.

References

Levenson, Marc. “Flatworms (Red Planaria): How to eliminate them from your reef.” Melev’s Reef. http://www.melevsreef.com/flatworms.html. Accessed 11 April 2009 .

Lynford M.S., Andrew H. “Evaluation of Chemical Eradication Methods of Acoels (Acoelomorpha) From Marine Aquaria.” Advanced Aquarist Online Magazine. April 2009. Advanced Aquarist. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2009/4/aafeature2/view?searchterm=flatworms. Accessed 07 June 2009.

Raabe, Charles & Linda. “The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Reefs – Worms.” Chucks Addiction. http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchworms.html. Accessed 11 April 2009.

Shannon III, Thomas. “Identification of Convolutriloba species.” http://macropyga.googlepages.com/identification. Accessed 11 April 2009.

Changed GFO (1 cup), blew rocks, stirred sand bed a bit, and pulled some algae which has been trying to grow. All corals look good except for the Orange Hammer which is still mostly retracted from being bumped when the Teal Acro was introduced and the Teal Acro which never colored up when it was placed. Getting good polyp extension from the Teal Acro. The rest of the Acro frags are growing or encrusting with great polyp extension and color. The Red Planet Acro lost its green underlying color but suspect because the T5s are too bright for it.

Replaced the Micro Jet 320 with an Eheim Compact 300 (80 gph) for theKalk Drip Chamber to keep the detris suspended and stir the Kalk chamber.

Using Zeo Sponge Power and Amino Acids concentrated (1 drop/day) to see what they can do to help on color and growth. Been dosing these for about two weeks. Not sure if it because of these but seeing good growth and encrusting than I was seeing before.

I am not too impressed with Vodka dosing as not seeing much from it which may be due to the deep sand bed from what I am reading. I should be dosing a maximum of 1 ml/day for my tank but I am up to 5 ml/day trying to find maintenance dosage. Not going to increase more than that and looking at discontinuing it. The nitrates are staying at 17.6 ppm with little impact on phosphate levels.

Probably like most newbies, I have been watching my nitrates and phosphates creep up and watching Acropora suffer from increased nutrients. To successful raise SPS corals, I need to have a low nutrient system so I needed to find a way to export these nutrients. Looking for a solution, I found people having success with Vodka dosing.

The Plan

The theory behind Vodka dosing and other carbon based dosing systems is to create a source of food for beneficial bacteria which will feed on the nutrients you want to export from your system. Vodka is one of the most pure form of ethanol which in theory is great source of food for these beneficial bacteria.

Like any new dosing regime, you want to start slow, watch your inhabitants, and adjust. You want to start at 0.5 ml/day and increase every week 0.5 ml/day until you observe your Nitrates and Phosphates begin to drop. In other people’s experiments, this is where you are suppose to cut the dosage you reached in half. This is now your maintenance dosage which should be no more than 1.0 ml/day for my 25 gallon reef tank based on other people’s experiences. Again, can not stress enough, you want to go slow as you need to grow your bacteria population. Any sudden increase will have negative impacts on your inhabitants as their are no bacteria colonies to consume the ethanol.

While trying to determine your maintenance dosage, watch your tank for any negative impacts to your inhabitants or a sudden bacterial bloom. If observed either, you will want to discontinue for a few days, access your results, and resume.

Another part of the Vodka Dosing system you need is a great skimmer. You want a way to export the waste from the bacteria consuming your nutrients. You will notice your skim turning from the green skim to a black crud. This is expected.

With these in place, you will want to ensure you are measuring and tracking Nitrates and Phosphates to observe the decrease in their numbers. With luck, this system should help you create a low nutrient system which you can maintain over time and then positively impact the health of your inhabitants.

The Goal

• Nitrates below 4.4 ppm using LaMotte Test Kit
• Phosphates below 1.0 ppm using Low Phosphate Hanna Meter
• Maintenance dosage should be 1.0 ml/day
• Improved SPS Coral Health
• No negative impacts on system

Observations and Information

• 12/19/2008 — Starting dosing Vodka at 0.5 ml/day (Nitrates 10 ppm, Phosphates 1.0 ppm using Salifert test kits)
• 12/25/2008 — Increased Vodka dosage to 1.0 ml/day (Nitrates 10 ppm, Phosphates 0.0 ppm)
• 01/01/2009 — Increased Vodka dosage to 1.5 ml/day
• 01/06/2009 — Switched to LaMotte Nitrate Test Kit as allegedly most accurate kit available to consumer as science grade
• 01/06/2009 — Increased Vodka dosage to 2.0 ml/day (Nitrates 8.8 ppm, Phosphates 0.0 ppm)
• 01/18/2009 — Increased Vodka dosage to 2.5 ml/day
• 01/22/2009 — Increased Vodka dosage to 3.0 ml/day (Nitrates 4.4 ppm, Phosphates 0.0 ppm)
• 01/28/2009 — Increased Vodka dosage to 3.5 ml/day (Nitrates 1.1 ppm, Phosphates 0.0 ppm)
• 02/07/2009 — Increased Vodka dosage to 4.0 ml/day (Nitrates 0.0 ppm, Phosphates 0.0 ppm)
• 02/07/2009 — Determined maintenance dosage to be 2.0 ml/day based on achieved results
• 02/11/2009 — Began using Hanna Meter Low Phosphate as most accurate testing equipment for the consumer
• 02/22/2009 — Observed increase in Nitrates and Phosphates (Nitrates 8.8 ppm, Phosphates 0.04 ppm)
• 02/22/2009 — Increase dosage back to 4.0 ml/day as feel recent enough to have minimal negative impact
• 03/01/2009 — Increased Vodka dosage to 4.5 ml/day (Nitrates 4.4 ppm, Phosphates 0.07 ppm)
• 03/06/2009 — Increased Vodka dosage to 5.0 ml/day (Nitrates 2.2 ppm, Phosphates 0.04 ppm)
• 03/14/2009 — Observed increase in Nitrates and do not want to increase vodka dosing as I feel I am at a too high of safe dosage. Corals still look healthy but notice a change in the deep sand bed color to dark brown about inch below surface of sand. Allegedly this is sulfur which is a by-product of some anaerobic bacteria (Nitrates 8.8 ppm, Phosphates 0.02 ppm)
• 03/21/2009 — Observed another increase in Nitrates. Not sure why seeing increase but from observations of sand bed, I assume I may not have a colony of beneficial bacteria I need. Corals still look healthy except for my Hammer Coral (Nitrates 17.6 ppm, Phosphates 0.02 ppm)
• 04/04/2009 — Observed increase in Phosphates. Still can not determine why not seeing good results in the nutrient numbers (Nitrates 17.6 ppm, Phosphates 0.04 ppm)
• 04/12/2009 — Cut dosage to 2.0 ml/day to observe any changes and restart Vodka dosing process as feel 5.0 ml/day way to high based on what I have read (Nitrates 17.6 ppm, Phosphates 0.05 ppm)
• 04/17/2009 — Increase in both Nitrates and Phosphates which is to be expected if I did not determine new maintenance dose as stopped at 5.0 ml/day (Nitrates 26.4 ppm, Phosphates 0.09 ppm)
• 04/17/2009 — Disappointed by results as Nitrates and Phosphates are creeping up, discontinuing dosing and starting experiment with ZEOvit System. I want to blame either my deep sand bed or not growing the type of beneficial bacteria I needed. Like what I have read and heard about ZEOvit System
• 4/18 — Starting to reverse dosing process by reducing dosage per day by 0.5 ml every week
• 5/08 — Stopped Vodka dosing today

Conclusion

Initially, I saw great results with both Nitrates and Phosphates reducing to undetectable levels when reached 4.0 ml/day dosage. At this point, cut dosage in half to what was suppose to be maintenance dosage of 2.0 ml/day. Right after, observed Nitrates and Phosphates to start to increase so went back to find new maintenance dosage. Once reaching 5.0 ml/day, I stopped as everything I read said I should not need to be dosing at that level as my daily maintenance dose should be 1.0 ml/day for my 25 gallon tank and with this number, my maintenance dose would be 2.5 ml/day or higher.

Maybe I stopped to early and what I have read is incorrect for my system. But with this information, observations of my deep sand bed, information others who have failed who also had deep sand beds, and recommendation from my LFS to try ZEOvit, I decided to end the Vodka dosing. As I switch to ZEOvit, I will continue to slowly decrease the daily dosage by 0.5 ml/day each week until completely discontinued.

DISCLAIMER: Your results may very as each system is very different from another. For my tank parameters and environment, this was my observations and conclusion. This was not a controlled experiment so there is a very large margin of error. I would like to see some good scientific experiments on the subject as I would be willing to give it a try again.

References

Walton , Nathaniel A., and Bjornson, Matt. “Vodka Dosing…Distilled!” Reefkeeping Magazine. Aug. 2008. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php. Accessed 19 December 2008.