Adding Vodka to your tank!??!?

Well today I was talking to a fellow reefer who was saying that he adds Vodka to his 125 reef tank to kepp his nitrates and ammonia down. He says that the downside to this is that it completely kills all the bacteria in the water so he only does it once a month and changes the water once every 3 months.. Any one ever heard of this? What are your thoughts? Does anyone do this? If so, ever seen your fish talk???? :dryer:
 

DaveK

Well-Known Member
Quite a few people do this, and it does seem to work, at least in some cases. It's a carbon source for anaerobic bacteria.

Even though you be doing this to keeping nitrated down, I'd still maintain regular water changes to replenish any trace elements removed.

Is it worth it? IMHO, it's only worth a try if you already have a refugium and that plus water changes is not enough to keep nitrates down. We will assume you are doing all the other right stuff for nitrate control.
 

Varga

Well-Known Member
There's a lot of negative feedback surrounding Vodka, I'd look into it further before dosing it.
 

Varga

Well-Known Member
I dosed it once and I went to dose again but the bottle was empty? dunno what happened:eek:verhere: :bigbounce :eek:verhere: :bigbounce
 

Frankie

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
Hmm, yes. Carbon source dosing. I am all for it but vodka is to impure and has caused many woes. There really is no set amount to dose and it is hit and miss with every aquarium. Your friend is not even understanding what he is doing from your post. It does not kill bacteria it creates it. If anyone is interested in dosing a carbon source your better off trying a product designed for the purpose like Prodibio, Zeovit, Fauna Marin. Be prepared to do a lot of reading and testing. As for new to the hobby people I highly recommend going the conventional way with sumps and refugiums.
 

plecosword

Active Member
Haha that's insane, and I think its ridiculous. I'm sure fish love it though, takes away their pain lol. I'd rather settup a tank with vegetation.
 
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Tonz of fun

Member
I hate adding anything to my tank that i can not test for, so until they make a vodka test kit and i know what levels are safe i wont be doing it lol...
 

cheeks69

Wannabe Guru
RS STAFF
I don't dose Vodka but do mix vinegar with kalkwasser which does the same thing. Also it increases all bacteria aerobic/anaerobic and if overdosed could wipe out your inhabitants so make sure you study the subject carefully before attempting. If you do a search here at RS on Vodka you'll find plenty of info and if that's not enough then here's some more...:lol:

Vodka Dosing...Distilled
 
Someone on another forum suggested the Brightwell Reef Biofuel. After reading up on it, it looks like a better alternative to vodka!
 

Dentoid

Smile Maker
PREMIUM
There is another product on the market called AZNO3 that I have used with success when my tank was younger.

Here is the synopsis from Marine Depot on this product. It's scientific and has some great bioscience behind it IMO.

The AZ-NO3™ (Absolute Zero - Nitrates™) product works entirely by aerobic Cellular Respiration on the target Nitrate molecule, which is then removed by the Protein Skimmer. The oxidoreductases necessary for these processes are the chemical mechanism of an enzyme action.

In the most simplest of explanations, AZ-NO3™ can be considered an essential food, required by the active enzyme maltase that functions as a cellular respirator. The manufacturing process renders this product as an undesirable food to certain detrimental enzyme (amylase and invertase) that could uncontrollably proliferate in the aquarium.

Our product utilizes a specific enzyme in the maltase group to activate the oxidoreductases necessary to reduce nitrates by cellular respiration in the aquarium. The product itself does not contain this enzyme, but can be thought of more like a seed, a seed contains the germ (plant) and the food for the plant to grow. The mature plant then becomes the basic food product utilized.

The active ingredient in our product is Cozymase which functions in the oxidation of proteins and of many other compounds important in the intermediary metabolism and the resulting active enzyme Maltase in the aquarium. The Massecuite is food for both the Cozymase to develop and the resultant Maltase to thrive.
 
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