Vodka is suppose to help?
- Thread starter woodywoo
- Start date
Wiskey
New member
It is not without it's risks. The basic idea is what djcool said, it helps bacteria breed which take up nitrates and phospates that are also required for bacteria to breed. The problem is the bacteria take up a lot of O2 to do this, in tanks that are a little low on O2 already, fish and corals can sufficate.
All this removal of nitrate and phospate via uptake by bacteria is fine, but without removing the bacteria, you are still in the same place, or a worse place then you were. This is why it is VERY important to have a great skimmer working at maximum efficancy to remove the bacteria before it dies from lack of fuel (i.e. vodka gets used up).
I started a thread about this a little while ago, and tried it. It was not a sucess for me, but I had other problems as well and don't blame the failure on the Vodka, I know one person with a very successfull SPS tank that uses it. Do a search for that thread, there is lots of great information in it.
HTH,
Whiskey
All this removal of nitrate and phospate via uptake by bacteria is fine, but without removing the bacteria, you are still in the same place, or a worse place then you were. This is why it is VERY important to have a great skimmer working at maximum efficancy to remove the bacteria before it dies from lack of fuel (i.e. vodka gets used up).
I started a thread about this a little while ago, and tried it. It was not a sucess for me, but I had other problems as well and don't blame the failure on the Vodka, I know one person with a very successfull SPS tank that uses it. Do a search for that thread, there is lots of great information in it.
HTH,
Whiskey
i personally been using vodka for the last month or so. I started out .5 ml on my 125G tank and up it gradually to 1ml in a month time. Make sure you have a good skimmer to take out dead bacteria. For me it takes about a wk or 2 to see result. I have a little more PE than usual prior to vodka. People that had bad experience with vodka normally up their dosage too much too soon. Take it slow and let nature takes its course. IMHO an increase in bacteria via vodka helps in PE since corals do use bacteria as a food source. Good luck
MiddletonMark
Premium Member
Here's the big thread about it that I remember:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=288714
It does have some significant risks IMO and you should read the precautions pretty well before going with it.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=288714
It does have some significant risks IMO and you should read the precautions pretty well before going with it.
I am experimenting with it on my FO. I am not brave enough on the SPS tank yet... but it doesn't really need it, so I probably won't ever do it there.
One thing not mentioned here is that the bacteria will starve the algae in your coral of food and they can suffer or die. Even if you use it, you are better off leaving some amount of nutrient in the water. IMO - somewhere around .01 phosphate and .1-.2 nitrate is probably fine (but I am no expert).
If you don't skim the live/dead bacteria, then they will just be temporarily storing the nutrient. Then they will enter the N cycle themselves and become nutrient again. The key is getting them out. ...so basically, you are converting nutirent into bacteria because bacteria skim and NO3 and PO4 don't.
I am almost at a week now, going slow and have had no o2 problems in the FOWLR. Slow is the key here. After a week, the level have not changed, but the skimmer is maybe producing a bit more... but hard to tell. 5-6 days is not really enough time though from what I have read/heard/experienced.
You can also use sugar if you cannot pry the bottle away from your lips.
One thing not mentioned here is that the bacteria will starve the algae in your coral of food and they can suffer or die. Even if you use it, you are better off leaving some amount of nutrient in the water. IMO - somewhere around .01 phosphate and .1-.2 nitrate is probably fine (but I am no expert).
If you don't skim the live/dead bacteria, then they will just be temporarily storing the nutrient. Then they will enter the N cycle themselves and become nutrient again. The key is getting them out. ...so basically, you are converting nutirent into bacteria because bacteria skim and NO3 and PO4 don't.
I am almost at a week now, going slow and have had no o2 problems in the FOWLR. Slow is the key here. After a week, the level have not changed, but the skimmer is maybe producing a bit more... but hard to tell. 5-6 days is not really enough time though from what I have read/heard/experienced.
You can also use sugar if you cannot pry the bottle away from your lips.
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