vodka is a trick
About six weeks ago we at The Reef Aquarium DVD, A Set Up & Maintanence Guide took a chance with our demo tank. We added 1ml per 20 gallons to our demo tank to see if our nitrates would go down.
Here is the answer – YES!!! Wow, what an amazing additive!
Before we used the vodka, the demo takes nitrates were at 8 mg per liter. Only one week after we used the vodka, the nitrates dropped to less than 1mg per liter! Since that first week we cut back on the dosing to every other day as the levels were so low so quickly. Even now, six weeks later with every other day dosing, the nitrates are less than one mg per liter.
Did it hurt the fish? No, we have never seen the fish healthier. There colors are magnificent and they are as healthy as any hobbyist could ever want. The clown fish have even been spawning more often and laying their eggs on the rocks in greater numbers.
Eggs with Vodka
Did it hurt the corals? No, the corals are still growing like crazy.
Did it hurt the anemones? No, the bubble tips keep splitting and the green carpet is now over a foot in circumference with a shocking bright green shade.
What a great find! This seems to me a slam dunk. Our host of The Reef Aquarium DVD, A Set Up & Maintenance Guide, Bob Wiatroski, has said his customers have not had any long term effects using vodka. We will keep an eye on the tank, but the first review is in and vodka might be the cheapest, most effective way of keeping your nitrates down in your reef tank.
As a final note, we do not recommend this for a marine tank with no live rock, as the vodka helps the bacteria inside the live rock and would probably not be helpful without the rock itself.
Posted by Reef Man 