suger to lower nitrates?

[tjake68]

i was in my lfs thats a very reliable store. The owner was putting suger mixed with plain water in his reef tank.He says it lowers nitrates to zeroif you use it every day for 2 weeks .He says there are no side effects as far as he can tell so far hes been doing this for almost 6 months on and off.OF course im going to try it on a smaller tank before i put it in my reef.The only thing he says is it might cloud your water for a day.Its onetablespoon per 100 gallons. Has any one ever heard o this or is it urband fish legend;Sounds to good and easy to be true i will post my results I have a empty hospital tank im going to raise nitrates to very high levels and try to get them down One last thing he still does regular water changes and only uses this if nitrates rise too high for any reason .If anyone knows about this subject please write

 

[crox]

Which store does that?

 

[mrdc]

If this catches on, I guess you will be able to get "saltwater" sugar at your LFS for $20 a lb.
Honestly, I have never heard of this and I would never try this. I am not a chemestry major but it seems that there could be some dire effects from doing this.

 

[stickman]

just wondering what made him decide to put sugar in his tank?

hmm baby powder is good for the skin maybe the lil fishies will feel baby fresh

 

[xdave]

This is a pretty old idea. If you do it right it works. The problem is nobody seems to do it right. The list of variables that effect it is very lengthy. It's always harder than just doing a water change.

 

[a2hotz]

I have a mad scientist of a friend who expiremented with adding things to fish water. He said no matter how much sugar he added, it didnt effect anything....
but they werent saltwater reef inhabitants, just feeder comets.

 

[lion_crazz]

I have a few friends of mine adding vodka to their reef tanks to lower nitrates and phosphates. It is working for both of them so far.
They got the idea from the German SPS tanks that are being posted on the web that are absolutely stunning.
They are adding vodka (which is a carbon source), a bacteria source (Cycle, Stability, ProtoBio, etc.), and amino acids once every week.

 

[viper_930]

The sugar spurs the growth of bacteria that would consume nitrogen and phosphorus to build their new cells. It could also incease the anaerobic bacteria population in the sand and rocks that would use nitrates as a source for oxygen. Dosing vodka is the same idea.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by lion_crazz
I have a few friends of mine adding vodka to their reef tanks to lower nitrates and phosphates. It is working for both of them so far.
They got the idea from the German SPS tanks that are being posted on the web that are absolutely stunning.
They are adding vodka (which is a carbon source), a bacteria source (Cycle, Stability, ProtoBio, etc.), and amino acids once every week.
Are you serious??? Are the fish just not noticing the trates because they are drunk? lol Realy? This works for your friend?

 

[lion_crazz]

Two people that I know are doing this with absolute success. The one is on 4 weeks, and the other is on 7 weeks.
Viper's logistics of the idea are dead-on above.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by ViPeR_930
The sugar spurs the growth of bacteria that would consume nitrogen and phosphorus to build their new cells. It could also incease the anaerobic bacteria population in the sand and rocks that would use nitrates as a source for oxygen. Dosing vodka is the same idea.
Oh, my goodness, that is crazy, but I believe you guys. Never thought of adding liquor to my tanks! :joy: Maybe my fish would be happier!haha

 

[joshh81]

I might have to get a small tank and give this a try. Sounds like a fun chemisty project. If all else fails... i will just finish off the vodka myself!

 

[larryndana]

So then why hasn't someone(company) come out with a formula or supplement to put into saltwater tanks that will help with nitrates....?
:thinking:

 

[psusocr1]

i can also say that sugar and vodka has been proven to work and i have personally seen this with great sucess...
THE POINT
i hope my tank never gets to the point where i have to add such things... if you practice regualar stocking( not oversrtocking), regular feeding , water changes and good husbandry then you will never have to do this..
to me any foreign substance such as sugar or vodka (no matter weather it works or deosnt) should never have to be added if you practice these simple saltwater keeping things..
just my .02 cents

 

[viper_930]

Originally Posted by larryndana
So then why hasn't someone(company) come out with a formula or supplement to put into saltwater tanks that will help with nitrates....?
:thinking:
I'd be willing to bet it has something to do with the fact that sugar and vodka can easily kill a tank very quickly if overdosed even the slightest bit. The bacterial bloom can deplete a tank of oxygen and you wouldn't know it until it's too late.

 

[tjake68]

well i have discussed this with a few people in my fish club some say its an old meathod also using vodca is a known practice The only down side i was told is to wath the orp levels they could drop I personally wouldnt know how to check taht.Ther is a ozone/orp reactor that u can set to a desired level i honastly think its alot easier to do steady water changes Im going to still try this in my hospital tank i will post my results.Im also going to try the vodka and if all else fails at least i could get HAMMERD

:help:

 

[boozzbro]

It is very commonly done in systems that are based on an anerobic/ aerobic cycle. IE sewage treatment plants. What is allows for is increased bacteria growth. Basically you can grow more bacterial than you would be able to naturally.
The only drawback would be when you stop adding the sugar/ vodka. All the extra bacteria will die and some of the bacteria you already had established will as well. If you intend to keep adding sugar long term you should be perfectly fine.

 

[bang guy]

Make sure you have a very good skimmer before adding sugar (or Vodka or Vinegar, etc.)

 

[robsw]

i have never done it, but it seems like if you add to much i can really mess up ur tank. if you have explosive bacteria blooms and deaths, couldnt you go into a mini-cycle.

 

[bang guy]

Originally Posted by RobSW
i have never done it, but it seems like if you add to much i can really mess up ur tank. if you have explosive bacteria blooms and deaths, couldnt you go into a mini-cycle.
Yes. You can easily avoid problems by ramping up the additives slowly. An ounce of vodka or vinegar in a 50 gallon tank isn't going to cause an explosive bacteria bloom. Especially if your skimmer is removing the excess bacteria.