VODKA O.D. Can you guess what will happen?

[dvanacker]

Ok so I've done it again. I have my vodka on a dosing pump that is giving me grief. It doesnt always work so I quickly turn the timer on every once and a while to check it. Well tonight for the second time I forgot it was on. The first time I think it was anywhere from 150-250ml (finished the bottle) and tonight I think it was around 150ml. I only realized it when I could smell the vodka from the tank.

Well from the first event was about a month ago, I managed to lose 1 blue millepora and my corals are still a little peed off. No MAJOR cloudiness but some bacteria strings.

Now Im just waiting to see what happens tommorrow when the lights come on. I have about 250-275g of water in my system FYI.

Sometimes I just want to pound my head into a brick wall. good night.

[Reefobsession]

This could get very bad my friend. That is a lot of vodka. You will at least have a bacteria bloom.

[dvanacker]

Last time I managed to overdose more and was surprised at the lack of a disaster. I hope it's the same this time....going to work on a 40g water change which will probably be ready tommorrow.

[sedor]

Whats going to likely happen is there is going to be a bacterial bloom in your tank due to the additional vodka. Hopefully you can ride that out and it will go away on its own, but the dangerous thing about bacterial blooms is that they basically suck the oxygen out of the water and can crash your whole tank if your ph gets to low. If you do notice it dropping don't start adding buffers to get it up, the worst thing you can do is start adding chemicals. Just make sure you are aerating your water, maybe use an air pump and cross your fingers. Maybe its time to get a measuring cup and manually dose that vodka ;)

[liz62]

Darryl,
Do you think a water change would help?
Liz

[Reefobsession]

Darryl,
Do you think a water change would help?
Liz

Yes it could save your tank. One Time I od 14 ml in my 93 gal tank and the bloom didn't happen until a month later.

[Genetics]

Last time I managed to overdose more and was surprised at the lack of a disaster. I hope it's the same this time....going to work on a 40g water change which will probably be ready tommorrow.

The most opportune time would be to do the water change now before the vodka has time to be assimilated.

[murraycamp]

1. IMO, a couple of large water changes would help (15-25% each) as long as the change water matched the tank water relative to abiotic parameters (alk, salinity, ect.).

2. Since most of the excess bacterial growth will be in the biofilms associated with benthic substrate, I would consider blowing off the rocks and sand with a baster or powerhead to try to shear some of those biofilms and suspend what shears off. I suggest doing this immediately before the water changes.

3. After this passes, your bacteria dynamics may be unbalanced. I would consider dosing a bacterial source for a month or two (unless already part of your methodology) to address this issue. Although there is considerable (and not completely unfounded) debate as to whether the addition of a bacteria stock is helpful, or even works, in my experience it helps. I use Prodibio Biodigest on my non-zeo tanks, but there are other products out there.

HTH

[Allmost]

water change, keep blowing off rocks and cleaning glass before changing water and HEAVY WET skimming,

also I would add a couple more air stones to the tank, or a MJ power head with a air line connected to it to blow air into the system for more surface agetation.
ure PH drop, (oxygen drop) and the mulm covering your corals are the worse that can happen I think,.

[mike_cmu04]

Wow your fish are going to be really drunk!!!!

[murraycamp]

and HEAVY WET skimming.

Good point. You might consider borrowing a second skimmer if you can install it to increase your skimmate production and 02 levels.

[cabrego]

Good luck!

[dvanacker]

The most opportune time would be to do the water change now before the vodka has time to be assimilated.

I agree. I wish I had the water change water handy but I have to make it up which will take a day.

Wow your fish are going to be really drunk!!!!

So far the lights have come on this morning and everything looks %100 the same minus a slight vodka smell. I remember this smell from last time as it was stronger....so hopefully the effects will be less this time. Last time the effects were relatively minimal and I expected more.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I agree that the biggest help will be aeration because I think the biggest problem is low O2.

I'm not convinced water changes will be worth the effort and risks that such rushed changes bring along. Not long after the addition, I think most of the vodka will be mostly gone anyway and a water change won't help subsequent issues, IMO.

[dvanacker]

Hmm.... I can't see a water change hurting the situation. It will just be my regular 40g. I can still smell that hint of vodka so I would assume bacteria have not had a chance to convert it all yet. As far as aeration, my tank has lots of flow and a large skimmer, being an sps tank. Still no bloom or any noticable change to the tank when I left at noon.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I suspect it is not ethanol you are smelling, but I suppose it might be. In general, I think the smell of almost any liquor is dominated by molecules other than ethanol. Vodka and pure ethanol do not smell the same, IIRC. That said, it is certainly possible there is still ethanol in the system if the dose was enough above what you normally dosed so that that the bacteria can't handle it rapidly. I've dosed 40+ mL in a day to my system for extended periods, but not as much as you've dosed this time.

If it is a regular type of change you do anyway, I agree it won't hurt and might possibly help.

OTOH, some folks have caused more problems than they've helped in other scenarios when they rushed and did a huge water change (IMO).

As far as aeration, my tank has lots of flow and a large skimmer, being an sps tank.

In a big ethanol consumption scenario, that won't necessarily ensure oxygen saturation, IMO.

You might also monitor pH, as the CO2 produced from metoibized ethanol will drop pH.

[Allmost]

Randy, wouldnt ethanol have evaporated by now ?

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Some will leave into the air, especially by the skimmer, but it is so diluted in the tank water that it may hang around longer than you'd expect relative to pouring the same amount out on the floor.

[KafudaFish]

1. Sorry.
2. good luck.
3. A few months ago I had just mixed up 250 ml of vodka, vinegar and sugar and was in the process of dosing. I heard a loud thud and a scream from my son’s room so I set the bottle down and ran in to see the damage. He was ok but when I came back I found the bottle in the sump. I figured good bye it has been nice. I have a low fish load, pair of clams and some softies no SPS so I really did not expect much. About 2 days later my skimmer started skimming heavy and I had to empty the cup, I-tech 100, twice a day and it was the type of skimmate everyone wants: thick like motor oil and the whole house smelled. My wife thought one of the dogs had DIED in the house. Everyday for a month I did this waiting butI did not loose anything so there is hope. Funny thing is, my hair algae completely died away and my rock has been clean ever since.
4. good luck.

[dvanacker]

I suspect it is not ethanol you are smelling, but I suppose it might be. In general, I think the smell of almost any liquor is dominated by molecules other than ethanol. Vodka and pure ethanol do not smell the same, IIRC. That said, it is certainly possible there is still ethanol in the system if the dose was enough above what you normally dosed so that that the bacteria can't handle it rapidly. I've dosed 40+ mL in a day to my system for extended periods, but not as much as you've dosed this time.

If it is a regular type of change you do anyway, I agree it won't hurt and might possibly help.

OTOH, some folks have caused more problems than they've helped in other scenarios when they rushed and did a huge water change (IMO).

As far as aeration, my tank has lots of flow and a large skimmer, being an sps tank.

In a big ethanol consumption scenario, that won't necessarily ensure oxygen saturation, IMO.

You might also monitor pH, as the CO2 produced from metoibized ethanol will drop pH.

Thanks for the tips Randy. I have no way to monitor pH as it's not something I usually test.

As for the smell it is the same smell that reminded me that I didnt turn off the timer. I smelled what I describe as a vodka smell after the dosing pump was on for 1.5hrs and then I clued in. That smell stuck around for 2 days last time and my tank only went slightly cloudy on the 2nd or 3rd day as well.

This time it seems the smell is not quite as strong so I have my fingers crossed. I will let you guys know if things take a turn for the worse though.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Sounds good

Good luck!

:)