Sugar equivalent to vodka

[jda]

I have had good success with vodka in my FOWLR. I would just as soon use sugar, but I have no idea how much to use and could not find anything in a search.

Does anybody know how much regular table sugar would be equivalent to 1ML of 80 proof vodka?

Thanks.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

One liter of 80 proof vodka contains about 400 grams of ethanol.

While sugar may not be equivalent in terms of what species of bacteria it drives, it is equivalent on a carbon content basis to about 400 grams of sugar.

A teaspoon of sugar probably weighs on the order of 5 g.

[boxfishpooalot]

Just to let you know, dosing sugar in a tank can skew the nitrates very high very fast. I did it in a bb tank. A raise of 40ppm in one day!

I sugest try the sugar in a cup of tank water first. Then see the next day what you are going to expect without proper denitrification. The bacteria rapidly use the sugar in the cup and create a fog. Also the nitrates will rise even though the tank water looks "clean".

Also, for some reason hair algae seemed to grow faster with sugar addtion.

I will never use sugar again.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I can't think of a reason that a small sugar dose would raise nitrate. I wonder if the sugar can interfere with the nitrate test kit You might ask Habib. :(

[boxfishpooalot]

would not more food mean more bacteria? If more bacteria are present in the wrong kinds, or ineffecient areas to support denitrification occur nitrate levels would rise. Considering its a bare bottom tank without sand.

I was using a teaspoon a day 125gal. It does seem that that amount would cause a interference of nitrate. Perhaps sugar caused a nitrate test interference in those amounts. But how to find out?

[jda]

The ethanol that I have been adding has been OK so far. I have been SLOWLY increasing my dosage over 6 or 8 weeks. Right now, they N levels have dropped significantly.

I think that they hard part will be knowing when to cut back, and by how much, to find the "sweet spot" where I leave some N and P in the tank, but not too much.

BTW - this is on a FO for me, so I have a minimal risk to coral. My reef is fine, but the FO had about 12N and about .03P. The coral that I put in there for a litmus (some softies and a few ORA frags since everybody know what they are and could relate) are doing better in the last few weeks and have encrusted more and spread.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

would not more food mean more bacteria? If more bacteria are present in the wrong kinds, or ineffecient areas to support denitrification occur nitrate levels would rise. Considering its a bare bottom tank without sand.


Growing bacteria/increasing populations consume nitrate or other nitrogen sources.

But how to find out?

Habib will likely know. My concern is the the test may involve redox reactions, in which sugar may participate.

I think that they hard part will be knowing when to cut back, and by how much, to find the "sweet spot" where I leave some N and P in the tank, but not too much.

Yes, that is a concern for a reef, but maybe not a FO (unless you can starve the nitrogen filter somehow).