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Unread 11/02/2014, 06:06 AM   #1
uwiik
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95% ethanol for carbon dosing

Is it OK to use 95% ethanol for carbon dosing? I used to dose vodka and it's getting too expensive with my massive system, experimented with diluted glacial acetic acid and the ph swing scared the hell out of me.


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Unread 11/02/2014, 07:26 AM   #2
ridetheducati
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How expensive is vodka in Indonesia? In the U.S., 2 liters (half gallon) is $8-$12.


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Unread 11/02/2014, 07:37 AM   #3
Randy Holmes-Farley
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If it is 95% ethanol and 5% water, that is fine.


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Unread 11/02/2014, 09:09 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ridetheducati View Post
How expensive is vodka in Indonesia? In the U.S., 2 liters (half gallon) is $8-$12.
Don't get a heart attack.....


$27/750ml Smirnoff


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Unread 11/02/2014, 09:11 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Randy Holmes-Farley View Post
If it is 95% ethanol and 5% water, that is fine.
Thanks a lot!! Assuming we are dosing 0.6ml/100lt with 40% vodka we can just recalculate it for using 95% ethanol? As I remember majority of vodka doser ends up with 0.4 - 0.6 ml / 100lt? Please correct me if I am wrong?


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Unread 11/02/2014, 04:06 PM   #6
bertoni
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To compute the dose for 95% ethanol, take the numbers for 80 proof (40%) vodka, and just multiply by 0.40/0.95, or about 40%.


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Unread 11/02/2014, 05:47 PM   #7
shermanator
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If it's not meant for drinking, it's denatured (to avoid taxes encountered with drinking). There are two common ways it's denatured: with methanol/isopropanol or with benzene. You don't want to add benzene to your tank (methanol and isopropanol are fine).


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Unread 11/03/2014, 06:21 AM   #8
Randy Holmes-Farley
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Quote:
Originally Posted by shermanator View Post
If it's not meant for drinking, it's denatured (to avoid taxes encountered with drinking). There are two common ways it's denatured: with methanol/isopropanol or with benzene. You don't want to add benzene to your tank (methanol and isopropanol are fine).
I would agree to not use it if it contained benzene. There are also other denaturants I'd avoid. I think some even use diesel fuel.


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Last edited by Randy Holmes-Farley; 11/03/2014 at 07:09 AM.
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Unread 11/03/2014, 06:52 AM   #9
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Quote:
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I would agree to not use it it it contained benzene. There are also other denaturants I'd avoid. I think some even use diesel fuel.
My stuff from Home Depot (KleanStrip, I think is the brand) uses MIBK - methyl isobutyl ketone - as the denaturant. Cutting it with water causes the MIBK to separate and I put it in a sep funnel to sit for a couple weeks. Came out very nicely. Probably didn't get it all but I wouldn't expect a trace to be terribly toxic.

Still, I won't be using it again - I found out one of our solvents here at work is 2-3% methanol, 2-3% IPA, 94-96% ethanol per my own GPC analysis and we get it in 500 gallon totes :P I was told I could take a quart or two any time I wanted to.


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Unread 11/03/2014, 07:37 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by uwiik View Post
Don't get a heart attack.....


$27/750ml Smirnoff
Smirnoff isn't quite top shelf stuff, but don't they have any lower shelves? I mean, Smirnoff is usually about chest to shoulder high.


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Unread 11/03/2014, 07:57 AM   #11
uwiik
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Quote:
Originally Posted by shermanator View Post
If it's not meant for drinking, it's denatured (to avoid taxes encountered with drinking). There are two common ways it's denatured: with methanol/isopropanol or with benzene. You don't want to add benzene to your tank (methanol and isopropanol are fine).
Can I use methanol? Methanol is really really really really cheap here...there is a huge factory producing methanol in my hometown...please explain the dosage also...thanks


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Unread 11/03/2014, 10:00 AM   #12
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Can I use methanol? Methanol is really really really really cheap here...there is a huge factory producing methanol in my hometown...please explain the dosage also...thanks
Methanol is commonly used off-line to denitrate water (such as the NatuReef system) and while less commonly used in a reef, it's reef-safe. It is more toxic (including human toxicity) than ethanol, but at the levels you will be using carbon dosing, it's safe.

For dosing, if you want to be very close, dose methanol at 70% the volume of ethanol you currently dose -- assuming both are at the same volume % (100%, 40%, etc). (They have essentially the same density, but their MWs are different).


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Unread 11/03/2014, 12:52 PM   #13
Randy Holmes-Farley
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I'd consider it experimental to use methanol in a setting where everything is exposed to it, and acetate (vinegar) is a much more common part of the natural cycle of organic compounds in marine systems.

But it may work fine.


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Unread 11/04/2014, 06:02 AM   #14
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this is something new that you may want to read up on>>>> http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2445755


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Unread 04/19/2019, 02:04 AM   #15
Aliasger789
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Hi,
Can i use 70% ethanol ( medical graded)?


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Unread 04/19/2019, 02:38 PM   #16
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That'll be fine as long as it's ethanol and water.


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Unread 04/20/2019, 06:15 AM   #17
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It’s most likely denatured with a chemical compound such as benzene. If it states it is denatured I would just avoid it.


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