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Unread 07/04/2020, 01:52 PM   #1
fishkeeprian
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Dosing Nitrates help?

Hello,

What is the go to product to dose nitrates?

I want to dose nitrates through my doser, my current reading is zero and I want them at around 5ppm.

So my questions are;

1) what product to use?
2) if mixing is required, what ratio etc?
3) how much to dose how often?

Thanks


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Unread 07/04/2020, 04:42 PM   #2
iridude
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Here is a good article for you:

https://reefbum.com/sps/dosing-nitra...ps-coloration/


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Unread 07/04/2020, 06:13 PM   #3
bertoni
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I found some food grade sodium nitrate on Amazon, at one point. Even a reagent grade should be fine, though. You could consider dosing amino acids, as well. A formula for sodium nitrate:
Quote:
Add about 0.52 grams of sodium nitrate per 100 gallons of water to raise the nitrate level by 1.0 ppm. That's about 1 tsp per 500-1000 gallons, very roughly. For potassium nitrate, use about .62 gram per 100 g.
Do you have a scale?


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Unread 07/04/2020, 08:45 PM   #4
ThePurple12
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I use Spectracide stump remover
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Spectrac...+stump%7D%3Aqu

And here's the dosing calculator, pretty handy
http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/calculator.htm


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Unread 07/05/2020, 01:24 AM   #5
fishkeeprian
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bertoni View Post
I found some food grade sodium nitrate on Amazon, at one point. Even a reagent grade should be fine, though. You could consider dosing amino acids, as well. A formula for sodium nitrate:

Do you have a scale?
Scales for weighing? Then yes.

My tank is approx 200 Litres.

I would like to make up a solution of potassium nitrate, and feed through my doser.

How to make up a solution and how much to dose daily to bring up my nitrates?

Thanks


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Last edited by fishkeeprian; 07/05/2020 at 01:46 AM.
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Unread 07/05/2020, 04:03 AM   #6
fishkeeprian
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Is this potassium nitrate ok?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7a2lua21vy..._0702.PNG?dl=0


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Unread 07/05/2020, 05:42 PM   #7
bertoni
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That product should be fine. It should take about 0.31 grams to raise the nitrate level by 1 ppm. I'd probably dose by hand a few days to get some idea of the amount of nitrate the tank is going to consume. You could try a solution of 5 grams in 100 ml of water, or so. A dose of about 6 ml would be 1 ppm. I might try half that, to make sure I've done the math properly:

(.31 g / 5 g) * 100 ml = 6.2 ml

What's the slowest the doser will go?


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Unread 07/06/2020, 01:25 AM   #8
fishkeeprian
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bertoni View Post
That product should be fine. It should take about 0.31 grams to raise the nitrate level by 1 ppm. I'd probably dose by hand a few days to get some idea of the amount of nitrate the tank is going to consume. You could try a solution of 5 grams in 100 ml of water, or so. A dose of about 6 ml would be 1 ppm. I might try half that, to make sure I've done the math properly:

(.31 g / 5 g) * 100 ml = 6.2 ml

What's the slowest the doser will go?

Hi my doser will dose 0.3ml, I can also do one off manual doses if required.

Is that a 100ml of RO water or tank water?

Is it dosed daily or weekly?


Thank you for your help.


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Unread 07/06/2020, 01:36 AM   #9
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That's 100 ml of RO water. I think the potassium nitrate all should dissolve, but let me know if you see a significant amount of undissolved solids.

As far as the dosing rate, I don't have a good way to predict how much nitrate your tank will consume in a day. Some tanks will consume that much per day. I would try dosing and testing by hand for a while.


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Unread 07/08/2020, 03:19 AM   #10
fishkeeprian
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bertoni View Post
That's 100 ml of RO water. I think the potassium nitrate all should dissolve, but let me know if you see a significant amount of undissolved solids.

As far as the dosing rate, I don't have a good way to predict how much nitrate your tank will consume in a day. Some tanks will consume that much per day. I would try dosing and testing by hand for a while.
After dosing how long should I wait before testing?


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Unread 07/08/2020, 07:10 PM   #11
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I would test very shortly after dosing a few times, to make sure that the nitrate is hitting the expected level. A wait of a minute or two likely is enough unless the tank has a large refugium or the like. I'd probably test again just before the next dose, probably daily for a few days, much like alkalinity testing, to see what's happening.

After getting to the dose you'd like, you should be able to back off a lot, maybe once a month or less.


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Unread 07/09/2020, 02:45 PM   #12
fishkeeprian
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bertoni View Post
I would test very shortly after dosing a few times, to make sure that the nitrate is hitting the expected level. A wait of a minute or two likely is enough unless the tank has a large refugium or the like. I'd probably test again just before the next dose, probably daily for a few days, much like alkalinity testing, to see what's happening.

After getting to the dose you'd like, you should be able to back off a lot, maybe once a month or less.
I’ve done my first dose this evening. Should I wait and test tomorrow at same time?

If I don’t get a reading do I double up my next dose?


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Unread 07/09/2020, 03:14 PM   #13
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What filtration types are you using?
Skimmer, Algae Scrubber, fuge?
Maybe your export systems are too efficient?

How can you get zero nitrates?
I would have expected trace results even in the best of cases.


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Unread 07/09/2020, 04:58 PM   #14
fishkeeprian
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle99 View Post
What filtration types are you using?
Skimmer, Algae Scrubber, fuge?
Maybe your export systems are too efficient?

How can you get zero nitrates?
I would have expected trace results even in the best of cases.
Skimmer yes, fugue yes, I don’t get a nitrate reading and my icp test also stated nitrates undectable.


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Unread 07/09/2020, 05:04 PM   #15
fishkeeprian
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I no longer run a light on my fugue to slow any growth. I don’t want to take my skimmer off line as is serves as an oxygenator aswell.


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Unread 07/09/2020, 06:36 PM   #16
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Great answers.
I now see where your going with you the dose.
Thank you


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Unread 07/09/2020, 10:05 PM   #17
bertoni
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If you don't get a reading tomorrow, you could increase the dose (maybe double it) and then measure after a couple of minutes, to see whether the supplement is working as intended.


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Unread 07/10/2020, 08:27 AM   #18
fishkeeprian
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bertoni View Post
If you don't get a reading tomorrow, you could increase the dose (maybe double it) and then measure after a couple of minutes, to see whether the supplement is working as intended.
Just tested for nitrates and it’s at 5ppm, wasn’t expecting 5ppm, thought I only dosed enough for 1ppm. I tested before dosing and I wasn’t getting a reading.

I dosed 5g in 100ml of RO = 1ppm, was that correct? or have I missed something?

Thanks


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Unread 07/10/2020, 10:27 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fishkeeprian View Post
I no longer run a light on my fugue to slow any growth. I don’t want to take my skimmer off line as is serves as an oxygenator aswell.
I know you don’t want to take your skimmer off line, but would that not be a safer and more efficient method to pull a trace reading of nitrate?

You must have other flow makers for gas exchange.

A simple $5 buck timer Turing power of once a day say for two hours.

Sorry, I am always fearful of dosing anything but 2-part, the uptake would be different in every tank.


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Unread 07/10/2020, 05:44 PM   #20
bertoni
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fishkeeprian View Post
I dosed 5g in 100ml of RO = 1ppm, was that correct? or have I missed something?
You dosed all 100 ml? I was suggesting a dose of 6 ml or so. I wouldn't worry much, though, nitrate is actually quite safe to dose.


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Unread 07/11/2020, 12:31 PM   #21
fishkeeprian
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bertoni View Post
You dosed all 100 ml? I was suggesting a dose of 6 ml or so. I wouldn't worry much, though, nitrate is actually quite safe to dose.
Nitrates seem stable so far at 5ppm, which is where I want them which is great.


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