Ammonia dose equivalent to nitrate dose?

[D.B.Cooper]

I’m toying with the idea of dosing ammonia instead of nitrate.

How much ammonia is equivalent to my present schedule?

I am currently dosing potassium nitrate (sodium nitrate is difficult to get hold of in the UK (note to self: must buy potassium test kit)). My stock solution is 7 tbs to 1 litre of RO. I dose 30ml over a 24hr period which currently holds nitrate at a steady 5ppm in my 180g tank.

Its seems ammonia has also become a little difficult to get but I have found lab grade but is 33.5% solution.

Is there a known calculation for X amount of ammonia will yield X amount of nitrate?

 

[taricha]

17ppm NH3 has the same Nitrogen as 62ppm NO3.

My stock solution is 7 tbs to 1 litre of RO. I dose 30ml over a 24hr period which currently holds nitrate at a steady 5ppm in my 180g tank.

if you posted the mass instead of tablespoons, you'd get an answer, I think.

Also there's the question of whether it's a good idea.

 

[D.B.Cooper]

if you posted the mass instead of tablespoons, you'd get an answer, I think

Thanks Taricha. I don’t have any scales at the moment hence tbs. I think I worked out 24ml of my stock solution (7 tbs potassium nitrate to 1litre RO) would give me 1ppm NO3 in my 180g.

17ppm NH3 has the same Nitrogen as 62ppm NO3.

Wow. That’s more NH3 than I was expecting. Presumably it’s scalable ie 8.5ppm NH3 = 31ppm NO3 or even 1ppm NH3 = 3.65 NO3 ?

 

[brandon429]

Does anyone dose ammonia and/or how would one try?

So, after an interesting discussion on nitrate dosing and looking at my Walt Disney coral and seeing it slightly less colorful than I have seen it in others tanks, I have decided I want to learn about and then try dosing ammonia instead of buying 20 damsels. Nitrate additives I see abound and...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[taricha]

Wow. That’s more NH3 than I was expecting. Presumably it’s scalable ie 8.5ppm NH3 = 31ppm NO3 or even 1ppm NH3 = 3.65 NO3 ?

Right, the ratio holds. Those are all equivalent amounts of Nitrogen.

(edit: but not equivalently toxic or potent. hence the need to think carefully and go slowly when adding N as ammonia. The thread linked above is a good place to work through those Qs.)

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

You will have to work out a way to dose it slowly, not all at once.

It may not be correct to assume that the molar amount of ammonia dosed should match the molar amount of nitrate presently added to maintain the status quo.

Assuming by 7 tbs you mean 7 level tablespoons, then you are dosing 3.4 ppm of nitrate per day.

Thus, the equivalent amount of ammonia (0.93 ppm) is far too much to dose all at once.

 

[D.B.Cooper]

Thank you Brandon. It’s that thread and others that have led me to the possibility of dosing ammonia.

Right, the ratio holds. Those are all equivalent amounts of Nitrogen.

Now all I need to do is work out how much ammonia (33% solution) in X amount of water will give me 3.65 NO3.

Is it demonstrable? Could I put a measured amount of ammonia in a container of water (other than my tank lol),wait and measure? Or is it and as simple as that?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Now all I need to do is work out how much ammonia (33% solution) in X amount of water will give me 3.65 NO3.

See my post directly above yours. It is too much for all at once dosing.

 

[D.B.Cooper]

Assuming by 7 tbs you mean 7 level tablespoons, then you are dosing 3.4 ppm of nitrate per day.

Thank you for pointing this out Randy. It should read tsp (teaspoon). So 7 teaspoons to 1litre RO - 30mls in 180g = 1.13ppm nitrate.

I have the D-D X4 pro doser which allows me to dose upto 24X per day. Malfunctions do worry me. A mistake dosing ammonia is far more detrimental than nitrate would be.

 

[brandon429]

I never knew how fast reef tanks uptake it till that thread, its among my top three seneye loves lol

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Thank you for pointing this out Randy. It should read tsp (teaspoon). So 7 teaspoons to 1litre RO - 30mls in 180g = 1.13ppm nitrate.

I have the D-D X4 pro doser which allows me to dose upto 24X per day. Malfunctions do worry me. A mistake dosing ammonia is far more detrimental than nitrate would be.

OK, that's less but I'd still split it up.

Yes, overdose is a concern.