Bringing Nitrates UP!!

[E_Aquatics]

I need help/suggestions on how to raise nitrate levels in my tank. Nitrate levels in my tank are currently at 0 (salifert). Phosphate is fairly low too, .01 (hanna URL).

I would like to bring the nitrates up to around 10-15. Im not really doing anything specific to bring them up. I just feed LRS frozen food every day. I also feed NLS Pellets 6 times a day via my apex automatic feeder, the feedings are very small though, about 15 pellets each time. In total I have 25 fish with 10 of those being tangs (Naso, Yellow, Purple, Sailfin, Bristletooth, Orange Shoulder, Chevron)

Total water volume is a little over 400 gallons. Only method of nutrient export is my Regal 300int skimmer and 40g refugium filled with chaetomorpha. I was doing weekly water changes but stopped about two months ago and switch to once a month.

I also dose acropower once a week (100ml).

Reason why I want to raise nitrates is because I want to see if I can get better color out of my SPS.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

the choice is chemical or biological.
feed more and you could turn off the skimmer.

 

[CJBuckeyes]

You can just dose more acropower. Or even more directly, you can buy some sodium nitrate to dose. I bought some at sciencecompany<dot>com for $9.

 

[E_Aquatics]

You can just dose more acropower. Or even more directly, you can buy some sodium nitrate to dose. I bought some at sciencecompany<dot>com for $9.

How do you dose sodium nitrate?

 

[E_Aquatics]

the choice is chemical or biological.
feed more and you could turn off the skimmer.

Skimmer will most likely stay on 24/7, mainly for stability. Not sure how accurate this might be but I'm thinking that while skimmer is off nitrate levels with raise and then once the skimmer is on they will go down again.

 

[tcoyle]

go to home depot and buy stump remover. 10 grams per gallon of rodi, I think is the ratio. Check the forum where Randy gives the exact amount. It works really well.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

understood. Im selling corals this weekend that got too big for my tank when the skimmer slowed WAY down while I was away for a month. a 3in Green stylo is now 6 in across.
or you can put stump remover in your tank.

 

[dbl]

Eric...read through this thread, if you haven't already. It explains the use of Stump remover. You may gain some information from it to help.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/potassium-nitrate-spectracide-stump-remover-dosing-steps.215730/

And by the way, if the folks posting here haven't seen Eric's tank, take a look at his build thread. You will not be disappointed.

 

[E_Aquatics]

Eric...read through this thread, if you haven't already. It explains the use of Stump remover. You may gain some information from it to help.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/potassium-nitrate-spectracide-stump-remover-dosing-steps.215730/

And by the way, if the folks posting here haven't seen Eric's tank, take a look at his build thread. You will not be disappointed.

Thank you for the link David! I will do some reading tonight.

 

[Vaughn17]

Dose sodium nitrate not the potassium nitrate. You can buy the food grade on Amazon. The stump remover is not food grade and all sorts of funky looking bacteria grew in the batches that I mixed up and stored, which hasn't been the case with the sodium nitrate. Also, after a few months, my potassium levels rose too high (460 ppm). FYI, After you start dosing NO3, you will need to increase your phosphates to keep corals happen. SPS, in particular, really chow down the nutrients.

 

[E_Aquatics]

Dose sodium nitrate not the potassium nitrate. You can buy the food grade on Amazon. The stump remover is not food grade and all sorts of funky looking bacteria grew in the batches that I mixed up and stored, which hasn't been the case with the sodium nitrate. Also, after a few months, my potassium levels rose too high (460 ppm). FYI, After you start dosing NO3, you will need to increase your phosphates to keep corals happen. SPS, in particular, really chow down the nutrients.

How are you increasing phosphates? Heavy feeding? My tank is 99% SPS

 

[E_Aquatics]

go to home depot and buy stump remover. 10 grams per gallon of rodi, I think is the ratio. Check the forum where Randy gives the exact amount. It works really well.

@Randy Holmes-Farley do you mind verifying if this is the correct ratio?

 

[Vaughn17]

I have two sps dominent tanks, no skimmer on either. Both have numerous sps colonies. In the 40 g breeder, I have six fish including 2 anthias, so I feed it about four or five times a day with ocean plankton (mysis sized) and roe. Seems to provide sufficient PO4, but I have to dose NO3 twice daily. Two or three times per week, I also spot feed the lps and add some Reef Roids for the sps. My other sps tank, is 38 g. I had a fish fight a few weeks ago and lost two of the three fish. A few days later, two colonies, a new maricultured millie and a tort I've had for 3 years started to stn. An elegance and two lord micromussa colonies had that puckered look that says not enough nutrients (phosphate testing revealed zer0 PO4). Tank is dosed No3 twice daily, btw. I'm going to add more fish but, in the meantime, to keep the phosphates up I started dosing phosphates with a Seachem product called Activate. It's primarily potassium phosphate, from what I could ascertain from the label. Been dosing a week now and most of the corals seem to love it. Both stn-ing corals stopped and are regrowing. Only been a week, so it's hard to say for certain, but I think the growth is going to be crazy. I will post some pics in a minute.

 

[Vaughn17]

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

@Randy Holmes-Farley do you mind verifying if this is the correct ratio?

Almost any ratio works. Then you dose based on the concentration of the stock solution.

Here's a copy and paste of directions I gave for someone else:

Potassium nitrate is about 61% nitrate by weight.

Dissolve 100 grams in 1 L of fresh water.

That stock solution will contain 61 grams (61,000 mg) of nitrate, or 61 mg/mL.

Your tank volume is 520 gallons or 1968 liters.

Consequently, adding 50 mL of stock solution to your tank will boost nitrate by 50 mL x 61 mg/mL / 1968 L = 1.55 ppm.

 

[E_Aquatics]

Almost any ratio works. Then you dose based on the concentration of the stock solution.

Here's a copy and paste of directions I gave for someone else:

Potassium nitrate is about 61% nitrate by weight.

Dissolve 100 grams in 1 L of fresh water.

That stock solution will contain 61 grams (61,000 mg) of nitrate, or 61 mg/mL.

Your tank volume is 520 gallons or 1968 liters.

Consequently, adding 50 mL of stock solution to your tank will boost nitrate by 50 mL x 61 mg/mL / 1968 L = 1.55 ppm.

Thank you Randy!

 

[E_Aquatics]

I have two sps dominent tanks, no skimmer on either. Both have numerous sps colonies. In the 40 g breeder, I have six fish including 2 anthias, so I feed it about four or five times a day with ocean plankton (mysis sized) and roe. Seems to provide sufficient PO4, but I have to dose NO3 twice daily. Two or three times per week, I also spot feed the lps and add some Reef Roids for the sps. My other sps tank, is 38 g. I had a fish fight a few weeks ago and lost two of the three fish. A few days later, two colonies, a new maricultured millie and a tort I've had for 3 years started to stn. An elegance and two lord micromussa colonies had that puckered look that says not enough nutrients (phosphate testing revealed zer0 PO4). Tank is dosed No3 twice daily, btw. I'm going to add more fish but, in the meantime, to keep the phosphates up I started dosing phosphates with a Seachem product called Activate. It's primarily potassium phosphate, from what I could ascertain from the label. Been dosing a week now and most of the corals seem to love it. Both stn-ing corals stopped and are regrowing. Only been a week, so it's hard to say for certain, but I think the growth is going to be crazy. I will post some pics in a minute.

Thank you for the explanation! Btw beautiful tank.

 

[E_Aquatics]

Just came back from Lowes, will be giving this a try once I read a little bit more about it tonight.

 

[Lenny_S]

I had very low nutrients in my 160 gal DT. I was dosing nitrate but still wasn't making a significant positive impact (it did help a little). The biggest improvement was adding more fish and I started shutting down my skimmer and GAC 12 hours a day (basically when my lights are on). I think the biggest improvement came from shutting down the skimmer half the day.

 

[Vaughn17]

Thank you for the explanation! Btw beautiful tank.

You're welcome. And thanks!