Calcium Nitrate

[Jase4224]

Alot of people have reported high amounts of amonia I the calcium nitrate. Some products have a massive amount. I'll purchase some and test and see how I go. I guess it just depends on how much you require to dose

I never heard of that so never tested. I dosed 5ppm and saw no issues. Besides in a mature system I would think that ammonia would be quickly dealt with by the nitrogen cycling bacteria already present in the system.

The way I see it is that the vast majority of ingredients is calcium and nitrate. Only a tiny amount is added to the system to achieve the desired level so impurities must be insignificant. I added less than 20ml to 700L of water to achieve the desired nitrate level so I can’t imagine how insignificant the ammonia added would be. I certainly saw no negative effects. Also the LCA product is for aquarium use. Let me know how you go

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I never heard of that so never tested. I dosed 5ppm and saw no issues. Besides in a mature system I would think that ammonia would be quickly dealt with by the nitrogen cycling bacteria already present in the system.

The way I see it is that the vast majority of ingredients is calcium and nitrate. Only a tiny amount is added to the system to achieve the desired level so impurities must be insignificant. I added less than 20ml to 700L of water to achieve the desired nitrate level so I can’t imagine how insignificant the ammonia added would be. I certainly saw no negative effects. Also the LCA product is for aquarium use. Let me know how you go

Ammonia is actually quite substantial in some types of calcium nitrate. It’s not a trace impurity. One I just looked up on Amazon has 1% ammonia nitrogen and 14.5% nitrate nitrogen. Still, unless you give a big dose all at once, that is probably ok, and may be desirable.

 

[Jase4224]

Ammonia is actually quite substantial in some types of calcium nitrate. It’s not a trace impurity. One I just looked up on Amazon has 1% ammonia nitrogen and 14.5% nitrate nitrogen. Still, unless you give a big dose all at once, that is probably ok, and may be desirable.

Interesting, good to know!
My bottle says the following..

1.43g in 100L yields:
7.5ppm Nitrate
2.42ppm Calcium
0.34 gDH

Does this leave room for impurities such as ammonia? I should have paid attention in chemistry

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Interesting, good to know!
My bottle says the following..

1.43g in 100L yields:
7.5ppm Nitrate
2.42ppm Calcium
0.34 gDH

Does this leave room for impurities such as ammonia? I should have paid attention in chemistry

You cannot get purity from that sort of data. 750 mg of nitrate and 242 mg of calcium (992 mg total) leaves about a half gram unaccounted for (probably mostly water).

 

[epicfatigue]

Interesting, good to know!
My bottle says the following..

1.43g in 100L yields:
7.5ppm Nitrate
2.42ppm Calcium
0.34 gDH

Does this leave room for impurities such as ammonia? I should have paid attention in chemistry

You can add some drops to a fresh salt mix and measure the amonia and nitrate to work it out

 

[gbroadbridge]

Ammonia is actually quite substantial in some types of calcium nitrate. It’s not a trace impurity. One I just looked up on Amazon has 1% ammonia nitrogen and 14.5% nitrate nitrogen. Still, unless you give a big dose all at once, that is probably ok, and may be desirable.

I recently purchased some calcium nitrate from ebay, sold for aquarium use.

I created a solution of 25g in 100ml water which roughly should result in 1ppm nitrate in 100l tank with a 1ml dose.

I then added 1ml to 50l of tank water and tested the ammonia level.
The result with a salifert test kit was 0.5ppm Total Ammonia for an increase of 2ppm NO3 which is a lot higher than I expected.

With a pH of 8.2 and a temp of 26 C that results in Free (Toxic) Ammonia of 0.044ppm.
So I probably wouldn't want to increase Nitrate by more than 2-3 ppm per day with that product.

If my numbers are wrong let me know

 

[Jase4224]

I recently purchased some calcium nitrate from ebay, sold for aquarium use.

I created a solution of 25g in 100ml water which roughly should result in 1ppm nitrate in 100l tank with a 1ml dose.

I then added 1ml to 50l of tank water and tested the ammonia level.
The result with a salifert test kit was 0.5ppm Total Ammonia for an increase of 2ppm NO3 which is a lot higher than I expected.

With a pH of 8.2 and a temp of 26 C that results in Free (Toxic) Ammonia of 0.044ppm.
So I probably wouldn't want to increase Nitrate by more than 2-3 ppm per day with that product.

If my numbers are wrong let me know

So if it was dosed slowly throughout the day I would assume the nitrogen cycle would take care of that pretty efficiently?

 

[gbroadbridge]

So if it was dosed slowly throughout the day I would assume the nitrogen cycle would take care of that pretty efficiently?

If my numbers are correct, I'm pretty sure in a tank well stocked with Coral, the Coral will get to the Ammonia before the bacteria.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

"I created a solution of 25g in 100ml water which roughly should result in 1ppm nitrate in 100l tank with a 1ml dose."

I think that is off by close to a factor of 2.

Calcium nitrate is 75.6% nitrate by weight.

25 grams contains 18.9 grams of nitrate

25 g in 100 mL gives 18,900 mg nitrate/100 mL = 189 mg/mL

If you add one ml to 100 L, you get a 1.89 mg/L boost.

Thus, the ammonia boost is a bit over half what you calculated.

Too much, IMO, for once a day dosing of more than 1-2 ppm nitrate,

Spread out through the day (not usually necessary for nitrate dosing, IMO), then yes, it is likely Ok at 2 ppm nitrate dosed.

 

[gbroadbridge]

"I created a solution of 25g in 100ml water which roughly should result in 1ppm nitrate in 100l tank with a 1ml dose."

I think that is off by close to a factor of 2.

Calcium nitrate is 75.6% nitrate by weight.

25 grams contains 18.9 grams of nitrate

25 g in 100 mL gives 18,900 mg nitrate/100 mL = 189 mg/mL

If you add one ml to 100 L, you get a 1.89 mg/L boost.

Thus, the ammonia boost is a bit over half what you calculated.

Too much, IMO, for once a day dosing of more than 1-2 ppm nitrate,

Spread out through the day (not usually necessary for nitrate dosing, IMO), then yes, it is likely Ok at 2 ppm nitrate dosed.

I'm confused

CaNo3 is approx 100 Ca and 64 N = 164 g/mol

So isn't that 64/164= 39% N by weight?

As you can tell I have spectrum analyzers on my bench, not bunsen burners

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I'm confused

CaNo3 is approx 100 Ca and 64 N = 164 g/mol

So isn't that 64/164= 39% N by weight?

As you can tell I have spectrum analyzers on my bench, not bunsen burners

Calcium nitrate has two nitrates for each calcium. Ca(N03)2. Also, the molecular weight of calcium is only 40 g/mole.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Calcium nitrate has two nitrates for each calcium. Ca(N03)2. Also, the molecular weight of calcium is only 40 g/mole.

Ouch, didn't notice that second pesky nitrate, and somehow goofed on the Ca MW.
A comedy of errors really

Thanks for the advice - I don't really think that's a suitable product for a reef tank - maybe a heavily planted freshwater tank.

Unfortunately Sodium Nitrate is not available here without an EUD as it is classed as a drug precursor and is a restricted product.

Look like I'm stuck with overpriced commercial products. Thanks again.

 

[Rmckoy]

I’ve used calcium nitrate to bring nitrate levels up .
I haven’t tested calcium after dosing but I have noticed the increase in alkalinity

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Ouch, didn't notice that second pesky nitrate, and somehow goofed on the Ca MW.
A comedy of errors really

Thanks for the advice - I don't really think that's a suitable product for a reef tank - maybe a heavily planted freshwater tank.

Unfortunately Sodium Nitrate is not available here without an EUD as it is classed as a drug precursor and is a restricted product.

Look like I'm stuck with overpriced commercial products. Thanks again.

No problem. Slow dosing may be OK.