Dosing Phosphate and Nitrate in ATO Water

[love2surf927]

Not sure if this is the ideal spot to put this, if not please move.

I’ve been battling dinoflagellates for several months now and am finally starting to turn a corner thanks to regular dosing of Nitrate and Phosphate and removing my slimmer. Anyway, my questions is, I’m going out of town for 9 days and I want to dose the N and P into my ATO reservoir. I’m confused as to how I go about this. Should I just dose the reservoir as if it was my tank? So for instance my reservoir is 14 gallons, should I just dose the N and P to bring the reservoir to the same parameters of the display? It seems like I may be missing something. Do I have to calculate how much my ATO is actually refilling in a day? Any help is much appreciated, thanks in advance!

 

[P-Dub]

Not sure if this is the ideal spot to put this, if not please move.

I’ve been battling dinoflagellates for several months now and am finally starting to turn a corner thanks to regular dosing of Nitrate and Phosphate and removing my slimmer. Anyway, my questions is, I’m going out of town for 9 days and I want to dose the N and P into my ATO reservoir. I’m confused as to how I go about this. Should I just dose the reservoir as if it was my tank? So for instance my reservoir is 14 gallons, should I just dose the N and P to bring the reservoir to the same parameters of the display? It seems like I may be missing something. Do I have to calculate how much my ATO is actually refilling in a day? Any help is much appreciated, thanks in advance!

You would dose it just the same as any other additive such as calcium or kalk. Calculate your need and your evaporation rate and dose accordingly.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Not sure if this is the ideal spot to put this, if not please move.

It is.

I’ve been battling dinoflagellates for several months now and am finally starting to turn a corner thanks to regular dosing of Nitrate and Phosphate and removing my slimmer. Anyway, my questions is, I’m going out of town for 9 days and I want to dose the N and P into my ATO reservoir. I’m confused as to how I go about this. Should I just dose the reservoir as if it was my tank? So for instance my reservoir is 14 gallons, should I just dose the N and P to bring the reservoir to the same parameters of the display? It seems like I may be missing something. Do I have to calculate how much my ATO is actually refilling in a day? Any help is much appreciated, thanks in advance!

No. You need to figure out about how much water you add each day by the ATO, then put the amount of N and P that you dose to the tank each day into that volume portion of the ATO reservoir.

Alternatively, and perhaps easier math, you can estimate how long the ATO reservoir lasts, then put that number of days of doses into the reservoir.

 

[love2surf927]

Thank you both for your replies. That makes a lot more sense.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

You're welcome.

Good luck!

 

[Joe G]

Sorry if this is a silly question, but are u actually dosing for phosphates and nitrates ?

 

[love2surf927]

Sorry if this is a silly question, but are u actually dosing for phosphates and nitrates ?

Yes I am. I have been battling dinoflagellates for months now. They started to take over due to phosphates and nitrates bottoming out. My tank has very little bio load at this point and my nutrient reduction methods were way overdone. I’ve been trying to get nutrients back up and I am finally seeing a lot of positive changes and dinoflagellates have become very minimal.

 

[Joe G]

Yes I am. I have been battling dinoflagellates for months now. They started to take over due to phosphates and nitrates bottoming out. My tank has very little bio load at this point and my nutrient reduction methods were way overdone. I’ve been trying to get nutrients back up and I am finally seeing a lot of positive changes and dinoflagellates have become very minimal.

Sorry let me re phrase that.
What are u dosing nitrates and phosphates with?

 

[love2surf927]

Sorry let me re phrase that.
What are u dosing nitrates and phosphates with?

I’m using Seachem Flourish for phosphate and Spectracide stump remover for Nitrate.

 

[ZaneTer]

You can go a much cheaper route by ordering trisodium phosphate and sodium/potassium nitrate from amazon.

 

[love2surf927]

You can go a much cheaper route by ordering trisodium phosphate and sodium/potassium nitrate from amazon.

Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind for the future if necessary, I’m using very little of it really, small tank and I’m not dosing very much.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I recommend food grade sodium or potassium nitrate and phosphate salts. They are readily available from amazon and other places,a nd have a degree of purity not available from spectracide or from some hobby brands.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Example:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/222604...MI0N-FnbvJ3AIVBNbACh3icA-uEAYYAiABEgI-C_D_BwE

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind for the future if necessary, I’m using very little of it really, small tank and I’m not dosing very much.

If you are dosing phosphate and nitrate, I believe it is necessary to use aquarium or food-grade materials. Some people have used Spectracide with good results, but others have experienced problems after dosing it. Chunks of dead wood are not very sensitive to elemental impurities. Marine ornamental fish and corals, on the other hand, are.

 

[CMO]

Example:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/222604...MI0N-FnbvJ3AIVBNbACh3icA-uEAYYAiABEgI-C_D_BwE

@Randy Holmes-Farley I'm looking to set my nitrate dosing up on a doser. Currently using NeoNitro which say to shake well before use on the label. Contacted Brightwell and they said it should be fine to dose without shaking but to watch for crystallization. Does something like the powder you recommend here need stirred before dosing or is it stable once mixed? Also, any idea what exactly Brightwell means by watching for crystallization when not shaking? Thanks

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

There never any need for shaking after initial mixing using sodium or potassium nitrate. They are very soluble.