How fast can I safely raise nitrate?

[Formulator]

I’ve been battling extremely low nitrate and high phosphate for a couple months now. I’ve been dosing brightwell neo nitrate daily at a rate of 0.5 ppm dose per day. The tank consumes a majority of this in a day and in 2 months of dosing, I’ve only been able to reach a steady state of ~1 ppm NO3. My phosphate has come down a bit from 2.5 ppm to 1.0, but that was also helped by a couple cycles of GFO in a fluidized bed reactor.

I’ve come to the conclusion that my rocks and sand are super saturated with phosphate and I need to continue to stay the course with NO3 dosing and probably a couple more cycles of GFO. My tank is old, so I think a realistic goal would be to at least get my PO4 down to a stable 0.5 ppm, but I would like to get my NO3 up to a baseline of about 10 ppm.

Can I dose more than the 0.5 ppm per day maximum suggested on my neo nitro bottle? If so, what is a safe dosing rate?

 

[Reeferbadness]

i add a little more than what brightwell says on their label with no issues (say 10-20%) when needed. Usually my nitrates raise up after a few dosing and then stabilize.
One Question: Do you have a refugium? If so, definitely trim it back some as chaeto and macro algae consume a ton of nitrates

 

[ryanjohn1]

I use the nyos nitrate with it you can go up relatively easily

 

[Formulator]

I use the nyos nitrate with it you can go up relatively easily

I’m not sure the product really matters. They are all just some mixture of nitrate salts. But how much can I increase nitrate per day without shocking anything?

 

[ryanjohn1]

I’m not sure the product really matters. They are all just some mixture of nitrate salts. But how much can I increase nitrate per day without shocking anything?

I’ve gone 4 in a day. But that’s me. Kinda play it a bit loose.

 

[One Reefing Boi]

I’ve gone 4 in a day. But that’s me. Kinda play it a bit loose.

4ppm?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

If nitrate is lower than you want, I see no reason it needs to be raised slowly.

 

[One Reefing Boi]

If nitrate is lower than you want, I see no reason it needs to be raised slowly.

Yeah I am struggling with this right now. 4.5 year old tank and I’ve been having some nutrient issues. Nitrate is being consumed like no one’s business. Not a ton of algae, but I dose 0.5ppm daily and been doing it for 2 weeks now. My reading as of yesterday is 0.3ppm according to my Hannah checker HR

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Yeah I am struggling with this right now. 4.5 year old tank and I’ve been having some nutrient issues. Nitrate is being consumed like no one’s business. Not a ton of algae, but I dose 0.5ppm daily and been doing it for 2 weeks now. My reading as of yesterday is 0.3ppm according to my Hannah checker HR

That’s a low dose. I usually recommend starting with 2 ppm, and then adjust from there.

 

[One Reefing Boi]

That’s a low dose. I usually recommend starting with 2 ppm, and then adjust from there.

Ok thanks, I’ll keep my 0.5ppm dose but do it a few times throughout the day now

 

[ryanjohn1]

Yeah I am struggling with this right now. 4.5 year old tank and I’ve been having some nutrient issues. Nitrate is being consumed like no one’s business. Not a ton of algae, but I dose 0.5ppm daily and been doing it for 2 weeks now. My reading as of yesterday is 0.3ppm according to my Hannah checker HR

Stupid question maybe. But are you waiting the 7 minute wait time. For the test?

 

[EricR]

I’ve gone 4 in a day. But that’s me. Kinda play it a bit loose.

Same -- probably more,,, but I only have soft corals and they never seem to mind.

 

[Formulator]

Stupid question maybe. But are you waiting the 7 minute wait time. For the test?

Oh, I wait much longer than that. My tank is also old (8 years) and it also consumes nitrate like nobody’s business. Phosphate is very high and I’m struggling to get it under control, though have made some progress by dosing nitrate and running some GFO. Still can’t seem to get PO4 any lower than 1.0 ppm for longer than a day and nitrate is stuck around 1-2 ppm even with daily dosing of 0.5 ppm. I’m stepping up to 2 ppm per day dose to see if I can get it to come up more and get the phosphate down.

 

[One Reefing Boi]

Stupid question maybe. But are you waiting the 7 minute wait time. For the test?

Yup - I use the Hannah checker with the built in timer

(Also a very valid question)

 

[Formulator]

Stupid question maybe. But are you waiting the 7 minute wait time. For the test?

I just realized you meant 7 minutes for the test procedure and I thought you meant waiting to test the tank water after dosing. Duh lol. Yes I wait the 7 minutes and the result was also confirmed by a recent ICP-MS test (done for other purposes, but nonetheless adds confidence to my Hannah result)

 

[Lavey29]

Your nitrates levels won't increase until you bring the phosphate level down to return ratio balance. I suggest lanthium chloride which works well for me with no fish or coral issues.

 

[Formulator]

Your nitrates levels won't increase until you bring the phosphate level down to return ratio balance. I suggest lanthium chloride which works well for me with no fish or coral issues.

I have a bottle sitting in my fish room and 5 micron sock arrived in the mail today. I’ve been really afraid to try it due to stories of fish stress/loss. Any advice?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Your nitrates levels won't increase until you bring the phosphate level down to return ratio balance. I suggest lanthium chloride which works well for me with no fish or coral issues.

Why would that be?

 

[Lavey29]

I have a bottle sitting in my fish room and 5 micron sock arrived in the mail today. I’ve been really afraid to try it due to stories of fish stress/loss. Any advice?

You can dose into the sock or your skimmer neck. I just dose half the recommended amount and I split that into 2 doses a day. Works well.

 

[Lavey29]

Why would that be?

Because his tank Feng shui is off which is limiting his calcium carbonate for coral growth. If corals aren't growing then I believe other parameters get out of balance or limited or elevated. You have to keep the Feng shui balance in your tank to succeed. It's holistic science.