Need help increasing Nitrates in one tank and phosphates in another

[Dilan Patel]

So I am in need of a chemical which will increase nitrate in my 200gal system reef. The po4 is around .12ppm and I want to raise my no3 from 2.5 to 5ppm. I removed a large fish and have not put more fish in to take its place. I have red stump remover/potassium Nitrate is the way to go but unsure where/which to get. I also saw brightwell has Neonitro but seems to be rather weak for my size tank correct?

Now I need phosphates in my 135 as I have undetectable but 25ppm of nitrate.

Both tanks receive amino acids daily and are fed pellets 4x a day with nori and frozen food couple times a week.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Forget stump remover and its potential for just about anything to be in it.

Use food grade sodium nitrate:

There are many brands. Here's one:

Sodium Nitrate

Magical Ingredients for the Modern Cook

www.modernistpantry.com

loudwolf is another commonly used brand.

Do the same for sodium phosphate (food grade):

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[slojim]

If your water quality is otherwise fine, and you aren't trying to keep some thing from transferring, i d probably do something like a 10 to 20 gallon water swap, especially if I could easily pump between them, maybe weekly or so until you get where you want, and while you wait for your dosing choice to arrive

 

[Dilan Patel]

If your water quality is otherwise fine, and you aren't trying to keep some thing from transferring, i d probably do something like a 10 to 20 gallon water swap, especially if I could easily pump between them, maybe weekly or so until you get where you want, and while you wait for your dosing choice to arrive

My issue is nutrients are too low. if I were to do a waterchange it would lower my nutrients even further.

 

[Dilan Patel]

Forget stump remover and its potential for just about anything to be in it.

Use food grade sodium nitrate:

There are many brands. Here's one:

Sodium Nitrate

Magical Ingredients for the Modern Cook

www.modernistpantry.com

loudwolf is another commonly used brand.

Do the same for sodium phosphate (food grade):

This item is unavailable - Etsy

Find the perfect handmade gift, vintage & on-trend clothes, unique jewelry, and more… lots more.

www.etsy.com

perfect. What would be the stock solution recipe? Considering I would be putting Sodium Nitrate in I would think a reaction would occur that breaks the bond between the two correct? If so what will the sodium bond too and do I need to watch out for anything?

 

[Dilan Patel]

Probably need a scale lol so how about this one?

 

[Dilan Patel]

haha another question. How long will the stock solution stay stable?

 

[slojim]

I wasn't suggesting a water change with fresh. It seemed to me you could blend some water to get the nitrates from tank a into tank b and the phosphate from tank b into tank a . Easier to dose unless you don't have something to dose with.
I do use the stump remover by the way. It was immediately available a few blocks away, and I wasn't sure if I would be doing it long term or just a few times. My goal was largely to get nitrate up so my algae scrubber would keep up with phosphate, and my tank was lightly stocked (pandemic, so it turns out im still lightly stocked, still dosing )

 

[slojim]

I think the solution is stable a long time. There is planted tank calculator you can googl e. I found a water bottle that was convenient and a syringe that was convenient, then ran the calculator until I got the dose i wanted completely customizable . I used 4 tbsp kno3 in a one liter bottle and add 10 to to my 120 gallons about twice a week but may skip depending on weekly testing

 

[Dilan Patel]

I wasn't suggesting a water change with fresh. It seemed to me you could blend some water to get the nitrates from tank a into tank b and the phosphate from tank b into tank a . Easier to dose unless you don't have something to dose with.
I do use the stump remover by the way. It was immediately available a few blocks away, and I wasn't sure if I would be doing it long term or just a few times. My goal was largely to get nitrate up so my algae scrubber would keep up with phosphate, and my tank was lightly stocked (pandemic, so it turns out im still lightly stocked, still dosing )

Gotcha. I would do that but kinda like to keep the cross contamination of the tanks at a minimum lol. Think ima go with sodium nitrate. Just wondering if I can get the pre packaged 50g pack and make enough stock solution.

 

[Dilan Patel]

Update: ended up purchasing 4oz of Loudwolf Sodium Nitrate as well as Sodium Phosphate dibasic. This company seemed to be highly recommended for high quality chemicals. plus free shipping and no tax

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

perfect. What would be the stock solution recipe? Considering I would be putting Sodium Nitrate in I would think a reaction would occur that breaks the bond between the two correct? If so what will the sodium bond too and do I need to watch out for anything?

There is no concern about the sodium. it is already present in seawater at more than 10,000 ppm, and you are adding a drop in the bucket of that.

Use this calculator to get doses. Use the entry for potassium nitrate and phosphate and it will be close enough. The sodium is just a bit more potent since sodium weighs less than potassium. High precision is a waste. A factor of two rough guide is more than adequate for our purposes here.

James' Planted Tank - Dosing Calculator

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

haha another question. How long will the stock solution stay stable?

Individual stock solutions are stable as long as you want. keep them closed and dark to prevent algae growth.

 

[Dilan Patel]

Perfect i actually came upon that calculator yesterday. I figured since the sodium nitrate is a tad bit more potent ima go with 50g for 500ml at 180 gallons should give me roughly 1ppm of nitrate per 10ml added. I could get a more exact number but it is not needed in this case.

 

[Dilan Patel]

Perfect i actually came upon that calculator yesterday. I figured since the sodium nitrate is a tad bit more potent ima go with 50g for 500ml at 180 gallons should give me roughly 1ppm of nitrate per 10ml added. I could get a more exact number but it is not needed in this case.

Ill just use about 18% of 10ml and that should give me about the same amount of ppm increase if i were to use potassium nitrate. Also am I ok with using teaspoon/tablespoon or do i need to get a scale?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Ill just use about 18% of 10ml and that should give me about the same amount of ppm increase if i were to use potassium nitrate. Also am I ok with using teaspoon/tablespoon or do i need to get a scale?

Volume measurement is fine for this purpose. 18%? That's a typo, I presume.IMO, It is wasted math, but the exact ratio is "use 84% as much as the calculator suggests" when using sodium nitrate instead of potassium nitrate..

 

[Dilan Patel]

Volume measurement is fine for this purpose. 18%? That's a typo, I presume.IMO, It is wasted math, but the exact ratio is "use 84% as much as the calculator suggests" when using sodium nitrate instead of potassium nitrate..

Sorry meant to say use 18% less than the suggestion. which we equate to about 82%. But im probably just gunna keep it simple! Thanks

 

[Williamson’s Reef]

I use the loudwolf brand myself. I have even dosed new water for my water change when fighting low nutrients. I still do water changes with low nutrients for all the other benefits.

 

[Dilan Patel]

Got the sodium nitrate in. Made the solution so that I dose 10ml to raise the nitrates 1ppm. I started the dosing at 20ml(10ml at 8am and 10ml at 4pm). My plan is to test it everyday at 9pm and if I do not see any change that day up the dosage by 10ml? is this a decent approach? Should I be splitting up the dosage more or not at all?

 

[Snoopdog]

Can I just ship you some of my nitrates? I have enough to spare.