Neonitro from Brightwell aquatics, anyone used?

SaracensRugby · Aug 20, 2018

Hi folks,

Anyone have experience using this product to raise nitrates? BRS has it, but I know Randy and others have food grade that you can buy on Amazon, etc. I am debating which route to go.

Thanks in advance!

Aaron-A2 · Aug 20, 2018

I do. It's worked well. I originally took it slow and increased nitrates by .05ppm till I reached my target nitrate.

Dennis McGrath · Aug 20, 2018

I bought some a little over a month ago, and used it sparingly. It' seemed to work just fine.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Aug 20, 2018

I’m sure it works, I just like the assurance that food grade purity supplies. [emoji3]

CMO · Aug 20, 2018

Works well. So far 10ml / day of neonitro is giving me about a 1ppm nitrate reading on my 165g. Took a week or so of dosing at that rate before I saw the initial increase though. Seems to be sustained now with continued dosing at that rate.

BrianReefer · Aug 20, 2018

I went a little more aggressive than these guys

. I just started dosing it 3 days ago on my 120G where I started with 0 Nitrates and .025 Phosphates. The directions for me to raise it from 0 to 2 was 65ml. I dosed 10ml on Sat and still 0 reading. Then I dosed 20ml yesterday and still no reading. Today I dosed 20ml this AM and I finally saw a hint of pink this afternoon - prob .2. Tonight I dosed another 40ml. I also upped my feeding a bunch to get my Phosphates up so I could dose the nitrate without plummeting the Phosphates. My Phosphates were at .046 tonight before I did that bigger nitrate dose, I figured I was high enough to handle a bigger neonitro dose with that phosphate reading. I’ll let you know how it goes, please keep me posted on yours too. Oh, I also turned off my refugium light for a few days so I can eliminate variables, but once I see how the dosing impacts the nitrate and Phosphates I’ll start to dial it in again to keep the latter in check. Open to suggestions too!

BrianReefer · Aug 21, 2018

We have Nitrates!! Think it’s reading about 2.5 on Salifert, which makes sense given the above. Also, Phosphates are at .052, they either aren’t taking a hit from the nitrate, they will and it hasn’t happened yet, or my aggressive feeding and pausing of the refugium is keeping them up. I dosed another 20ml this AM, trying to get it up to ~4 and then keep them there. Thinking I’ll turn on my refugium again tonight for ~3 hours and see where things stand tomorrow morning. Thoughts?

Aaron-A2 · Aug 21, 2018

@SaracensRugby - I just posted an update of using NeoNitro on my build thread. Gives my observations on using it for 2 weeks.

BrianReefer · Aug 21, 2018

Quick update: when I got home tonight Nitrates were around 4, phosphate at .034ppm. I’d like to get the Nitrates a little higher so I dosed another 20 ml, fed a little extra, will see where I am in the AM. Decided to put refugium back online for 2 hours tonight. Corals all look about the same, but at least no negative reaction thus far...

SaracensRugby · Aug 22, 2018

Thanks for all of the information. My bottle of NeoNitro will be coming Friday so will be able to give updates as I go. I am also going to cut down my refugium lighting length, I have that new Kessil H160 and it is a pretty strong unit. I wanted to start with Neonitro as it has specific directions for those of us less chemically inclined

But for cost sake I will probably switch to a food grade material from amazon that Randy suggested previously to me. I will check out your build thread too @Byronyk .

Randy Holmes-Farley · Aug 22, 2018

SaracensRugby said:
Thanks for all of the information. My bottle of NeoNitro will be coming Friday so will be able to give updates as I go. I am also going to cut down my refugium lighting length, I have that new Kessil H160 and it is a pretty strong unit. I wanted to start with Neonitro as it has specific directions for those of us less chemically inclined But for cost sake I will probably switch to a food grade material from amazon that Randy suggested previously to me. I will check out your build thread too @Byronyk .

lol

I’d humbly suggest trusting a chemist to give a dosing calculation over Brightwell. They are not known for chemical accuracy. [emoji30]

cooltowncorals · Aug 22, 2018

I have used both Neo nitro and sodium nitrate no problems with either.

SaracensRugby · Aug 22, 2018

@Randy Holmes-Farley no insult intended! In actuality I didn't want to bug you with the next round of questions which would be how to dilute/how much to dose/etc. But since you "offered" I will take you up when my sodium nitrate arrives here in the next month or less

And I do realize the Brightwell may not have the best track record in some circles...

SaracensRugby · Aug 23, 2018

Does it matter if it is Sodium or potassium nitrate @Randy Holmes-Farley ?

Randy Holmes-Farley · Aug 23, 2018

SaracensRugby said:
Does it matter if it is Sodium or potassium nitrate @Randy Holmes-Farley ?

It matters, but either may be ok. I’d prefer sodium and dose potassium if and when you need it, but most folks won’t get potassium too high, especially if you do water changes.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Aug 23, 2018

SaracensRugby said:
@Randy Holmes-Farley no insult intended! In actuality I didn't want to bug you with the next round of questions which would be how to dilute/how much to dose/etc. But since you "offered" I will take you up when my sodium nitrate arrives here in the next month or less

And I do realize the Brightwell may not have the best track record in some circles...

None taken. [emoji106]

Use this calculator and use the entry for potassium nitrate. If you are using sodium nitrate, it is close enough, but to be very precise, use about 85 percent of what it says to dose (example, dose 85 mL instead of 100 mL)

SaracensRugby · Aug 23, 2018

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
None taken. [emoji106]

Use this calculator and use the entry for potassium nitrate. If you are using sodium nitrate, it is close enough, but to be very precise, use about 85 percent of what it says to dose (example, dose 85 mL instead of 100 mL)

Which calculator? I didn't see an attachment/link. I ordered Sodium nitrate, but will use your % recommendation based on the calculator.

SaracensRugby · Aug 27, 2018

Ok found your calculator from a previous thread Randy. So I typed in the parameters in the attached image: if I understand it correctly at this concentration if I dose 10ml in a day I will raise my total nitrate in my tank by 3.7ppm right? That being said I need to multiply it by .84 given I am using sodium nitrate. Can I mix up a bunch and put it in a dosing container where it will sit for a few weeks while being dosed? Is the dosing schedule different than my other things like alk and calc, which are dosed every day?

Thanks!

ataller · Oct 30, 2018

I am having trouble finding any bulk nitrate products up here in Canada, I have looked for sodium potassium and calcium nitrate and if I can find it I get rejected for not being an academic institution. I am guessing there is some sort of regulation limiting the sale of it up here to prevent people from using it for nefarious purposes.

All that to say I have NeoNitro and NeoPhos and have been using to raise my nitrate and phosphate levels. I am only dosing in a nano tank, 25 G, so it is not cost prohibitive. Without dosing I have no detectable nitrate on Salifert and no phosphate on the Hanna ULR.

Do you think I could add both to my ATO RODI water Randy?
That would be an easier way to get them into my tank, and would be more consistent than the once a week they are being dosed now.