Nitrate

[tidefanjam]

i apparently need a better scale, I was trying to raise my nitrates slightly to about 3 ppm with sodium nitrate, according to the calculator I needed less than a gram, problem is my kitchen scale starts at a gram so I guessed by adding the powder and stopping before it showed 1 gram, long story short I overshot and ended up with about 20ppm, I have a torch, Duncan, blasto,& a birdsnest, among with snails emeralds and a couple peppermints, everything seems ok, should I do a water change? I normally do one a month and just did it Saturday..

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I'd just let it decline on its own.

In the future, you can dissolve 10 grams in 100 grams of water, and then remove 11 grams and that 11 grams of liquid will contain 1 gram of sodium nitrate.

 

[jwshiver]

I wouldn't worry about it unless you have SPS acros. Raising NO3 that fast will tick off SPS acros. Been there done that. Your birdnest may not be happy. You can do a large water change of 20% - 30% to help. Otherwise let it drop on its own. What was your NO3 before you dosed?

 

[tidefanjam]

I wouldn't worry about it unless you have SPS acros. Raising NO3 that fast will **** off SPS acros. Been there done that. Your birdnest may not be happy. You can do a large water change of 20% - 30% to help. Otherwise let it drop on its own. What was your NO3 before you dosed?

Nitrates were .50 on my Red Sea before my water change Saturday.

 

[tidefanjam]

I'd just let it decline on its own.

In the future, you can dissolve 10 grams in 100 grams of water, and then remove 11 grams and that 11 grams of liquid will contain 1 gram of sodium nitrate.

Could this solution be stored?

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Could this solution be stored?

Yes. I think most reefers who dose nitrates probably use a liquid solution that they store long-term. I use this 1 L bottle from Target to store my DIY dosing solutions.

Alternatively, you can use a calculator like this one to make a custom solution for your tank. Using my tank volume, I played around with the numbers until I got a solution that raises my nitrates by about 1 ppm for every 1 mL dosed.

Keep in mind that sodium nitrate contains more nitrate per gram than potassium nitrate, so you will need to use less. Whatever the calculator tells you to use, multiply that by 0.84 to get how much sodium nitrate you need.

 

[Reefahholic]

I store mine in a 1/2 liter 16.9 oz water bottle. I think that’s 1/2 liters.

 

[tidefanjam]

Sounds good

 

[tidefanjam]

I make up 100ml at a time and only use 9, I’ve been tossing the rest, hated wasting it