Potassium nitrate (Spectracide stump remover) dosing steps

[PaReeferJ]

First dose is in.

 

[PaReeferJ]

First dose is in.

First test an hour after dosing got it from 0 to 2.5. Should I stop at 2.5?

 

[mcarroll]

In the meantime, if you find any problems on the sheet please let me know because I think it is a useful calculator that others might find interesting.

As promised I made a Google Docs version of the calculator here.

Awesome I hope!! How many ml do you think I should start off at? 1... 2ml?

If you use this calculator and fill it out correctly you can determine exactly how much you need to add to raise the nitrates to whatever you want.

http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/calculator.htm

This duplication is an example of why it would be nice to have the first post updated with the spreadsheet and Google Docs links.

There are no perfect solutions to anything, but as-is, only people who read through to, or otherwise happen upon, post [HASHTAG]#340[/HASHTAG] are going to know about those options.

(Nothing against theplantedtank.co.uk )

(@morpheas did you happen to compare your calc to the results from this one just to see?)

 

[morpheas]

I was not aware of that calculator just saw it... Results with either are identical! [emoji6]

 

[E_Aquatics]

Has anybody used this product? Seems to be "Food Grade"

 

[morpheas]

Not me but if i personally was to buy something not locally I'd go with calcium nitrate lab grade. I suspect the one you're showing here though would work perfectly fine.

 

[mcarroll]

Dosed .5 ppm after my last post (couldn't help it!).

Finally tested today and registered zero ppm of NO3 and .12 ppm of PO4.

Dosed up to 1 ppm of NO3 and confirmed with a re-test.

Here we go!

 

[Browner20]

Just an update. I have been dosing 3mls once a week on my 65 gal system. I think my target dosing should be a little more as my nitrate spot test was 0 a week ago after a water change but my corals look great! FWIW my cyano is becoming more of an issue and trying to decide if it is due to my old sand bed, my RO unit starting to produce 1-2ppm water (changed filters) or a combo of both. May try and increase my MG - anyone see a potential issue in raising my MG to above 1500 while dosing potassium nitrate?

 

[morpheas]

Just an update. I have been dosing 3mls once a week on my 65 gal system. I think my target dosing should be a little more as my nitrate spot test was 0 a week ago after a water change but my corals look great! FWIW my cyano is becoming more of an issue and trying to decide if it is due to my old sand bed, my RO unit starting to produce 1-2ppm water (changed filters) or a combo of both. May try and increase my MG - anyone see a potential issue in raising my MG to above 1500 while dosing potassium nitrate?

If you're positive it's cyano why not dose h2o2?

 

[choff]

Tagging along

 

[mcarroll]

I am starting to think about swapping out a few pieces of live rock for something fresh too. Maybe adding some pods as well, but not sure how cost effect one is vs the other. (I have rock I can trade.)

This crud took over when the tank's s.g. got up to 1.030 due to regular two-part additions with no water changes. I worry that may have put a chink in my ecosystem and that nutrients aren't the source of the problem.

@morpheas @twilliard Ya know I don't know why it just hit me, but even this far into the recovery (even the dead-looking Hydophora is coming back) I don't have a shred of coraline algae growing....seems to work the same as ground-cover in a garden keeping the weeds down.

LFS closed so I don't have any place to make an easy live rock swap anymore. But I'm still thinking a "treatment" like that might just be the ticket.

Anyone wanna send me a bag of coraline flakes?

 

[Rick.45cal]

@twilliard I wanted to say thank you! This thread gave me the knowledge I needed to save two tanks now from a RTN STN event due to extreme nitrogen difficiency. One being mine, and another being my friend's tank. I've now used KNO3 and NeoPhos to stabilize my zeovit tank at 2.5ppm NO3 and .02ppm PO4. Nearly all of my frags survived the event are completely healed and showing signs of rapid growth! Within a week! My tank's inhabitants thank you more than I ever could!

 

[twilliard]

Awesome!
I like to see results like this and help with the understanding of No3

 

[Rick.45cal]

I didn't lose a single specimen, I have one frag that I figured was likely a lost cause. It is very rapidly healing. I would have lost everything if I hadn't have studied this thread!

 

[Browner20]

thanks @morpheas , not sure why I did not think h2o2. Used Twilliard's identification test and it is definitively cyano as the water turned a solid pink color. Got most of it out during a water change but now onto h2o2. As far as the kno3, all of my frags have colored up great and are reencrusting the areas where I glued them to the rocks. My purple bonsai has been the slowest to recover and I thought I still may lose it but for the past several weeks it has regained a more solid purple color and over the last couple days I have noticed that the polyp areas are starting to show hints of green again!

 

[mcarroll]

After upping my dose to 5ml daily PLUS added a small amount of aminos (DIY) I still have no detectable nitrates in the water.

Upping my Spectracide dose to 10mL and amino's up from 5 drips per day to 10 drips.

 

[twilliard]

After upping my dose to 5ml daily PLUS added a small amount of aminos (DIY) I still have no detectable nitrates in the water.

Upping my Spectracide dose to 10mL and amino's up from 5 drips per day to 10 drips.

watch it closely

 

[mcarroll]

The skimmer has been producing more...maybe double but it's hard to gauge.

I did notice something interesting – the amino's I'm dosing are actinic. They glow g-r-e-e-n under 450nm lights.

 

[morpheas]

The red sea aminos are green like that you have something good over there

 

[mcarroll]

I hope so.

I'm monitoring as close as I can for results or side-effects. So far it's just increased skimmate. Mostly no observable changes in the system so far though, including the nitrate tests.