Sodium Nitrate dosing question for nuvo 10

[Ling_Thing]

Randy, it looks like your the go to reef chemist here on R2R. Also your a fellow Massachusetts member, im from Chatham down on the Cape. Anyways i need some guidance on dosing nitrates into my nuvo 10 sps tank. I have been reading 0 nitrates in my tank for awhile now with fairly high phosphates anywhere from .10-.30. im trying to find a decent balance within No3 and p04 and im going to take the leap and start nitrate dosing with the loudwolf NaN03 4 ounce powder bottle. my question is, whats the best ppm to start dosing considering its such a small tank? also what mixing solution ratio do you recommend for what i need for nano dosing? thanks for your help, Garrett

 

[Brew12]

Randy, it looks like your the go to reef chemist here on R2R. Also your a fellow Massachusetts member, im from Chatham down on the Cape. Anyways i need some guidance on dosing nitrates into my nuvo 10 sps tank. I have been reading 0 nitrates in my tank for awhile now with fairly high phosphates anywhere from .10-.30. im trying to find a decent balance within No3 and p04 and im going to take the leap and start nitrate dosing with the loudwolf NaN03 4 ounce powder bottle. my question is, whats the best ppm to start dosing considering its such a small tank? also what mixing solution ratio do you recommend for what i need for nano dosing? thanks for your help, Garrett

Here is a calculator that can help you out.
http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/calculator.htm

Since you are using sodium nitrate instead of potassium nitrate, multiply the recommended dose by 0.84 if converting by weight.

So for this calculator, for every 1 gram it says to use, you would use 0.84 grams instead.

Note: this only works if measuring by weight, not volume. I'm not sure the conversion if you cannot weigh it accurately.

 

[Ling_Thing]

Thanks for the quick reply! What do you suggest I start dosing the nitrate at 1.5ppm? every few days or once a week?

 

[Brew12]

Thanks for the quick reply! What do you suggest I start dosing the nitrate at 1.5ppm? every few days or once a week?

I would dose up to 4ppm every day. Just test ever day right before you dose. What I expect you will see is that nitrates will keep dropping along each day and that your phosphates will drop along with them. Once they both get low you will likely be able to stop dosing.

Every system is unique so it may not work this way for you, but it is what I would expect.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I agree that a couple of ppm of nitrate each day is a fine plan. The exact amount is not likely critical.

 

[Ling_Thing]

Thank you so much for your help. I’ll keep you posted and see how it goes.

 

[Ling_Thing]

so interesting update, i removed the biopellets and reactor when i wasn't reading any nitrates and phosphates around .12-.20. i figured they were eating all my nitrates. So i waited 24 hours and saw i still had no nitrates and phosphates dropped to .06. keep in mind i haven't changed my feeding schedule, ocean nutrition pellets every day, frozen mysis twice a week, and reef roids once a week. So another day goes by and now my phosphates are .00 and my nitrates are still 0. So i haven't done a WC since i removed the biopellets and only replaced the filter floss once. Ive noticed more brown algae on the glass this past week. I finally got my sodium nitrate on saturday but once i realized i had no phosphates i did not want to dose nitrate. So i ordered some neophos from bright wheel to manually dose phosphates along with nitrates. Is is possible my corals are using up all the nitrate and phosphate in the tank? The struggles of a nano sps tank! So once i receive the neophos i will be dosing both at the same time and see what happens. I see you guys recommend 4 ppm a day for nitrate dosing but any suggestions on phosphate dosing amount and frequency?

 

[Ling_Thing]

I agree that a couple of ppm of nitrate each day is a fine plan. The exact amount is not likely critical.

Is it possible i am carbon limited now without the pellets?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

It’s possible, or the test may be erroneous.

 

[Ling_Thing]

I was suspectful of the tests myself but I double checked my Hanna against my Red Sea kit and sure enough .00 phosphate. I will test nitrate tonight again.

 

[Ling_Thing]

It’s possible, or the test may be erroneous.

 

[Brew12]

I don't think I would dose either PO4 or NO3 at this point.

In my earlier post I stated this

What I expect you will see is that nitrates will keep dropping along each day and that your phosphates will drop along with them.

And it is what you are seeing. If you had dosed nitrate you would see a spike and then the nitrate and phosphate would drop. Removing the biopellets has the same impact as very slowly dosing nitrates. As a response, you are seeing your PO4 drop since you are no longer nitrate limited and other organisms can consume both nitrate and phosphate now.

I would wait at least another week or 2 before I would consider dosing either. Continue to monitor for undesirable algae and bacteria growth. Give your system time to stabilize after the removal of the biopellets and see where it ends up on its own.

 

[Ling_Thing]

I don't think I would dose either PO4 or NO3 at this point.

In my earlier post I stated this

And it is what you are seeing. If you had dosed nitrate you would see a spike and then the nitrate and phosphate would drop. Removing the biopellets has the same impact as very slowly dosing nitrates. As a response, you are seeing your PO4 drop since you are no longer nitrate limited and other organisms can consume both nitrate and phosphate now.

I would wait at least another week or 2 before I would consider dosing either. Continue to monitor for undesirable algae and bacteria growth. Give your system time to stabilize after the removal of the biopellets and see where it ends up on its own.

thank you for your input. that makes sense now removing the pellets. thanks for the help i really appreciate it. will keep you updated.

 

[Ling_Thing]

I don't think I would dose either PO4 or NO3 at this point.

In my earlier post I stated this

And it is what you are seeing. If you had dosed nitrate you would see a spike and then the nitrate and phosphate would drop. Removing the biopellets has the same impact as very slowly dosing nitrates. As a response, you are seeing your PO4 drop since you are no longer nitrate limited and other organisms can consume both nitrate and phosphate now.

I would wait at least another week or 2 before I would consider dosing either. Continue to monitor for undesirable algae and bacteria growth. Give your system time to stabilize after the removal of the biopellets and see where it ends up on its own.

Im coming up on 2 weeks now with no wc and the nitrates and phosphates are still 0 and my corals are actually looking worse as in losing color. Im feeding pellets almost 3 times a day and mysis and reef roids on top of that a few times a week, do i need to feed even more? Theres only one clown in the tank, been in there almost 5 years now believe it or not. just waiting on my Neophos to come in on saturday and ill be ready to dose nitrate and phosphate at the same time.

 

[Brew12]

Im coming up on 2 weeks now with no wc and the nitrates and phosphates are still 0 and my corals are actually looking worse as in losing color. Im feeding pellets almost 3 times a day and mysis and reef roids on top of that a few times a week, do i need to feed even more? Theres only one clown in the tank, been in there almost 5 years now believe it or not. just waiting on my Neophos to come in on saturday and ill be ready to dose nitrate and phosphate at the same time.

Dosing a little nitrate now wouldn't hurt, either would feeding reef roids daily.

Do you have much algae growing?

 

[Ling_Thing]

Dosing a little nitrate now wouldn't hurt, either would feeding reef roids daily.

Do you have much algae growing?

Ok I’ll give that a whirl. I’m getting more brown dust algae on the glass and I noticed a little gha on my spinstream but my turbo usually comes over and chows it but I noticed that’s growing more, slight purple turf algae on my rock but that’s always been normal. I’ll dose 4 ppm nitrate tomorrow and feed reef Roids more. Thanks for the help.

 

[Ling_Thing]

I honestly can’t believe the difference in colors in my acros in only 2 weeks of dosing nitrate and dabbling a little in neophos. Now to find the balance between the right ppm of nitrate, PAR, and my dkh. Still patiently waiting for my reefer 450 to cycle. I swear that’s the worst part of the hobby is waiting for the cycle.

 

[Brew12]

I honestly can’t believe the difference in colors in my acros in only 2 weeks of dosing nitrate and dabbling a little in neophos. Now to find the balance between the right ppm of nitrate, PAR, and my dkh. Still patiently waiting for my reefer 450 to cycle. I swear that’s the worst part of the hobby is waiting for the cycle.

I'm glad things are improving!