Starting to Dose Nitrate

The-Russ · Feb 14, 2016

I have been reading a number of threads and articles and I am going to start dosing Potassium nitrate. Currently my nitrates are at '0' and I am going to try to boost them a little to try and get some balance in my tank.

I have 650 total water volume.

My plan is to slowly increase the dose and monitor the results. my plan is to take 250g of Potassium Nitrate and mix it with 1 Liter of RODI. I will start to dose tomorrow. I estimate that I will need to dose around 70 mil, which scares me a little so I am going to dose 1/2 of that.

Should I does the 35ml in one quick dose or should I spread it out over a 24 hour period?

twilliard · Feb 14, 2016

One dose will be fine at once. Keep testing going about an hour after each dose

The-Russ · Feb 14, 2016

Is the goal for day 1 to try to get my tank to 4ppm? So I dose say 1/2 of what I think it will take, then a little more till it reaches 4?

twilliard · Feb 14, 2016

You are on the right track!
Just make sure to test after every hour of dosing.
Hit your target and from there you will know how much to dose to maintain your target

jent · Feb 14, 2016

Personally I dose what would be equivalent to a 2ppm increase per day. It is slowly throughout the day (though does not need to be), that seems to put me measured 0.25ppm at any given period of time. My nitrate consumption (so far) has appeared to be pretty constant.

The-Russ · Feb 15, 2016

Today I will start to dose Potassium Nitrate (Spectracide Stump Remover). I am going to mix it as I stated above, dose 35 mil and test after 1 hour. dose more, re-test until I get to 4ppm.

Once I get the amount of mixture it takes to get to 4pm, what do I do? Do I does that same amount tomorrow doing daily tests and make adjustments as needed?

I used this calculator to figure out my estimated dose:

http://www.theaquatools.com/fertilization-calculator

jent · Feb 15, 2016

You will want to test before you dose tomorrow. Check how much is consumed, then test as you add the nitrate again. At the start you will likely be testing lots. Eventually you will start to see what rate it's being consumed, and be able to reduce your testing. But keep in mind, you are basically dosing fertilizer for the algae. Not trying to scare you (I obviously am dosing nitrate as well), just saying it's probably worth the effort of frequent testing.

twilliard · Feb 15, 2016

Here is where great care needs to be put in place

At first it will seem like you are not adding enough as it may all be gone the next day.
DO NOT INCREASE YOUR DOSING AMOUNT

Soon you will see it "hold" it's value.
Once this is achieved then correct your dosing amount to sustain your target level

The-Russ · Feb 15, 2016

OK, got it. I will slowly get my parameters to 4ppm today. then I will continue that does for a few days testing 2 - 3 times a day. I have my DOS pumps calibrated and the Potassium Nitrate weighed. I am going to add the RO water, mix it up and let it set for an hour. Then I will dos. 35ml wait an hour and test. after I test I will does again and test. until I reach 4ppm.

The-Russ · Feb 15, 2016

Everything is mixed up and ready to go. The solution would not dissolve well, I think because the RODI water was cold, so I warmed up the water in a hot water bath and it worked perfect. I have 3 hours of meetings so I will program my pump to dose 35 ml about an hour before my meetings are over then test.

10 years of thinking I MUST have 0 nitrates is changing. It makes me nervous, but I do not like how my tank was progressing before I tore it down 4 years ago and I do not like my results now so something needs to change. I think this is a good move...

Kungpaoshizi · Feb 15, 2016

Check out Reef Energy... they formulated it so it does not contain phosphates, but is better than just adding aminos.

I've been in that position before, but the elevation of potassium is the major drawback for long-term use.

The-Russ · Feb 15, 2016

Tested the water and I have nitrates. 1st time in MANY MONTHS, well since my tank finished cycling last year. From my test I am right at about 2ppm. I am going to do a 1/2 dose and see where that takes me.

Kungpaoshizi said:
Check out Reef Energy... they formulated it so it does not contain phosphates

I would love to try it, but the problem with having a large system it would become very expensive FAST. I have 650 gal of water so it will cost some $$$

The-Russ · Feb 15, 2016

told my DOS to dose 10ml and forgot to save the change. I completed the 35ml at 2:20 and nothing since. I am dosing 20ml now. The nitrates have decreased significantly since my last test around 3:30. I hate that I missed the last dose. My current dose will complete at 6:30PM and I will test again. That will be a total of 55ml since 2:00.

Does this change in Nitrates affect the fish at all?

The-Russ · Feb 16, 2016

The thing that amazes me the most about my experiment yesterday is seeing how efficient the bacteria load is at removing Nitrate. The measurements 1 hours and 5 hours after a dose are drastically different.

It looks like my estimate of 70ml is about right to bump it to 4ppm. Today I am doing manual doses and measuring one more time, but I need to develop a long term strategy. I thought about dosing 55ppm for a week and testing it every morning/evening to see how if maintains. My question is, how should I dose it? I could does the 55ml over a 24 hours period, or in intervals. Any thoughts?

Kungpaoshizi · Feb 16, 2016

Fish would probably be one of the last things that cares about the nitrates unless it got excessively high.
Are you testing potassium too? That is something that could easily wipe the tank... At least iirc from other stories.

Though may I ask (perhaps I missed it elsewhere) what's the 0 nitrates coming from? DSB, reactor, etc?
I recall when I had an issue and nitrates were bottoming out, I just completely removed the resin absorbent and GAC I was using. That worked pretty well..

The-Russ · Feb 16, 2016

I assume that my tank has 0 nitrates because the bio load is low and any nitrate from the biological process is being consumed. Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate are all 0. However, my Phosphates are higher causing some small algae issues. For years 0 Nitrates has been the goal, but I am beginning to think that may not be correct. Low Nitrates may be a better goal. I think this will help keep things in balance.

Potassium creep may be an issue, especially with the amount that I may need to does, but in smaller tanks it does not seem to be so. READ @twilliard thread https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/potassium-nitrate-spectracide-stump-remover-dosing-steps.215730/ he dosed for a month with no issue. I am experimenting and learning with this and I will monitor these levels as I do. If the potassium becomes an issue, I could switch to sodium nitrate...