I dose very little 3 grams( about half a tsps) in a gallon of ro water aerated with a small powerhead for a few hours. Then cups of the solution are poured into the 6 tanks directly in the evening. 1x per week.
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Thanks Tom, I am not making recommendations, nor are you, but for my system, I'm already seeing success dosing sodium nitrate and I'm quite confident that I'll be able switch over to L-aspartic acid and continue to maintain my nitrates at 2-5 ppm. This way, I'll get the other added benefits of the aspartic acid that you and others have mentioned.
If my math is correct, equivalent dosages for smaller tanks are as follows:
1/2 level tsp per 600 gal per week
1/4 level tsp per 300 gal per week
1/4 level tsp per 150 gal per two weeks
1/8 level tsp per 150 gal per week
1/8 level tsp per 75 gal per two weeks
1/8 level tsp per 37.5 gal per four weeks
My system is 150 gallons total so I have taken an empty 500ml water bottle container and filled it with distilled white vinegar. Then added 1/4 level tsp of L-Aspartic acid. Then warmed it luke-warm in the microwave for 30 seconds and shook t up. Most of the crystals dissolved fine.
This 500ml mixture should last two weeks in my system (500ml divided by 14 works out to a 35 ml per day dosage). I'll discontinue sodium nitrate and dose l-aspartic acid manually in conjunction with the bio-pellet regimen that I already have for carbon. This way I can keep an eye on nitrate levels and make any adjustments necessary. If I continue to see positive results using this form of nitrogen, I'll make the switch permanently and automate this with a doser.
Like yourself, I also think the vinegar solution is a better alternative over RO water due to the acidic content of vinegar and its low PH. Even though it is a carbon source itself, I've never seen a vinegar bottle with a bacteria bloom issue and I don't think added nitrate and some more carbon will make a difference. Mixing RO water and nitrate would result in a bacteria bloom eventually as I've seen that happen with sodium nitrate. Others have reported success mixing L-aspartic acid with vinegar with no mention of bacteria bloom issues so this solution makes sense for me.