Dosing Nitrate to reduce Phosphate

[glennf]

Here is my tank...

 

[mhucasey]

I need to get an actual camera first
I try to make do with the iPhone camera and some post processing sometimes, but this shot was all raw only, just to show the fish and that the tank wasn't a disaster. I'll try to get a good clean shot to post today.

 

[glennf]

And my actual animals list.
2x Amphiprion ocellaris
Pterapogon kauderni
Oxymonacanthus longirostris
Zebrasoma flavescens
Zebrasoma xanturium
Naso lituratus
Acanthurus leucosternon
Acanthurus lineatus
Acanthurus olivaceus
Acanthurus tenetti
3x Acanthurus triostegus
Ctencheatus tomini
Ctencheatus striatus
Ctencheatus binotatus
Ctencheatus strigosis - juvenile in fragtank
Salarias fasciarus - in fragtank
Scarus quoyi
Chelmon rostrarus - in refugium now!
Atrosalarias fuscus
Salarias ramosus
Synchiropus splendidus couple m/f
Synchiropus ocellatus couple m/f
2x Ecsenius stigmatura
Meiacanthus atrodorsalis
Amblyeleotris wheeler + symbiotic shrimp
Halichoeres chrysus
Macropharyngodon ornatus
3x Pseudanthias squamipinnis
1x Pseudanthias dispar
3x Chromis viridis
5x lysmata debelius
6x lysmata amboinensis
2x Enoplometopus debelius
Turbo fluctuosa (Mexican Turbo Snail) + countless offspring
Astraea tecta (Turbo Snail ) + offspring
4x Tripneustes gratilla (pincushen urchin)
Echinometra sp. (Shortspine Urchin)
Diadema setosum (Longspine Urchin, Black )

greetings, GlennF[/QUOTE]

 

[glennf]

I need to get an actual camera first
I try to make do with the iPhone camera and some post processing sometimes, but this shot was all raw only, just to show the fish and that the tank wasn't a disaster. I'll try to get a good clean shot to post today.

Your tank look fine , you sure know what your doing.

 

[mhucasey]

Gorgeous, as ever! I'm glad the hobby has gotten to where it is now. On my first tank full of beautiful corals and a clam that was almost a foot across back in the nineties, I only dared to keep a few fish. People would look at the tank that I was so excited about and say "where are the fish":facepalm:

 

[glennf]

Gorgeous, as ever! I'm glad the hobby has gotten to where it is now. On my first tank full of beautiful corals and a clam that was almost a foot across back in the nineties, I only dared to keep a few fish. People would look at the tank that I was so excited about and say "where are the fish":facepalm:

Thanks... innovation that's the key for progress.

 

[reefmutt]

So here's a question..
I've been battling po4 levels in the .1-.2 range for months
I came across this thread a while back and it helped me get the po4 under control to a degree, but regardless of what I do, they won't go below .1... I'm not as concerned about it as I used to be because the corals are doing pretty well, but some aren't and I'd just like to have a bit more control over p.
I dose vinegar but when I up my dose, my n drops to zero.. When this happens I dose calcium nitrate which is very effective at giving me an n reading without popping my calcium up too much...
I was wondering if I could dissolve the calcium nitrate in my vinegar so that I could add them both simultaneously.. I'm wondering if the acid will somehow break down the nitrate into something undesirable..
And now that I have the chemistry juices flowing.. What if I were to add kalkwasser to this mix as well??? I'd play with the ratios to make sure I had no precipitate in my solution..
My plan would be to take a weeks worth of vinegar, add maybe two tablespoons of kalk and then add the cano3....
How does that sound?
Thanks in advance!

 

[glennf]

So here's a question..
I've been battling po4 levels in the .1-.2 range for months
I came across this thread a while back and it helped me get the po4 under control to a degree, but regardless of what I do, they won't go below .1... I'm not as concerned about it as I used to be because the corals are doing pretty well, but some aren't and I'd just like to have a bit more control over p.
I dose vinegar but when I up my dose, my n drops to zero.. When this happens I dose calcium nitrate which is very effective at giving me an n reading without popping my calcium up too much...
I was wondering if I could dissolve the calcium nitrate in my vinegar so that I could add them both simultaneously.. I'm wondering if the acid will somehow break down the nitrate into something undesirable..
And now that I have the chemistry juices flowing.. What if I were to add kalkwasser to this mix as well??? I'd play with the ratios to make sure I had no precipitate in my solution..
My plan would be to take a weeks worth of vinegar, add maybe two tablespoons of kalk and then add the cano3....
How does that sound?
Thanks in advance!

Vinegar and nitrate make a great mix if you know what you're doing.
I believe in individual control, because it's annoying when you have the mix ready and the balance is wrong. Than your mix is wasted down the sewer.
When using carbonsource never drop no3 below 0,5ppm .

I believe some tank crashed are due to endless chasing zero po4 and no3.

 

[reefmutt]

Thanks, Glen. Getting the right mix is the trick!
I'm not trying to bring my p to 0, I just want a little more control..
Thanks for the good advice!
I enjoy following your thread!

 

[mhucasey]

I've also mixed Vinegar and Calcium Nitrate for use by the dosing pump. Glenn is right though, if you aren't keeping good track of the mix you need to mix up a fresh batch any time you want to change the concentrations. Good luck and keep the thread updated!

 

[glennf]

I've also mixed Vinegar and Calcium Nitrate for use by the dosing pump. Glenn is right though, if you aren't keeping good track of the mix you need to mix up a fresh batch any time you want to change the concentrations. Good luck and keep the thread updated!

Keeping track of the balance between all the addition is a annoying thing. That's why i split them all up when dosing and correcting. That make it much easier. I measure and correct, when your yank is settled (which i believe never is) maybe you can calculate a fixed relation between some consumptions. I experience the relations are schifting dependent on the corals which are "actively" growing.

 

[Moonfroz]

This is all I could find. I am told that sodium nitrate is a restricted substance. (Good for making bombs..) I have not tried an on line store yet, but up here in canada, I am not very hopeful of finding any.

They ship in Canada (Montreal) just remove space between dots
www . sciencecompany . com/sodium-nitrate-500g-p16240c670.aspx

 

[Moonfroz]

Very interesting thread!

I am running bio-pellet and GFO in my 180g SPS tank. My nitrate is 0 ppm and my phosphate (PO4) is between 0.04-0.06 ppm. From time to time, I have a bloom of red cyano which is very annoying. I also had a small crash where I lost several SPS acro. Because I think, I miss Nitrate in my system.

 

[reefmutt]

Thanks for the info moonfroz, I've been pretty happy with he cano3..

Why don't you reduce the quantity of biopellets you use? Maybe by reducing the quantity you may be able to bring up the no3 which may actually help control p with less gfo..
I've always heard that one of the side effects of using biopellets is recurring issues with cyano.. Not really my experience, but others have had that..

 

[Moonfroz]

Why did not you use NaNO3 instead of CaNO3?

 

[mhucasey]

Why did not you use NaNO3 instead of CaNO3?

There is essentially no difference between the two. The amount of Calcium or Sodium you add when adjusting the Nitrate by 1 or 2 parts per million is negligible. Use whatever is easier to find.

matt

 

[reefmutt]

Yes.. Exactly.. I found a source for cano3 locally and it was very effective for my needs.

 

[tmz]

Anecdotal update. I tried small amounts of sodium nitrate on several occasions. At first, it seemed just a little would reduce PO4 a bit but it also enhanced some nusiance algae growth. I haven't used any in months and PO4 is still low enough (0.02 to 0.05ppm)without it or gfo;just vodka and vinegar at the same dose I've been using for a very long time. Coral colors and growth are good with or without it . I do feed a lot so maybe I never needed it in the first place.

 

[rocketwind]

This is very useful thread full of info.
I have a ATS running for almost two years, recently I find that there are littel algae on ATS Screen, and red cyano appears on the sand. The SPS looks pale, so I guess there is a Nitrate limit in my tank.
I will try to dose Kno3 to increase N ppm and maintain at a low level. Hope to solve my tank's problem.

 

[madadi]

so I would like to try dosing nitrate but having a hard time figuring out what dosage to start with. looking to have around 1ppm nitrate dosage to 170gallon total system water that will hopefully be in balance with the 60mls of vinegar dosage im already doing. if not carbon will be adjusted to be closer to redfield ratio.