Dosing Nitrate to reduce Phosphate

[tmz]

I dose a very small amount of sodium nitrate from time to time ,1tsp to 650 gallons every week or so. I also carbon dose ( vadka and vinegar) NO3 is held under 1ppm ,mostly around 0.2ppm per Salifert test, with PO4 in the 0.02ppm to 0.04ppm range per hanah 713.

 

[ReefKeeper64]

I dose a very small amount of sodium nitrate from time to time ,1tsp to 650 gallons every week or so. I also carbon dose ( vadka and vinegar) NO3 is held under 1ppm ,mostly around 0.2ppm per Salifert test, with PO4 in the 0.02ppm to 0.04ppm range per hanah 713.

I was just going through this thread and recalled you mentioned that you were using Aspartic acid as your nitrate source back in 2013. Are you dosing both aspartic acid and sodium nitrate nowadays? I'm interested in your perspective.


Aspartic acid contains nitrogen and organic carbon in the form of an essential acidic ammino acid that living things incuding corals use . I account for the carbon part by reducing the vodka dose to off set the extra carbon. I use L aspartic acid from I herb .com,an online health food vendor ,ca $6 for 250 grams.
It only takes 4 grams 2x per week for 650 gallons to get N where I want it 0.5 to 1ppm . I'm still observing it since I started it just 2 weeks ago. Sps coral color seems to have gotten richer and lps seem fuller but I may just be seeing what I want to see.

 

[tmz]

No, I don't. It didn't seem to do as much as I hoped at the time but I might try it again some day,perhaps along with some other amminos.

 

[ReefKeeper64]

That is what I was thinking but I was curious. Thanks for responding.

 

[JustAClownFish]

instead of dosing nitrate do things that would normally increase nitrate such as not cleaning out detritus with water changes or leaving filter sock in place longer.

I thought like that as well for a while but I've come to find that doing it this way will contaminate the tank leading to more problems. Uneaten food will not only increase nitrate. Dosing nitrate is a much cleaner way to increase NO3 and will result in the reduction of phosphates over time.