I DOSED nitrate, and all can say is WOW!
- Thread starter Marklu
- Start date
Great thread !!!
Check out this thread.... its related in many ways.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1422666&perpage=25&pagenumber=5
When my SPS lightened, I decreased the MH lighting to 4 hours a day then 3 hrs. I run two 175w over a 65 and two T5 blue+.
This helped to darken the corals but growth slowed to a crawl.
After I dosed Kno3, for reason shown in the thread I posted above, I noticed an increase in color in my corals. I am slowly raising the photo period back to 8 hours. The growth has been very noticeable.
One of the concerns is that the rise in K+ could be detrimental. But i only dosed a teaspoon which rasied my No3 to 20ppm. I dont think there is enough K+ in a teaspoon to make that much of a change in the potassium levels. Since they are 385ppm in NSW
Check out this thread.... its related in many ways.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1422666&perpage=25&pagenumber=5
When my SPS lightened, I decreased the MH lighting to 4 hours a day then 3 hrs. I run two 175w over a 65 and two T5 blue+.
This helped to darken the corals but growth slowed to a crawl.
After I dosed Kno3, for reason shown in the thread I posted above, I noticed an increase in color in my corals. I am slowly raising the photo period back to 8 hours. The growth has been very noticeable.
One of the concerns is that the rise in K+ could be detrimental. But i only dosed a teaspoon which rasied my No3 to 20ppm. I dont think there is enough K+ in a teaspoon to make that much of a change in the potassium levels. Since they are 385ppm in NSW
Exactly what we need. But we need something that's low in phosphate.
Naturals reefs have very low levels of N03 and P04.
N03 =.001 ppm
P04 = .005 ppm
But they have something we dont. Live Zooplankton!!!!! Loaded with nitrogen containing proteins.
I have no doubt that if you keep the N03 and P04 levels low AND in their proper Ratio's ALONG with some form of Live Zooplankton your tank would thrive.
KN03 is a substitute!!
Just feeding more food has caused algae outbreaks in my tank.
stony_corals
New member
Your second paragraph explains the potential for misunderstanding with dosing NO3. AA is far from the same thing as adding NO3. Corals can absorb the AA (which contain N) so this could very well be happening and why you are not seeing an increase in NO3. This is actually the ideal solution to the problem of N limitation: the coral receive the N via DFAAs, and yet there is no increase in nutrients. This is far better than the NO3 additions.
Ammonium nitrate would be the best of the 3 solutions as clams, zoox would also take up the ammonium preferentially taken up rather than NO3.
The problem is NOT insufficient NO3, it is insufficient N - a big difference. I am also not certain what the metabolic pathways for a coral to remove the N in NO3 from the environment, probably similar to DFAAs, I'd think. I believe part of the coloration difference could be due to an increase in zoox density in the tissue due to higher levels of NO3 which they can absorb directly.
acrylic_300
New member
The point of dosing pure nitrate is to avoid the phosphate that coral foods contain.
stony_corals
New member
Corals need some phosphate to grow as well..... If you can not feed heavily, or you see Phosphates increase when you feed more, your skimmer isn't very effective. The highest I've ever recorded my phosphates in the many aquaria I have is .024, and I feed a lot, 3-6x daily, I do not rinse the frozen foods, etc.
acrylic_300
New member
They also need nitrate to grow and nitrate causes much less of a problem than phosphate.
I haven't used nitrate but I can see the potential it would have on growth and color....especially if I am over skimming, my levels are undetectable, and cyano is showing up.
The zoox should utilize the nitrate and create organics directly, and indirectly as they die.
Also, the SPS mucus layer will contain bacteria that may also utilize the nitrate, and create organics.
So I guess we would hope that the SPS zoox and mucus would use the inorganic nitrate source (and the C from the CO2 and alkalinity) to create the correct balance of organic N and C.
I'm not sure where the phosphate would come from though... Or what the K sink is.
I think dosing could also be beneficial to carbon dosers. Usually the bacteria that flourish during vodka dosing utilize more nitrate than phosphate, creating an imbalance; especially since vodka dosers don't utilize gfo (generally speaking). Thats also a reason why vodka dosing can spur cyano bacteria. Cyano can flourish in nitrogen poor environments when most other things can't.
powderbluetangy
New member
acrylic_300
New member
I'm pretty sure I book marked it and this thread
It's not like I saw the potential without reading.I also book marked the cheapest stump remover site I could find...I just haven't got around to ordering it.
Here is another one:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1595342
tastingSalty
New member
I agree with your statement. However, there is another way to rid a carbon-doser's aquarium of cyano...
One of the reasons that dosing bacteria (such as MB7) is advised in addition to a carbon source is that the bacteria, when dosed appropriately, will out-compete any cyano that may develop from the dosing of the carbon source.
Thats what the thread I posted is about. I carbon dose. I had pale corals and Cyano. After dosing no Cyano, and corals are colorful.
Heres what I dosed
http://cgi.ebay.com/KNO3-Potassium-...in_0?hash=item27a84c4ed0&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14
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imarkspeed
New member
when adding nitrate (AA)do you guys turn off the skimmer or keep running it ?
tastingSalty
New member
AAs are amino acids, not technically nitrate. However, to your question, amino acids can get pulled out of the water quite quickly by skimmers. I dose my AAa with the skimmer off.
imarkspeed
New member
so what brand is best ? or how do i get (AA)
