I am considering -if my other strategies fail- dosing nitrate to my tank in order to raise nitrates, and lower phosphates. There are many reasons to do this (better coral coloration, ability to move off GFO, etc), but those have been discussed elsewhere. My question is whether one form of nitrate holds any advantages over another- information that I can't seem to find discussed elsewhere, and which there don't seem to be any pier reviewed studies on either. I was specifically thinking of potassium nitrate or calcium nitrate, but maybe other options should be considered?
Perhaps dosing calcium nitrate might reduce phosphate through precipitation?
Should I consider dosing a few different sources of nitrate at the same time?
Right now I am trying to up nitrates by HEAVY feeding of low phosphate foods, as one of my worries with using any nitrate additive (and this is nothing but conjecture) is that you are adding a very specific nutrient, which may lead to a monoculture of bacteria and a lack of fauna diversity. If I can bring nitrates up using a more natural and complete nutrient source, I would prefer to do so. But I might fail at this; so I'm planning ahead. If people think there are better ways to up nitrates than dosing them directly, I'm all ears.
Perhaps dosing calcium nitrate might reduce phosphate through precipitation?
Should I consider dosing a few different sources of nitrate at the same time?
Right now I am trying to up nitrates by HEAVY feeding of low phosphate foods, as one of my worries with using any nitrate additive (and this is nothing but conjecture) is that you are adding a very specific nutrient, which may lead to a monoculture of bacteria and a lack of fauna diversity. If I can bring nitrates up using a more natural and complete nutrient source, I would prefer to do so. But I might fail at this; so I'm planning ahead. If people think there are better ways to up nitrates than dosing them directly, I'm all ears.