Potassium nitrate (Spectracide stump remover) dosing steps

[bif24701]

3-5ppm

 

[twilliard]

50ml doses will get you into that range. Dose until stable

 

[bif24701]

50ml doses will get you into that range. Dose until stable

With some much being consumed with in my system I think I may have to make daily additions.

So far I've have see improved PE, but I already had good PE now it's just better. I did notice some small patches of algae that had turned brown when now green. So it certainly has a positive effect on photosynthesis. If the algae grows I may keep nitrates 1-2ppm. When my fish where in the system that's where it would stabilize, how ever my corals where still a bit pale.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Well I'm jumping in. Buying it to night on the way home, if they have it. Was looking at the sds on the stump remover, looks safe.

 

[twilliard]

No ill side effects Would be nice if it were to raise potassium a little more

 

[Flippers4pups]

Got the very last bottle they had! Spectracide stump remover. Here's the sds : http://cdn.spectrumbrands.com/~/med.../SpectracideStumpRemoverGranulesSDSFeb16.ashx.

Now, how to dose this......

 

[Flippers4pups]

Here's from back when...

 

[Flippers4pups]

And yours twilliard,

 

[Flippers4pups]

And here's another I found:

Step one - mix 18 tsps of stump remover with 1L of water

Now we need to figure out how much to dose for a desired PPM.

Lets set our variables as gallons of water and target N03

Step two- convert gallon to L, 100g is 378L

Step three-multiply target ppm of N03 and multiply by Liters of tank water


So if we have 2ppm target N03, multiply 2 by 378L to get 757mg of No3 desired

Now stump remover is only %61 KN03. Hence 1 mole of N03 is roughly 61mg.

Step four-divide desired N03 by 61

This gives us 12.411mg of Kn03 required to raise 100g to 2ppm. Since we have previously made a 1 molar solution, this now corresponds to 12.411ml of solution to dose to 2ppm.

 

[bif24701]

And here's another I found:

Step one - mix 18 tsps of stump remover with 1L of water

Now we need to figure out how much to dose for a desired PPM.

Lets set our variables as gallons of water and target N03

Step two- convert gallon to L, 100g is 378L

Step three-multiply target ppm of N03 and multiply by Liters of tank water


So if we have 2ppm target N03, multiply 2 by 378L to get 757mg of No3 desired

Now stump remover is only %61 KN03. Hence 1 mole of N03 is roughly 61mg.

Step four-divide desired N03 by 61

This gives us 12.411mg of Kn03 required to raise 100g to 2ppm. Since we have previously made a 1 molar solution, this now corresponds to 12.411ml of solution to dose to 2ppm.

Use this and make your own custom mix to suite your needs and convenance.

http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/calculator.htm

 

[bif24701]

So tested today and I am about 2-3ppm. Yesterday was 1ppm and added 50ml. So today I added 100ml and hoping I'll be at 5ppm tomorrow after 24hours.

Question for anyone/everyone:

What is your personal ideal Nitrate levels?

 

[Flippers4pups]

Thanks for the calculator! I've only seen through reading and multiple forums that the consensus is 2-5ppm. Of course this is just a basic target. Once I start dosing I figure it's that value plus observation of the tank, algae growth, color and polyp extension...........etc.

 

[twilliard]

5ppm is my tanks happy spot

 

[twilliard]

From my experience No3 does not increase algae growth but I am not sure I have any algae spores in my water.

 

[bif24701]

Thanks for the calculator! I've only seen through reading and multiple forums that the consensus is 2-5ppm. Of course this is just a basic target. Once I start dosing I figure it's that value plus observation of the tank, algae growth, color and polyp extension...........etc.

I will play it by eye. Just looking for a good launch point.

5ppm seems fairly safe. Back when I had my 120 I always thought I had very low nitrates. Come to find out I wasn't shaking the API bottles like you should, in reality my Nitrates where 80+ lol. For the most part my tank seemed healthy but I only had easy to keep SPS, LPS and softies. Started carbon dosing and dang! Huge improvement so I've been scared of nitrates since. Now I have 2 MarinePure blocks, over size 10" SRO-5000, large redugium lite 24/7, add vinegar to my Kalk ATO, high quality Pukani LR, 60x's display flow, filter socks, Carbon/GFO reactors, water changes, 6 stage BRS RO/DI always 000 TDS, blast my rocks once a week, suck out detritus, and skim a bit on the wet side.

In my display I had 5 Med-Large very very hungry Tangs before I had to remove them for ick. My Nitrates never reached 1ppm lol! My corals looked good and growing well. Once I removed my fish I immediately noticed something off, pale colors. I have read up on this thread every once in awhile before but never thought I would be in this boat due to my bio load. I'm excited to see what this can do.

These are Oct 1st to just last Sunday, not bad.

If not for this thread and the others that discovered this I would be in real trouble!

 

[coralcruze]

I do carbon dose with vodka and last tested PO4 and NO3 as follows:

No3 = .25 as measured with red sea pro
Po4 = .06 as measured with Hanna Phosphate tester

Looking back a few test results, I have seen No3 go as high as 1.0 and Po4 go to 1.4 but quite often read at 0 for No3 and a little higher than "normal" for Po4.

The colors of my corals are not pale but may not be optimal due to lower levels commonly detected by test results. I would like to keep No3 levels between 2-3 and see if there is a noticeable difference.

I would love to hear of others with similar results as mine and how they fared once dosing? was the difference dramatic enough to make it worthwhile to dose?

 

[gettaReef]

bif24701, how did you discover you were shaking the API N03 kit incorreftly? Can you explain how the vial is supposed to be shook? I like to use this test from time to time when I'm in a hurry. I use the red sea pro for low measurements (0-1 N03) but am not sure of a good kit for above that level. I also have salifert and Elos N03 kits but picking the actual pink shade is so subjective so I assume just use the 1-2 minutes it takes to use the API test; if it's clear (or the slightest shade of pink) I'm good to go, if it's actual pink I'm in trouble, in even more trouble if dark pink. It beats having to do the lengthy red sea pro test every week

 

[bif24701]

bif24701, how did you discover you were shaking the API N03 kit incorreftly? Can you explain how the vial is supposed to be shook? I like to use this test from time to time when I'm in a hurry. I use the red sea pro for low measurements (0-1 N03) but am not sure of a good kit for above that level. I also have salifert and Elos N03 kits but picking the actual pink shade is so subjective so I assume just use the 1-2 minutes it takes to use the API test; if it's clear (or the slightest shade of pink) I'm good to go, if it's actual pink I'm in trouble, in even more trouble if dark pink. It beats having to do the lengthy red sea pro test every week

You need to shake the reagent bottles, specifically #2 I think at least a good vigorous minute just before use. Then it works just fine. I found out on a forum.

 

[Syntax1235]

I've been dealing with an odd situation in my tank that seems to begin with a thinning of tissue towards the tips of some acros that eventually leads to stn. Some of my acros are colorful but many are pale as well. My Nitrate is .02 via Salifert and P04 is .01. I believe I am dealing with a nutrient issue as all my other parameters are fine. I'm going to give Nitrate dosing a shot:

So far I've mixed 1 cup of RO to 1 tbs of spectracide. Last night I had to dose 6 ml in 125 gallons to reach between 2 and 5 ppm via Salifert, this morning I was back down to .02ppm.... dosed 3 ml this morning and tested at .05ppm, I'll add more until I get it back to 2ppm.

According to the calculator 1ml of solution should raise Nitrate by 1ppm, that hasn't been the case for me.

There are several factors that may be contributing to my stn and color issues:
- I have a large basketball sized ball of chaeto that I harvest about a gallon a week from.
- Bryopsis is growing in my overflow box... never migrates, just stays there, I harvest some of it during my weekly water changes
- Soft corals.... I have a very large mat of gsp growing on the back of my glass (at least 24"x12") and several large hairy mushrooms.

 

[bif24701]

I've been dealing with an odd situation in my tank that seems to begin with a thinning of tissue towards the tips of some acros that eventually leads to stn. Some of my acros are colorful but many are pale as well. My Nitrate is .02 via Salifert and P04 is .01. I believe I am dealing with a nutrient issue as all my other parameters are fine. I'm going to give Nitrate dosing a shot:

So far I've mixed 1 cup of RO to 1 tbs of spectracide. Last night I had to dose 6 ml in 125 gallons to reach between 2 and 5 ppm via Salifert, this morning I was back down to .02ppm.... dosed 3 ml this morning and tested at .05ppm, I'll add more until I get it back to 2ppm.

According to the calculator 1ml of solution should raise Nitrate by 1ppm, that hasn't been the case for me.

There are several factors that may be contributing to my stn and color issues:
- I have a large basketball sized ball of chaeto that I harvest about a gallon a week from.
- Bryopsis is growing in my overflow box... never migrates, just stays there, I harvest some of it during my weekly water changes
- Soft corals.... I have a very large mat of gsp growing on the back of my glass (at least 24"x12") and several large hairy mushrooms.

Your soft corals are literally sucking the nutrients dry in your system. Try reaching a consistent 5ppm Nitrate as other have recommend.