Sodium nitrate or potassium nitrate

[Reefnjunkie]

I need to go back and start dosing nitrates.

Anybody have any experience or input as to what would be better for dosing sodium nitrate versus potassium nitrate




In the past I had bought sodium nitrate from a chemical company but cannot find anything online.

Any suggestions advice or links would be appreciated

Thank you in advance

 

[rtparty]

Ammonium bicarbonate on A m a z o n

Randy has a great thread with reasoning of using ammonia over nitrate and all the recipes to make a solution and dose it

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Potassium nitrate is a poor choice unless you are closely monitoring potassium and know you need it.

Better choices are ammonium bicarbonate, calcium nitrate, or sodium nitrate. Get food grades from Amazon. I recommend the ammonium bicarbonate choice.

DIY Ammonia dosing for low nitrate systems

Some reef aquaria have chronic low nitrogen availability. One indicator is very low nitrate. Nitrate dosing is a fine remedy, but it is possible that ammonia dosing may be more beneficial for some organisms since ammonia can be energetically easier to assimilate than is nitrate. For this...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

There was a suicide challenge or something that went viral and sodium nitrate has been more difficult to get. Places like loud wolf pulled it completely as there is a lawsuit pending. It can be found though. I switched to ammonium

 

[eraser2001]

Ammonium bicarbonate is a better choice, I switched couple months ago from sodium nitrate, and I don't have any complaints.

 

[EricR]

No idea about ammonium bicarbonate but, just as a price thought:
Calcium nitrate direct from Loudwolf website has free shipping so works out cheaper than Amazon (for me).

 

[Reefnjunkie]

Thanks for all the replies/info.

I don't see Ammonium bicarbonate on Loudwolfs site or on Amazon from LW but there is Ammonium bicarbonate from these folks which I went with.

I'll read up on the link Randy posted.

Thanks again!!

Amazon product

 

[Zeeth]

Potassium nitrate is a poor choice unless you are closely monitoring potassium and know you need it.

Better choices are ammonium bicarbonate, calcium nitrate, or sodium nitrate. Get food grades from Amazon. I recommend the ammonium bicarbonate choice.

DIY Ammonia dosing for low nitrate systems

Some reef aquaria have chronic low nitrogen availability. One indicator is very low nitrate. Nitrate dosing is a fine remedy, but it is possible that ammonia dosing may be more beneficial for some organisms since ammonia can be energetically easier to assimilate than is nitrate. For this...

www.reef2reef.com

You've said in the past that the ammonium bicarbonate may smell and lose ammonia to the atmosphere. How air-tight should the dosing container be to prevent this? I use a Simplicity dosing container which isn't fully air-tight, but not exactly open either. I think my wife would start to get upset if the cabinet next to my aquarium starts to smell like ammonia.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

You've said in the past that the ammonium bicarbonate may smell and lose ammonia to the atmosphere. How air-tight should the dosing container be to prevent this? I use a Simplicity dosing container which isn't fully air-tight, but not exactly open either. I think my wife would start to get upset if the cabinet next to my aquarium starts to smell like ammonia.

Folks in the thread below should be asked how much it smells, but I don’t get the sense it’s a significant issue except in a closed cabinet.

Smell comments are more than 50 pages in, here:

DIY Ammonia dosing for low nitrate systems

If you don't care about alk lowering, then it is fine. I recommend 7-11 dKH. Why do you prefer it? Baking ammonia (ammonium bicarbonate) is cheap and good purity. I have no preference, I'm just trying to figure out which would be best for my tank. I know all tanks are similar but...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[BriDroid]

You've said in the past that the ammonium bicarbonate may smell and lose ammonia to the atmosphere. How air-tight should the dosing container be to prevent this? I use a Simplicity dosing container which isn't fully air-tight, but not exactly open either. I think my wife would start to get upset if the cabinet next to my aquarium starts to smell like ammonia.

I'm dosing manually right now, probably getting some dosing pumps for Christmas. I have a solution mixed up with ammonium bicarbonate at 0.2ppm per 1ml. I keep it in a small 8oz plastic jar. I can smell ammonia when I open it up, but it's kind of faint and you have to have your nose right over the opening to smell anything. Not sure if that helps or not?

 

[Reefnjunkie]

Potassium nitrate is a poor choice unless you are closely monitoring potassium and know you need it.

Better choices are ammonium bicarbonate, calcium nitrate, or sodium nitrate. Get food grades from Amazon. I recommend the ammonium bicarbonate choice.

DIY Ammonia dosing for low nitrate systems

Some reef aquaria have chronic low nitrogen availability. One indicator is very low nitrate. Nitrate dosing is a fine remedy, but it is possible that ammonia dosing may be more beneficial for some organisms since ammonia can be energetically easier to assimilate than is nitrate. For this...

www.reef2reef.com

Potassium nitrate is a poor choice unless you are closely monitoring potassium and know you need it.

Better choices are ammonium bicarbonate, calcium nitrate, or sodium nitrate. Get food grades from Amazon. I recommend the ammonium bicarbonate choice.

DIY Ammonia dosing for low nitrate systems

Some reef aquaria have chronic low nitrogen availability. One indicator is very low nitrate. Nitrate dosing is a fine remedy, but it is possible that ammonia dosing may be more beneficial for some organisms since ammonia can be energetically easier to assimilate than is nitrate. For this...

www.reef2reef.com

If possible would you be able to confirm if I'm understanding this correctly?

The screenshot shows my water volume, what I intend to mix up and if I understand correctly if my tank presently is reading zero nitrates I should roughly end up with .37


Thank you very much for your input

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I do not understand what you are doing.

You have ammonium nitrate? Why did you pick that?

If you mean 0.1 ppm ammonia converting into 0.37 ppm nitrate, then that is unlikely to be observed since you are ignoring the nitrate added directly and the amount of the ammonia being taken up rather than being converted into nitrate.

 

[Reefnjunkie]

No I picked up the ammonium bicarbonate and if I read your DIY thread properly, it said to choose
Ammonium nitrate in the calculator.

What I'm trying to do is boost my nitrate. You had posted ammonium bicarb was a better product and I provided a link to the dosing calculator.

I'm trying to use the ammonium bicarbonate to increase my nitrates

 

[Reefnjunkie]

Potassium nitrate is a poor choice unless you are closely monitoring potassium and know you need it.

Better choices are ammonium bicarbonate, calcium nitrate, or sodium nitrate. Get food grades from Amazon. I recommend the ammonium bicarbonate choice.

DIY Ammonia dosing for low nitrate systems

Some reef aquaria have chronic low nitrogen availability. One indicator is very low nitrate. Nitrate dosing is a fine remedy, but it is possible that ammonia dosing may be more beneficial for some organisms since ammonia can be energetically easier to assimilate than is nitrate. For this...

www.reef2reef.com

You provided this

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

You provided this

Now I understand. Yes to your question.

If you dissolve 50 grams of ammonium bicarbonate (contains 11.4 grams ammonia) in 1 L total volume, and then add 17 mL (contains 194 mg ammonia in that 17 mL) to 500 gallons (1893 L) of tank water, you will boost ammonia by 0.10 ppm.

 

[lbacha]

I have dosed potassium nitrate for years (first in my high tech planted tanks and for the last 8 years my reef tanks) but I also have a large 3-4' tall mangrove in my sump which uses the potassium. I get ICP's every couple months and have no issues with potassium being elevated (I dose 40ml a day of a 2 tsp per liter solution). I am considering switching to ammonium bicarbonate (based on Randy's thread) and then dosing potassium as needed based on ICP results. My system is 100g with a single large damsel, mainly SPS (acros' and montis) and Zoa's. The sump is a stock tank with a huge mangrove in it)

 

[Reefnjunkie]

Now I understand. Yes to your question.

If you dissolve 50 grams of ammonium bicarbonate (contains 11.4 grams ammonia) in 1 L total volume, and then add 17 mL (contains 194 mg ammonia in that 17 mL) to 500 gallons (1893 L) of tank water, you will boost ammonia by 0.10 ppm.

Please be patient

With my end goal increasing my NO3.

It's your last sentence of boosting ammonia by .10ppm that has me posting this

Thanks again!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Please be patient

With my end goal increasing my NO3.

It's your last sentence of boosting ammonia by .10ppm that has me posting this

Thanks again!

Do you have what you need now?

 

[Reefnjunkie]

Do you have what you need now?

I believe so, but if I may....

I should/will be able to see the NO3 boost when I test NO3

Under the above equation roughly .37 NO3

Is this correct

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I believe so, but if I may....

I should/will be able to see the NO3 boost when I test NO3

Under the above equation roughly .37 NO3

Is this correct

Only if the ammonia is not absorbed first. It may take substantial amounts to overcome organisms using it.