Question about Spectracide Stump Remover dosing

[reefaboo]

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@Randy Holmes-Farley

I'm wanting to make this way more concentrated. I'm not using stump remover, but pure potassium nitrate, 99.8% which I'll guess is same solution.

Going with the above formula for my tanks that I need to dose total water for 140 and 50 I'd need 70ml and 25ml to raise .08

Let's say I mixed 50g instead of 10g with 1l of water, would I be correct in saying I'd need 28ml for the 140 and 10 for the 50?

Appreciate your help in making this stronger concentration.

where did you get the 99.8% KNO3 ? online ?

 

[BryanS4]

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where did you get the 99.8% KNO3 ? online ?

Amazon.

 

[Lazys Coral House]

Here's a recipe:

Dissolve 10 grams in 1 liter of fresh water. That 10 grams contains 6.14 grams of nitrate, so that solution is 6,140 ppm nitrate.

If you add 1 ml of the solution per 2 gallons of tank water volume, that will boost nitrate by 0.8 ppm nitrate.

I am wanting to make a stock solution where 1ml will raise 1g of tank water by 1ppm. Can you tell me how many grams of Spectracide Stump Remover I need to add to 1g of RO/DI to make this concentration? Thank you!

 

[Lazys Coral House]

Maybe it is 13.82 grams of Spectricide Stump Remover granules to 1g of RO/DI? This will make a stock solution that raises 1g of tank water by 1ppm for every 1ml dosed? Can anyone confirm. Dosing 300ml to a 300g tank will raise Nitrate by 1ppm? Thank you

 

[brad65ford]

Been down this road before with over feed and not skimming in the past. Right now i've been 0 no3 for so long while some of the corals don't seem to mind it but others are pale and not doing well. So i'm now on the Spectricide Stump Remover dosing to see what i can raise it to, in the past 5ppm usually is the best color and health though i'll take anything right now.

What i'm wondering (hopefully some knows the answer) is how long after you dose can you see the true n03 results in your tank?

 

[sfg]

Been down this road before with over feed and not skimming in the past. Right now i've been 0 no3 for so long while some of the corals don't seem to mind it but others are pale and not doing well. So i'm now on the Spectricide Stump Remover dosing to see what i can raise it to, in the past 5ppm usually is the best color and health though i'll take anything right now.

What i'm wondering (hopefully some knows the answer) is how long after you dose can you see the true n03 results in your tank?

I've tested within an hour. My tank volume is about 65g with a 500GPH return. Not sure if that helps.

 

[brad65ford]

Thanks sfg, i'm on it. Dosed 50ml of solution in my 130g system. Solution consists of 10g's of stump remover and 400ml of ro/di water. Didn't even show up on saliferts kit so i added another 100ml. Will report back.

 

[brad65ford]

Ok 150ml of my 10g/400ml solution gave me 2.5ppm of no3 (best i can read) in the 139g system. Wow that was cool. A little more then i wanted to go at first but we will see what happens. Do not plan to dose any more but will re-test in a few days to see if there was consumption and or any coral changes. Whats funny is the forum seems pretty spot on if my test results are close. Good stuff.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Whats funny is the forum seems pretty spot on if my test results are close. Good stuff.

Chemistry of this sort is an exact science. lol

 

[authentic]

I've been dosing nopox and my nitrates are ultra low,if I reduce my nopox dose is that the same as dosing spectracide?or can I do both?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I've been dosing nopox and my nitrates are ultra low,if I reduce my nopox dose is that the same as dosing spectracide?or can I do both?

You can do both and some do, if the goal is to drive down phosphate or drive bacterial growth for other reasons (like feeding filter feeders).

 

[TMC1313]

Hi, I want to add my experience with KNO3 dosing as well. First I will give you a little background information on my system. It's a standard 120 gallon aquarium (98% SPS). I have 8 or so fish and I feed sparingly once a day using almost exclusively Omega brand flake food. Once every 3 months or so I will give something frozen as a treat. Although I've never done any type of carbon dosing my tank has always performed like a UNLS system. I tried cutting back on water changes, AA dosing, coral food and nothing seemed to work until KNO3. It really was like a switch had turned on. My corals have always had that light pastel type of coloring. I wanted them to have deeper coloration and couldn't get there until I started dosing KNO3 just over 4 months ago now. I made up a 60g/L solution using the Spectracide that I picked up at Lowe's. I tested my water initially (nitrates were zero using the Salifert test kit). I dosed the aquarium to get nitrates up to ~3-5ppm and have never looked back. I dose 25mls every other day and my tank has never looked better and nitrates are holding steady. I'll attach a photo of my tank from about a month ago for everyone to see my results thus far. Thanks for looking:
image sharing sites

 

[JMM744]

Ok, been reading this thread with great interest. Just talked to a fellow reefer tonight who recommending getting my nitrates up some to help with hair algae. Tank is a 30 cube with rock and bare bottom. HOB filter and two small power heads for flow. Lots of easy stuff coral wise. Been cycled for several months. Have one fire fish, several feather dusters and some snails and small crabs hanging about. Growing hair algae quite well. Everything is good chemistry wise but phosphates at .78. I have phosgard on hand but am wondering if dosing is the way to go? Algae is much worse then in the picture, much worse. Thanks all, Jim

 

[Mark75]

I stopped dosing nitrates(stump remover) 3-4 months ago due to low phosphates but would like to start back. Is there any way to dose nitrates and not lower my already low phosphates?

 

[Lazys Coral House]

If you have both low phosphate and nitrate then consider feeding a lot more. Your fish and coral will appreciate it. Dosing nitrates in my opinion is better suited for those that have trouble controlling phosphate as it allows for raising one and not the other.

 

[Mark75]

If you have both low phosphate and nitrate then consider feeding a lot more. Your fish and coral will appreciate it. Dosing nitrates in my opinion is better suited for those that have trouble controlling phosphate as it allows for raising one and not the other.

That is the approach I have taken over the last few months. I added 3 Anthias and feed them 3-4 times a day. I still have very low nutrients. I am adding 2 more Anthias soon. I have 3lbs Seachem Matrix in my sump, primarily for pod reproduction, but I am concerned the Matrix may be where my nutrients are going. My SPS pale with low nitrates and die with low phosphates so I will not dose nitrates until I get my phosphates up. I guess I will continue to add fish until I see my nutrients increase. [emoji16]

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I stopped dosing nitrates(stump remover) 3-4 months ago due to low phosphates but would like to start back. Is there any way to dose nitrates and not lower my already low phosphates?

Whether nitrate dosing lowers phosphate depends on whether nitrate is so low that it is limiting the growth of organisms. If it is limiting, then you can dose both or feed more. If it is not limiting, then phosphate won't decline.

 

[Mark75]

Whether nitrate dosing lowers phosphate depends on whether nitrate is so low that it is limiting the growth of organisms. If it is limiting, then you can dose both or feed more. If it is not limiting, then phosphate won't decline.

So, if I dose nitrates and see no reduction in phosphates am I correct to assume my tank was not nitrate limited?

How would I determine this? I can not afford to reduce my phosphates any. Hanna ULR phosphorus checker shows 0.00-0.01 after numerous test.

 

[brad65ford]

This has already been a learning experiment and a positive one at that too. Though i haven't checked what the no3 would be after 5 days to see if its been consumed or removed from the system yet I can already see change from the system and most of the corals.

My system is mostly sps but there is lps's as well. All my acan's have blown up with full polyp extension and staying full all day long which is normally not the norm. Before this a few acan's have been shrunk during the day on and off. Now I'm not staying this is a direct relationship to the n03 but it sure looks to be. Not much has changed with the sps's, coral was never majorly pail.

Other things to mentioned would be seeing in increase in green algae on the bb floor which my wife most nicely pointed out to me. Good news is the tangs are enjoying it though. Doesn't look to be effecting coraline algae on the bottom which is good. Also the water does looks cloudy i'm not sure if its a direct relationship or possible bacteria bloom. Skim mate seems to be similarly.

Will be testing No3 next week and see if it came down some, have a strong believe n03 swings much easier on corals then alk swings. If this is the case I don't plan to dose offen just when it needs a pick me up. Not sure what everyone's opinions and results are when steering away from the red field numbers but i know my p04 is unreadable (no color) which we all know is in the tank especially when i feed 6-7 times a day multiple different foods. From my past experience 5ppm of n03 was the max i wanted to go since algae became a problem but now i have a small arm of tangs to help.

Good thread, all positive results when done correctly. Props to everyones responses and feedback!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

So, if I dose nitrates and see no reduction in phosphates am I correct to assume my tank was not nitrate limited?

How would I determine this? I can not afford to reduce my phosphates any. Hanna ULR phosphorus checker shows 0.00-0.01 after numerous test.

If nitrate can be maintained at levels above 1 ppm and phosphate does not decline perceptably, yes, that would be my conclusion.