Ammonium dosing is a bit overrated

[p1u5h13r4m24]

Interesting thread as I have found it difficult to keep up with just my ammonium bicarbonate/urea dosing. I found I been dosing too much often;and some of my corals get irritated. I may have to find another solution. Maybe something to add to my mix so I don’t have to dose as much ammonia

 

[Troylee]

For some reason, the closer I stay to 50, the less nuisance algae I have??? There’s got to be something to it??? Or just dumb luck

I had to clean my glass daily at 10n03 and .5 p04.. raising them to 20 on the n03 and .3 on my p04 I clean the glass once every 3 days at best.. it’s weird

 

[BriDroid]

I had to clean my glass daily at 10n03 and .5 p04.. raising them to 20 on the n03 and .3 on my p04 I clean the glass once every 3 days at best.. it’s weird

It’s so strange

 

[p1u5h13r4m24]

What is everyone using to test ammonia? I really should keep an eye on it to be sure I’m maxing out my dosage without causing any harm

 

[Troylee]

What is everyone using to test ammonia? I really should keep an eye on it to be sure I’m maxing out my dosage without causing any harm

Nothing . I use nitrates as a guide line myself.

 

[BriDroid]

What is everyone using to test ammonia? I really should keep an eye on it to be sure I’m maxing out my dosage without causing any harm

I don’t test it. Honestly in a tank full of corals it really doesn’t seem to last very long.

 

[p1u5h13r4m24]

Ah ok see I just plumbed a new frag tank to my display. The frag tank went through Dino’s and now it’s gha. Normal stuff in assuming from all the new pvc and acrylic. Weird thing is my main display had no issues. Even stranger some coral in the frag tank look bothered while the display looks great. Again they are plumbed together so I thought maybe it was the ammonia.

I was dosing about 60ml a day in a 180g system. My mixture is 20g crystals to 1liter of r/o water (+5g urea)

 

[rishma]

I don’t know how having plenty of nitrate and phosphate reduces algae growth but I believe your observations!

When I was keeping 0 NO3 and 0.1 PO4, algae was insane?

Super Interesting. What did you change in terms of dosing? What are your nitrate and phosphate levels now?

 

[BriDroid]

Super Interesting. What did you change in terms of dosing? What are your nitrate and phosphate levels now?

I went with Tropic Marin Amino-Organic for the N and Phos-Feed for the P. My N was reading 0ppm. Corals looked good, regained color from ODing ammonium but algae was nuts! I was adding snails trying to keep up. I got fed up and went back to ammonium bicarbonate and urea and Phos-Feed for the P (I like the Phos-Feed). This morning my N was 8ppm and my P was 0.264. Algae growth is almost non existent, very slow and corals are fat and happy.

 

[rishma]

Super Interesting. What did you change in terms of dosing? What are your nitrate and phosphate levels now?

I went with Tropic Marin Amino-Organic for the N and Phos-Feed for the P. My N was reading 0ppm. Corals looked good, regained color from ODing ammonium but algae was nuts! I was adding snails trying to keep up. I got fed up and went back to ammonium bicarbonate and urea and Phos-Feed for the P (I like the Phos-Feed). This morning my N was 8ppm and my P was 0.264. Algae growth is almost non existent, very slow and corals are fat and happy.

I wonder if the aminos have something to do with algae?

The ammonia is providing a bunch of N that we are not counting in the ratio of N:P. The nitrate is just what’s left over. I’m trying to get my head around this. I might go watch the Delbeek talk again.

I have targeted different nitrates with steady phosphates and not noticed a change in algae growth but I was not looking for it. I’ll keep an eye on this going forward.

 

[Dread Pirate Dave]

I went with Tropic Marin Amino-Organic for the N and Phos-Feed for the P. My N was reading 0ppm. Corals looked good, regained color from ODing ammonium but algae was nuts! I was adding snails trying to keep up. I got fed up and went back to ammonium bicarbonate and urea and Phos-Feed for the P (I like the Phos-Feed). This morning my N was 8ppm and my P was 0.264. Algae growth is almost non existent, very slow and corals are fat and happy.

I just picked up some phos-feed to raise mine. I hope I see the same results. My no3 is currently 7.8 but po4 is .01 to .03 lately. Fingers crossed!

 

[BriDroid]

I just picked up some phos-feed to raise mine. I hope I see the same results. My no3 is currently 7.8 but po4 is .01 to .03 lately. Fingers crossed!

It takes a while, don’t expect results overnight. It takes a few weeks to start seeing measurable P.

 

[rishma]

I don’t have the patience to watch Delbeek’s talk again but I did re-read this thread about it which was interesting. I remain unconvinced ratios have anything to do with anything but it’s still interesting stuff!

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/charles-delbeek-n-p-alk….1091098/

 

[Dburr1014]

It seems like everyone says it?

I was running no measurable NO3 for a few months. I was dosing TM Plus-NP and Amino-Organic and keeping my PO4 around 0.1ppm. Algae growth was nuts. I was scraping the glass twice a day sometimes.

I watched a video by Charles Delbeek about the NP Molar ratio. Since then I’ve been trying to target his 50:1 molar ratio and things look so much better. Coral growth and colors are good and I scrape maybe once every 3rd day. NO3/PO4 X 1.53=N:P Molar ratio. Seems like there’s something to it???

It could just be a coincidence.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

It seems like everyone says it?

I was running no measurable NO3 for a few months. I was dosing TM Plus-NP and Amino-Organic and keeping my PO4 around 0.1ppm. Algae growth was nuts. I was scraping the glass twice a day sometimes.

I watched a video by Charles Delbeek about the NP Molar ratio. Since then I’ve been trying to target his 50:1 molar ratio and things look so much better. Coral growth and colors are good and I scrape maybe once every 3rd day. NO3/PO4 X 1.53=N:P Molar ratio. Seems like there’s something to it???

I don’t agree with the ratio idea as opposed to targeting both N and P to desirable levels. Ratios can lead to incorrect situations where both are too low or too high.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

What is everyone using to test ammonia? I really should keep an eye on it to be sure I’m maxing out my dosage without causing any harm

It does not ever seem to accumulate and there’s no point measuring in an established tank. Would you test if you added a new fish?

 

[p1u5h13r4m24]

What is everyone using to test ammonia? I really should keep an eye on it to be sure I’m maxing out my dosage without causing any harm

It does not ever seem to accumulate and there’s no point measuring in an established tank. Would you test if you added a new fish?

Ahh that’s fair. I’m sure my issues revolve more around the fact I have algae’s in the new tank than. Also my 60ml dose is spread over 24 hours so it’s really only dosing about 3ml of ammonium bicarbonate solution every hour. Thank you!

 

[Hans-Werner]

I don’t know how having plenty of nitrate and phosphate reduces algae growth

Possibly by limiting iron solubility and iron availability.

You need all nutrients to have growth. The nutrient in lowest supply is limiting growth. Different kinds of organisms may have different nutrient demands and different ways to get nutrients.

 

[rishma]

I don’t know how having plenty of nitrate and phosphate reduces algae growth

Possibly by limiting iron solubility and iron availability.

You need all nutrients to have growth. The nutrient in lowest supply is limiting growth. Different kinds of organisms may have different nutrient demands and different ways to get nutrients.

I understand that another nutrient could be limiting, but how does having nitrate and phosphate in a certain proportion to each other relate to iron solubility and availability?

 

[BriDroid]

It could just be a coincidence.

It could very well be. I'm not saying everyone should do it, but it is definitely working for me in my tank.