Ammonium dosing is a bit overrated

[TankYouVeryMuch]

What’s not to like? Just stay away from asparagus.

The medications excreted.

“Good news doc, you got rid of my briopsis outbreak!”

“…yeah, we might need to review your medications.”

 

[Troylee]

Mine would be 90% beer and bourbon so not sure I could be a candidate for such

Carbon dosing is a good thang!

 

[Red_Beard]

Quite the thread! I do think @Miami Reef makes some good points. If a system's N is bottomed out, front-loading an N buffer in form of sodium nitrate would be a rapidly effective means of getting some near term N availability while ammonium dosing would provide an easier means of N availability for coral. Very interesting.
That is sort of how i interpreted the addition of urea to the ammonium bicarbonate. I would assume that the ammonium bicarbonate would be the first N source to be utilized and could be rapidly depleted unless dosed heavily. Kind of like our own diets, where our body quickly utilizes sugars but has to work a bit to get the starches broken down, so they 'stick to our ribs' longer so to say. In that vein, N in form of nitrate would be more like the bodies accumulated fat. Necessary to some degree, especially in high metabolic systems, to avoid a crash, but stored in excess becomes a detriment to the system. Not directly a 1 to 1 analog, nor part of a well balanced breakfast, but that is how I have started looking at this. (though I am pretty good at being wrong)

 

[CHSUB]

The problem with this hobby is that everyone speaks with the presumption of knowledge. Even here in Italy... With the game of soccer... They're all coaches. We have 60 million inhabitants... 30 million men, 30 million failed soccer coaches. With results like yours, I would have the humility to take pen and paper and learn, learn, learn, and stop asking... To speak, you must at least have results..

Your aquarium is incredible! I will agree that results give credibility. However when I’m seeking advice having a great aquarium is only one of many things that persuaded me to follow.

 

[MikeYasin]

I’d like to know how the OP went from bashing ammonium to liking ammonium in the span of 18 hours.

 

[Miami Reef]

I’d like to know how the OP went from bashing ammonium to liking ammonium in the span of 18 hours.

I never bashed ammonium.

 

[Miami Reef]

I’m seeing a lot of hype around me vs Troylee…. As if I’m trying to steal his secrets to win….

I don’t need “em!

I received this acro on June 17th 2025

This is it right now.

 

[areefer01]

I’m seeing a lot of hype around me vs Troylee…. As if I’m trying to steal his secrets to win….

I don’t need “em!

I received this acro on June 17th 2025

This is it right now.

Looks like the same but a close up. A pinch of encrusting on the frag plug.

Edit: let me add a smiley for Pete's sake. I am teasing the lad.

 

[Miami Reef]

Looks like the same but a close up. A pinch of encrusting on the frag plug.

Edit: let me add a smiley for Pete's sake. I am teasing the lad.

I saw the post before the edit part ha.

I was about to hit Troy up: “Is it best to get the recommended 8 glasses of water or would staying dehydrated give the corals peak saturation?”

 

[MikeYasin]

I never bashed ammonium.

K

 

[Ghostbuster]

I don’t doubt that. There are studies showing corals would take ammonium over nitrate if given the choice.

I personally don’t think there should be a significant difference for coral health and growth. In any case, it’s perfectly fine to use ammonium and I do prefer it over nitrate sometimes.

However, lately I’ve been using sodium nitrate for boosting nitrate. It’s instantaneous, which I see as a benefit. I’m not a fan of tinkering with ammonium doses.

I like your great write up @Miami Reef! I personally use Calcium Nitrate to boost whenever needed

 

[jonelder68]

FWIW, when I have wanted to have more N, either in a dino situation or just in general to provide more availability, I’ve been dosing sodium nitrate because I’m often not around long enough at a stretch to optimize ammonia dosing.

I’m going to reinstate ammonia dosing to make up the shortfall between what I’m currently getting by feeding and the nitrate level which falls. I don’t want to decrease the refugium algae amount or lighting time or intensity, because phosphate is at the upper limit of my target range and I want it to decline a bit.

Will it be any different than dosing nitrate? Don’t know and I don’t have any expectation except that it will be all neutral while nitrate dosing boosts alk.

Curious to see how it works out for you. We both have various macros and me and Miami were about to pull our hair out. Every time you get it dialed in it seems to change. When changing it happens rapidly! Hint why I posted asking if macros go through cycles. Same dose one week it would increase NO3 and next week would bottom out. So far sodium nitrate has at least be consistent. Though the macros were thriving color and growth wise with ammonia dosing. Looking forward to your endeavor with it.

 

[Miami Reef]

I like your great write up @Miami Reef! I personally use Calcium Nitrate to boost whenever needed

Love it! I think raising undetectable nitrate with either NO3 or NH4, then maintaining or increasing it the rest of the way with fish feedings is the most optimal solution for coral nutrition:

You can add more fish, and they naturally excrete ammonia (and urea). In addition, you also get particulate organic matter (POM) either from fish waste or the bits of frozen food (LRS or Rods, for example) in the water column.

Win win!

Of course, if your nitrogen demand is too high, are already overstocked with fish, don’t want to increase the organic load, or just find directly dosing inorganic nutrients easier, then there’s absolutely no problem doing so.

I like both ammonium and nitrate. I don’t discriminate.

 

[Ghostbuster]

Love it! I think raising undetectable nitrate with either NO3 or NH4, then maintaining or increasing it the rest of the way with fish feedings is the most optimal solution for coral nutrition:

You can add more fish, and they naturally excrete ammonia (and urea). In addition, you also get particulate organic matter (POM) either from fish waste or the bits of frozen food (LRS or Rods, for example) in the water column.

Win win!

Of course, if your nitrogen demand is too high, are already overstocked with fish, don’t want to increase the organic load, or just find directly dosing inorganic nutrients easier, then there’s absolutely no problem doing so.

I like both ammonium and nitrate. I don’t discriminate.

This discussion did make me remember and account for transferring my fish stock from my 120g aquarium to my 240g tank a couple months ago… didn’t realize it affected some of the coral coloration negatively, like one dark colored acro, “TCG Starry Night”, and “BC Sex Pants”, and a wild colony I picked up a year ago, their branches turned shades of yellow and greens. Very healthy still, but undesirable colors. The other fifty types of acros were unaffected. Nitrates were stable though at about 20-25 ppm for the last few months. I added the 120’s seasoned rockwork too. Thinking ammonia/ium may have increased too much based on this discussion??

But I had more moving parts, decreased PO4 by about 0.15 ppm (adding GFO), and switching salt from Red Sea Blue Bucket to ESV 4-pt Salt, couple of “large” for me water changes at 50 gallons each.

 

[Miami Reef]

This discussion did make me remember and account for transferring my fish stock from my 120g aquarium to my 240g tank a couple months ago… didn’t realize it affected some of the coral coloration negatively, like one dark colored acro, “TCG Starry Night”, and “BC Sex Pants”, and a wild colony I picked up a year ago, their branches turned shades of yellow and greens. Very healthy still, but undesirable colors. The other fifty types of acros were unaffected. Nitrates were stable though at about 20-25 ppm for the last few months. I added the 120’s seasoned rockwork too. Thinking ammonia/ium may have increased too much based on this discussion??

But I had more moving parts, decreased PO4 by about 0.15 ppm (adding GFO), and switching salt from Red Sea Blue Bucket to ESV 4-pt Salt, couple of “large” for me water changes at 50 gallons each.

Very interesting. You are not alone in experiencing this. It’s not unheard of for zooxanthellae be nitrogen limited, and increasing the N bioavailability can spur the density of the symbiotic algae, resulting in more darkening or “brown” colors.

It’s a rare side effect and depends on the specific coral and conditions of the aquarium. If something else, like iron, is limiting, it’s less likely for ammonia to cause darkening.

That being said, many people report their corals respond well to it.

 

[Miami Reef]

My immediate goal is to create an ammonium dosing chart and guideline. I think it can be helpful instead of leaving people astray to figure out how many ppm ammonium to dose and in how many increments to increase it by based on nitrate testing.

DIY Ammonia Dosing Chart

Introduction: Many reef tanks have an incredible nitrate demand, and despite the additional fish and coral food, still struggle to make an impact on the nitrate level. This can subject corals, anemones, coralline, macro/microalgae, and clams to nutrient starvation. Any photosynthetic organism...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Anxur]

Nonsense -- someone can be educated and knowledgeable without “results.” The vast majority of successful, let alone elite, soccer coaches (or coaches of any sport) never played the sport they coach, or if they did, they did not do so at an elite or even commendable level. Likewise, some of those "armchair" coaches that only coach their TVs would make tremendous real coaches. Being a only fan does disqualify one's knowledge of the game, winning strategy or prove anything -- other than they did not choose to coach. In the same fashion, most elite players make poor coaches.

Knowing and doing are very different things — neither is a prerequisite for the other. Sometimes they are complementary, but often they are not

Talking about marine aquariums, giving advice or opinions without demonstrable results that one's knowledge leads to an objectively credible result, is, in my opinion, ridiculous.

 

[Reefering1]

Talking about marine aquariums, giving advice or opinions without demonstrable results that one's knowledge leads to an objectively credible result, is, in my opinion, ridiculous.

That's arguable. You, for example, you have a gorgeous tank; But on the other hand, just spent months arguing Lasse about the importance of testing .1 no2. Is one to decide you are correct and he is wrong because your acro tank is impeccable? Is his tank inferior to yours thus nullifing his advice? I hope you don't truly think so. How about Randy? They're respectable in its own right. Likewise chsub's tank is respectable in its own right. Do you have a growing dendro in your tank? Have you kept one successfully? Let alone in a tank that small while maintaining barely detectable no3/po4? What do you think would happen to your tank if you added one and did what it takes to make it thrives?
Humility is best practiced by all, especially those with excellent tanks. I can't remember the last time I saw someone with a great tank berating another's tank as inferior. Be the example you want to see.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Talking about marine aquariums, giving advice or opinions without demonstrable results that one's knowledge leads to an objectively credible result, is, in my opinion, ridiculous.

That’s certainly partly true (I can also give obvious examples where it is not true), but the issue is whether that advice has to be based on one’s own tank. That’s the point Bean and others are making, and the coach analogy is exactly right.

It definitely does not need to come from
one’s own aquarium, and I think a lot of bad advice has that exact cause: a reefer did something, observed a result, and now recommends that action for inappropriate situations where something is a bit different in a way the advice giver may not even understand.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

I knew a guy with a beautiful and pristine super car. Couldn’t drive for crap, and for sure never washed it, or maintained it himself. I wouldn’t take any advice from him on detailing, maintenance, wrenching, or driving. Maybe on how to look good standing next to it every Sunday….

Same goes for most with airplanes and yachts.

I think it goes both ways, one can be excellent at something without necessarily having “proof” and having “proof” doesn’t always mean anything…..and vice versa.