Anyone dosing NO3 for their LPS/softies tank?

[Paleozoic_reefer]

Recently I was thinking about dosing NO3 in my tank. I predominately have LPS and softies and can rarely keep my NO3 above 5ppm. my tank is about 5 years old and is a RSR 350 that has about 15 small fish (with my largest fish being my mocha clown pair and Christmas wrasse) I feed one large cube of frozen food (1/2 morning and 1/2 afternoon) every day and target feed my nems and LPS coral with home made food (mix of shrimp, clams, and reef frenzy). I run a my skimmer 24/7 and have a refugium that keeps my pod population healthy for my two mandarins. I have a large amount of live rock in the tank and in the sump and also have one plate of MarinePure. I'm thinking as my softies and LPS grow the amount of bacteria in the media and live rock may be inhibiting my LPS and softy growth by consuming my NO3 too fast. I don't want to feed more since it would also raise my phosphates and bring back my bubble algae issue and was wondering if I should go down the route of dosing NO3? I would love to hear any suggestions, comments, and examples!

 

[Halal Hotdog]

I have never seen a low nutrient system that could not overcome with more feeding. If you double the volume of food you will definitely get more nitrates. I really feel the nitrate and phosphate dosing is purely a fad, more food and 99% of cases are corrected.

 

[Paleozoic_reefer]

I have no doubt that more food will equate to more NO3 but it will also increase my PO4..so I wanted to see if I would be in a better place if I just dosed NO3 instead of the extra food route...

 

[Bryknicks]

I dosed nitrates for a time in order to register and it helped tremendously. Bottoming out my nitrates led to a dino issue. I started dosing KNO3 for a couple weeks and have since been able to stop as my tank now holds steady. The only exception is when I perform a WC and need a boost to bring me back to ~5-10ppm.

 

[Halal Hotdog]

I have had too little nitrates as well as too high. When I was nutrient poor, I avoided adding bottled nitrate because of the additional potassium that it came with, which I do not test for. For me when nitrates get too low I just feed a lot, and used lanthanum chloride to keep my phosphates in check. For me this is absolutely the easiest way to maintain nutrients.

 

[45ZoaGarden]

What’s wrong with the parameters you currently have? Nothing wrong with 5ppm. You could have an ultra low phosphate causing the problem.

 

[DanConnor]

You can get food grade Sodium Nitrate on amazon made by loudwolf- this might be better than stump killer.

When I attached a 180 frag tray to my 200 reef, my nitrate dropped to nothing, despite feeding liberally 4 times a day.

 

[MixedFruitBasket]

My nitrates shot up to 40 and now everything is growing like crazy. Despite water changes it doesn't seem to want to drop either. :/
Personally I'm not going to worry about it. The corals look good, the water is clear, the fish are healthy.

 

[Paleozoic_reefer]

@DanConnor can you share how you mix the NaNO3 (just found it on Amazon) and what amount you dose? Thanks!

 

[DanConnor]

I mixed 2 tablespoons with 2 cups ro water. I'm dosing 10 ml a day in a 400 gallon system. I may increase that to 15 or 20.

I've been doing it somewhat irregularly, but now going to do every day, as I am always at a barely detectable level.

 

[CeeCee]

@DanConnor can you share how you mix the NaNO3 (just found it on Amazon) and what amount you dose? Thanks!

I have been looking for that on Amazon but I cannot seem to find it, what is it labeled under?

 

[DanConnor]

Loudwolf Sodium Nitrite/Fine Powder / 4 Ounces / 99.6% Pure/Food Grade/Ships Fast from USA

 

[MixedFruitBasket]

I mixed 2 tablespoons with 2 cups ro water. I'm dosing 10 ml a day in a 400 gallon system. I may increase that to 15 or 20.

I've been doing it somewhat irregularly, but now going to do every day, as I am always at a barely detectable level.

I apologize if you already said this...but what test kit are you using to run your nitrates?

 

[DanConnor]

I alternate between red sea and salifert

 

[MixedFruitBasket]

I alternate between red sea and salifert

And do you shake the bottles of solution for at least thirty seconds before using it?

 

[DanConnor]

And do you shake the bottles of solution for at least thirty seconds before using it?

No, although I do give them a shake. You think a lot of shaking makes a difference?

 

[MixedFruitBasket]

No, although I do give them a shake. You think a lot of shaking makes a difference?

It all depends on what they're using as a reagent but shaking it too much can't hurt like shaking it too little. You shake too little, and the reagents have settled, you will get false 0 readings.
I'm surprised that the instructions don't tell you to shake the bottles for a good amount of time. But then the instructions also don't tell you to store it at room temperature because extended exposure to high or low temps could potentially damage the reagents.

 

[DanConnor]

Makes sense; I'll give it a try. But it did have fairly high readings with both test kits before I attached the 180 gallon frag tray and that started sucking all the nitrate out of the water. And I i used to have to clean my glass every day- now hardly at all.

Regarding the sodium nitrate above- I should point out that I personally haven't used this enough to endorse it in any way- I have read about others using is though

 

[Phyber]

Not an expert, but I had a similar low nutrient/low bioload deal.... I found daily amino acid dosing helped everyone. Corals got the results of nitrate dosing since the aminos were already broken down.

 

[MixedFruitBasket]

Makes sense; I'll give it a try. But it did have fairly high readings with both test kits before I attached the 180 gallon frag tray and that started sucking all the nitrate out of the water. And I i used to have to clean my glass every day- now hardly at all.

Regarding the sodium nitrate above- I should point out that I personally haven't used this enough to endorse it in any way- I have read about others using is though

okay. I gotta ask. What is a 180 gallon frag tray. Cause I’m picturing this six foot long frag tray with like a thousand plugs in it. Lol