DIY ammonia dosing for low N systems

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

See the thread here:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/diy-ammonia-dosing-for-low-nitrate-systems.987087/

 

[Dan_P]

See the thread here:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/diy-ammonia-dosing-for-low-nitrate-systems.987087/

Cool!

I think ammonium carbonate is in smelling salts too. It has quite a kick :)

 

[dkline]

Randy. I am using 4.75 tsp to 1 liter of ammonium bicarbonate for a stock solution. How long does this last for shelf life? Initially it smelled of ammonia but after a few days it no longer has a smell. Does that mean it is no longer useful? I have about 210 gallons of total water so I only need about 20ml at a time so it will take a while to work thru the liter. Wondering how long it lasts or if I should be making a much smaller amount at a time.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Randy. I am using 4.75 tsp to 1 liter of ammonium bicarbonate for a stock solution. How long does this last for shelf life? Initially it smelled of ammonia but after a few days it no longer has a smell. Does that mean it is no longer useful? I have about 210 gallons of total water so I only need about 20ml at a time so it will take a while to work thru the liter. Wondering how long it lasts or if I should be making a much smaller amount at a time.

If it is sealed it will last forever. I am not sure how long it takes to escape from any given container. Keeping it as best closed as possible is a good plan.

I keep mine for weeks in a glass milk jug with a hole drilled through the cap for the dosing tubing, though I have not verified its potency vs time.

 

[dkline]

Thank you for your response Randy.

 

[ReefED!]

Never thought I’d have to resort to this but despite feeding heavily I have chronically low nitrates but anywhere from .03 to .07 phosphates

Looks like I need to dose ammonia