DIY Nitrate Dosing Recipe

[Miami Reef]

Here’s a quick guide of the DIY nitrate recipes we commonly use for reef tanks.


Sodium nitrate and calcium nitrate are the most common materials used. It’s crucial to ensure that these compounds are food-grade or have a purity rating. Sourcing pure chemicals is more economical than purchasing hobby-grade products with no purity ratings.

Avoid using stump remover or potassium nitrate. Stump remover can contain various unknown byproducts, and both substances will likely boost potassium levels excessively.



Sodium Nitrate:

Food-grade sources are readily available online or on Amazon.

Sodium nitrate (NaNO3) is 73% nitrate by weight.


To achieve 1 ppm of nitrate (NO3) in 100 L, we need 100 mg of Nitrate.


Since sodium nitrate is 73% nitrate:


100 mg / 0.729 = 137 mg NaNO3 needed.


To make the solution, dissolve 137 g of sodium nitrate in 1 L of RO/DI or purified water.


1 mL of this solution will raise nitrate by 1 ppm in 100 L.




Calcium Nitrate:

Calcium nitrate is a bit harder to source. Most compounds are used for plant fertilizer.

However, Loudwolf sells 99% pure reagent-grade calcium nitrate tetrahydrate which is suitable for this purpose.

Calcium nitrate won’t skew the calcium:alkalinity ratio because the nitrate consumption will add back the balanced alk.


Calcium Nitrate Tetrahydrate Recipe:


Calcium nitrate tetrahydrate Ca(NO3)2 • 4H2O is 52.5% nitrate by weight.


To achieve 1 ppm of nitrate (NO3) in 100 L, we need 100 mg of Nitrate.


Since calcium nitrate tetrahydrate is 52.5% nitrate:


100 mg / 0.525 = 190.47mg Ca(NO3)2 • 4H2O needed.


To make the solution, dissolve 190.5 g of calcium nitrate tetrahydrate in 1 L of RO/DI or purified water.


1 mL of this solution will raise nitrate by 1 ppm in 100 L.




Note: Consuming 50 ppm of NO3 through dosing nitrate adds 2.3 dKH of alkalinity. However, the significance of this increase may vary depending on your nitrate demand. In most cases, you’d hardly notice it, if at all.

 

[Pistondog]

Thanks for this.
Nitrate dosing guidelines might mention ammonia (bicarbonate) dosing as another nutrition source for corals.

 

[Miami Reef]

Thanks for this.
Nitrate dosing guidelines might mention ammonia (bicarbonate) dosing as another nutrition source for corals.

I had ammonia as well as other nutrient sources outlined in my Complete Nutrient Raising guide:

The Complete Guide to Raising Nutrients

Raising nutrients can feel like an uphill battle for many tanks. It’s not always clear which products to use, what to dose, or which filtration methods to adjust or remove. Chronically low nutrients can influence coral bleaching, pale colors...

www.reef2reef.com

I thought I’d be helpful to have a separate DIY thread for those who specifically wanted to dose nitrate.

But yes, you can use ammonium as an alternative for a nitrogen source.

DIY Ammonia dosing for low nitrate systems

Some reef aquaria have chronic low nitrogen availability. One indicator is very low nitrate. Nitrate dosing is a fine remedy, but it is possible that ammonia dosing may be more beneficial for some organisms since ammonia can be energetically easier to assimilate than is nitrate. For this...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Nice. :)

 

[Miami Reef]

Nice. :)

Thanks!

 

[tobster]

@Miami Reef the Amazon link didn’t work for me. Could you send the link please?

 

[Miami Reef]

@Miami Reef the Amazon link didn’t work for me. Could you send the link please?

This is sodium nitrate:

Amazon.com : Sodium Nitrate ⊘ Non-GMO Gluten-Free Vegan OU Kosher Certified - 50g/2oz : Everything Else

Amazon.com : Sodium Nitrate ⊘ Non-GMO Gluten-Free Vegan OU Kosher Certified - 50g/2oz : Everything Else

a.co

Let me know if it works.

 

[tobster]

This is sodium nitrate:

Amazon.com : Sodium Nitrate ⊘ Non-GMO Gluten-Free Vegan OU Kosher Certified - 50g/2oz : Everything Else

Amazon.com : Sodium Nitrate ⊘ Non-GMO Gluten-Free Vegan OU Kosher Certified - 50g/2oz : Everything Else

a.co

Let me know if it works.

Yes it worked. Thank you!

 

[Lou City Reefing]

What’s the pros and cons of dosing Sodium Nitrate vs Ammonium Bicarbonate?

Just curious because I love learning about this side of the hobby!

 

[Miami Reef]

What’s the pros and cons of dosing Sodium Nitrate vs Ammonium Bicarbonate?

Just curious because I love learning about this side of the hobby!

Perfect timing. I just made this thread:

Ammonium dosing is a bit overrated

Ammonium dosing is the new flavor of the day. Everyone is touting its benefits as if it’s unlocked the missing puzzle piece to a successful reef aquarium. Some continue dosing ammonia even when their tank is already overflowing with nitrate, and others have even started considering urea dosing...

www.reef2reef.com

Apparently corals work slightly more to use nitrate.

 

[Lou City Reefing]

Holy - you weren’t kidding. Perfect timing!

So - the Sodium Nitrate is slightly more expensive, initially, than Ammonium Bicarbonate solution, but it takes way less solution to raise the NO3 and you can manage with the Ammonium Bicarbonate solution or feeding more. That is extremely interesting.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Holy - you weren’t kidding. Perfect timing!

So - the Sodium Nitrate is slightly more expensive, initially, than Ammonium Bicarbonate solution, but it takes way less solution to raise the NO3 and you can manage with the Ammonium Bicarbonate solution or feeding more. That is extremely interesting.

Expense depends on what brands and sizes you buy, but neither is what I would call costly.

It is true that corals and likely other organisms will prefer to take up ammonia when both ammonia and nitrate are available. It takes less energy to use ammonia since organisms will have to work to convert nitrate to ammonia before use.

Whether it has advantages that are visibly apparent in a reef tank using one vs the other is what Miami's thread is largely about.

 

[choco24]

Hello @Randy Holmes-Farley . I have a 250 gallon mix and would like to help my tank with no3 as ive been struggling to get it past 1.8… my po4 usually around 0.03-05. I purchased from amazon the ammonia bicarbonate. I wanted help with mixing instructions and amount to start dosing. Ideally I would like to raise no3 to 10-15ppm range. I’ve attached what purchased for accuracy. Thank you in advance!

 

[Miami Reef]

Hello @Randy Holmes-Farley . I have a 250 gallon mix and would like to help my tank with no3 as ive been struggling to get it past 1.8… my po4 usually around 0.03-05. I purchased from amazon the ammonia bicarbonate. I wanted help with mixing instructions and amount to start dosing. Ideally I would like to raise no3 to 10-15ppm range. I’ve attached what purchased for accuracy. Thank you in advance!

Hello, I’m not Randy, but I can help:

DIY Ammonia dosing for low nitrate systems

Some reef aquaria have chronic low nitrogen availability. One indicator is very low nitrate. Nitrate dosing is a fine remedy, but it is possible that ammonia dosing may be more beneficial for some organisms since ammonia can be energetically easier to assimilate than is nitrate. For this...

www.reef2reef.com

20 grams ammonium bicarbonate per L
Dose 2.3 mL per 100 L to achieve 0.1 ppm ammonia (0.36 NO₃)

You’d need a starting dose of about 22 mL per day. If nitrate doesn’t increase by 4 days, double the dose. You can continue this pattern: if nitrate isn’t increasing within a week, double the ammonium dose. You’ll eventually reach your target.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I restarted dosing ammonia to my 250 gallon system with that exact product at the exact dose Miami gives.

If you want to get to 10 ppm, it will take a while and likely need higher doses over time. Mine is already at 10 ppm, but slowly dropping.

 

[choco24]

Thank you both. I Just finished setting it up with my doser. Doing 5 doses of 4ml a day to start with. Will test tomorrow.

 

[Gimmy770]

Note: Consuming 50 ppm of NO3 through dosing nitrate adds 2.3 dKH of alkalinity. However, the significance of this increase may vary depending on your nitrate demand. In most cases, you’d hardly notice it, if at all.

I, could you better explain this point that by adding nitrate you also add dKH?


So, by dosing NaNO₃, besides adding nitrate to the tank, am I also increasing dKH?

 

[KStatefan]

I, could you better explain this point that by adding nitrate you also add dKH?


So, by dosing NaNO₃, besides adding nitrate to the tank, am I also increasing dKH?

It is the consumption of the nitrate that increases alk.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Expanding on the above statement, the biological process of using nitrate creates alkalinity. I discuss it in great detail in one of the sections of this article:

When Do Calcium and Alkalinity Demand Not Exactly Balance?

When Do Calcium and Alkalinity Demand Not Exactly Balance? By Randy Holmes-Farley Calcium and alkalinity are generally supplied to reef aquaria in order to offset losses caused by the formation of calcium carbonate. There are many ways to...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Miami Reef]

I, could you better explain this point that by adding nitrate you also add dKH?


So, by dosing NaNO₃, besides adding nitrate to the tank, am I also increasing dKH?

1 acid (H+) is released for every molecule of ammonia converted into nitrate. This steadily depletes alkalinity by releasing acid into the tank. However, for every nitrate ion consumed, an exact bicarbonate ion is produced, increasing the alkalinity.

When carried out in full, like initially losing the alk from ammonia then gaining it back from nitrate, it is a net 0 effect on alk.

When you dose nitrate, it bypasses the initial alk reduction effect from the ammonia conversion, ending up having a net increase in alkalinity over time.