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Perfor you posted this I was just wondering why we aren’t using CaNO3.I use calcium nitrate. Why not add stuff that can all be used. Plus it’s twice as strong for nitrate.
Yup, many people use this with no ill effects. And I used the same calculator.I've used spectracide stump remover in the past with no I'll effects. Before I used it I did some research on it and was able to get the technical sheet on it. The manufacturer disclosure on the potassium nitrate states its 100%. No other additives or impurities disclosed.
Can there be a bad batch, sure.
In my case I used this calculator for dosing: http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/calculator.htm
I experienced the exact same thing after having zero on the Red Sea nitrate test kit. I had ok colors but pretty dull on some so I started dosing stump remover. Basciacally lost all of my acros to STN. My montis paled as well. I was at around 7.5-8 Dkh when I started dosing for a week. I added about 0.8 ppm a day and toped out at about 2.5. PPM. Stopped dosing when things started to go down hill a few weeks ago. I have continued to lose Acros to STN. I thought maybe I bottomed out phosphates by dosing nitrates and that is what caused the issues, they did read very low on Hanna ULR checker. I have since increased phosphates with heavy feeding. Acros continue to STN but montis are slowy getting color back. I have had to cut back on 2 part dosing due to the all the loss in acros and I'm sure no growth with all the STN. My Alk is now at 9 and I am going to try and keep it there and feed heavy instead to keep nutrients up.
What were your phosphate reading on your Hanna ULR checker when you said they were very low? My thinking would be that if you are getting detectable levels you most likely have enough phosphate in your system. It seems like the general consensus is that folks are targeting around 0.02 ppm phosphate.
Thanks for the info.It was reading zero with the regular checker I had when I noticed the problems so ordered the ULR from BRS and it came in a few days after I stopped dosing. It read 3 ppb so 0.009 ppm. I did order lab grade sodium mono phosphate to start dosing but by the time I got it I had increased the phosphate to 0.03 with heavy feeding and reef roids.
Of the people dosing Potassium Nitrate, who here measures their Potassium levels?
I was warned by an SPS "expert" to be careful of rising Potassium. He gave me a Salifert Potassium kit but I've not yet tried it to measure my own levels.
I don't think this thread pertains to the quality of spectracide but more so other factors within the tank. It's easier to blame the weird "possibly" impure nutrient rather than the tanks age or other types of export media. Sort of like the OP asking himself why he's running bio-pellets and dosing nitrates. If acros are what you are trying to grow then stability is what you want to achieve. Stability includes not having to dose nutrients or dosing nutrients without fluctuations.
While contamination is a possibility, I did send in an ICP test to see if anything came back out of the ordinary. All elements tested were within acceptable levels.Actually i am starting to actually wonder if there is an impurity issue. We have 4 stories here of people who are reporting the exact same thing (or very close). Started doing Spectracide at a low level and SPS starting to melt within days. There are plenty of other stories though out the forum of people dosing Spectricide to a higher level all at once and experiencing to ill effects. I don't think what people are reporting in this thread would be a response to a spike in nitrate especially if you are only going from 0 to 1 ppm. It is the exact opposite of what many people are reporting.
If the spectracide that people are using was contaminated with a heavy metal, like copper, very low trace level could start to cause some serious issues pretty quickly.
While contamination is a possibility, I did send in an ICP test to see if anything came back out of the ordinary. All elements tested were within acceptable levels.
I used a Triton test kit. I always keep one on hand and send them in anytime something looks out of the ordinary.I was considering doing the same thing. How did you prep you same for testing?
I used a Triton test kit. I always keep one on hand and send them in anytime something looks out of the ordinary.
I don't agree. 4 people doesn't account for the rest of us that have fixed stn with dosing nutrients and specifically spectracide. You have to account for po4 dropping, alk reductions, as well as other parameters.Actually i am starting to actually wonder if there is an impurity issue. We have 4 stories here of people who are reporting the exact same thing (or very close). Started doing Spectracide at a low level and SPS starting to melt within days. There are plenty of other stories though out the forum of people dosing Spectricide to a higher level all at once and experiencing to ill effects. I don't think what people are reporting in this thread would be a response to a spike in nitrate especially if you are only going from 0 to 1 ppm. It is the exact opposite of what many people are reporting.
If the spectracide that people are using was contaminated with a heavy metal, like copper, very low trace level could start to cause some serious issues pretty quickly.