My tank is TOO clean...

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

FWIW, ammonium hydroxide (or just ammonia, same thing in water) won't deplete alkalinity, but ammonium chloride will.

 

[sgrosenb]

FWIW, ammonium hydroxide (or just ammonia, same thing in water) won't deplete alkalinity, but ammonium chloride will.

Thanks @Randy Holmes-Farley - could there be any downside to depleting alkalinity with ammonium chloride vs ammonium hydroxide other than just having to replenish additional alkalinity?

 

[Jon_W79]

FWIW, ammonium hydroxide (or just ammonia, same thing in water) won't deplete alkalinity, but ammonium chloride will.

Can you mix baking soda and/or soda ash with ammonium chloride to offset the alkalinity decrease? If you can, how much baking soda, and/or how much soda ash, do you add for each gram of ammonium chloride?

 

[Spare time]

You could also dose aminos. That is what I do rather than dose nitrate or ammonia. I have dosed nitrate before.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Thanks @Randy Holmes-Farley - could there be any downside to depleting alkalinity with ammonium chloride vs ammonium hydroxide other than just having to replenish additional alkalinity?

No, that's the only issue.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Can you mix baking soda and/or soda ash with ammonium chloride to offset the alkalinity decrease? If you can, how much baking soda, and/or how much soda ash, do you add for each gram of ammonium chloride?

If you are talking about 1 g dry powder ammonium chloride you'd add 1.57 g of baking soda to it. Bear in mind that may make it smell much stronger as it frees up the ammonia.

 

[SlugSnorter]

Just feed more. Even fish won't help much unless they are being fed. Feed coral food as well.

Almost 20 years in this hobby and I never thought we would be having issues keeping nutrients up. I have actually switched to topping off with tap water....

why? that won't help nutrient issues, itll just lead to nuisance algae.

 

[a.t.t.r]

why? that won't help nutrient issues, itll just lead to nuisance algae.

What do you think nutrients are exactly?

 

[SlugSnorter]

What do you think nutrients are exactly?

im talking more about adding unwanted silicates and such. OP wants Nitrates specifically