Nitrates won’t budge

Cwentz758 · Jun 14, 2020

My phosphates sit around .49. The tank itself is doing great minus the Dinos which I’m combating with silicate dosing. (Currently losing)

bobssecrtsn · Jun 14, 2020

Please don’t listen to people that say add bioload or feed more :) they clearly haven’t had Dino’s before, and don’t know that you can control nitrates yourself.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jun 14, 2020

Cwentz758 said:
Just checking before dosing this is the right stuff?

No, that is nitrite, not nitrate.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jun 14, 2020

Cwentz758 said:
My phosphates sit around .49. The tank itself is doing great minus the Dinos which I’m combating with silicate dosing. (Currently losing)

I'm not sure silicate dosing is going to be the answer.

Cwentz758 · Jun 14, 2020

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
No, that is nitrite, not nitrate.

....how’d I miss that

Cwentz758 · Jun 14, 2020

Well I have the large cell dinos.

tried UV, blackout, sand rinse

just raising nitrates would eventually win?

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jun 14, 2020

Cwentz758 said:
Well I have the large cell dinos.

tried UV, blackout, sand rinse

just raising nitrates would eventually win?

many folks find keeping nutrients high wins. I think the explanation is it drives some other organism that outcompetes the dinos for a trace element or maybe surface area, which may be why water changes makes dinos worse.

Silicate dosing to drive diatoms may work similarly, but may not be effective if something else is limiting the diatoms.

bobssecrtsn · Jun 14, 2020

If you have Large cell Amphidium, UV and Black outs, will not work, as they do not transition into the water column.

Cwentz758 · Jun 14, 2020

bobssecrtsn said:
If you have Large cell Amphidium, UV and Black outs, will not work, as they do not transition into the water column.

Ya I found it out after doing all that.

Cwentz758 · Jun 14, 2020

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
many folks find keeping nutrients high wins. I think the explanation is it drives some other organism that outcompetes the dinos for a trace element or maybe surface area, which may be why water changes makes dinos worse.

Silicate dosing to drive diatoms may work similarly, but may not be effective if something else is limiting the diatoms.

Looking at sodium nitrate on amazon I see chemically pure, and loud wolf has calcium nitrate not sodium nitrate.

any links to a good brand.

ckalupa · Jun 14, 2020

Sodium Nitrate -

Amazon has some from “Modernist Pantry” - that’s not cheap but is food grade. Search it. I use this one as I dont use it much and I trust the vendor for other reasons. About $6.99 but only 50 grams. Again- I don’t use a lot.

Also there is some “reagent grade” from Shor $16.99 per lb.

Some people On here are just using stump remover (so I have read) for potassium nitrate I believe. Search the posts for that info.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jun 15, 2020

Cwentz758 said:
Looking at sodium nitrate on amazon I see chemically pure, and loud wolf has calcium nitrate not sodium nitrate.

any links to a good brand.

Loudwolf sells it, but Amazon may be out.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/222604...MIoqTQ4uGD6gIVVdyGCh0xnAD_EAQYASABEgIIzfD_BwE

Semper.Reefing · Jul 19, 2020

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
Any food grade is fine. Many people buy loudwold.

Use this calculator and the entry for potassium nitrate, then use 15% less than stated.

http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/calculator.htm

how much do you mix into RODI? and how much RODI? Then how much would you dose to bring up nitrates? Sorry for all the questions. Trying to figure out how much to use to follow up a Dino regimen.

HB AL · Jul 19, 2020

bobssecrtsn said:
Please don’t listen to people that say add bioload or feed more :) they clearly haven’t had Dino’s before, and don’t know that you can control nitrates yourself.

Not true, I have a high bioload caused by the many fish and corals in my tank and never had dinos, but I know I can control nitrates by several means but really only have one option in my current tank situation and that's dosing nopox. Theres plenty of different ways that effectively control nitrates whether lowering or raising it.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jul 19, 2020

Stu_Tanks said:
how much do you mix into RODI? and how much RODI? Then how much would you dose to bring up nitrates? Sorry for all the questions. Trying to figure out how much to use to follow up a Dino regimen.

I'd dose a few ppm per day until you see what maintains a few ppm.

You can use this calculator and the entry for potassium nitrate,a nd then use about 85% of the calculated amount since sodium nitrate is a bit more potent.

James' Planted Tank - Dosing Calculator

Semper.Reefing · Jul 19, 2020

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
I'd dose a few ppm per day until you see what maintains a few ppm.

You can use this calculator and the entry for potassium nitrate,a nd then use about 85% of the calculated amount since sodium nitrate is a bit more potent.

James' Planted Tank - Dosing Calculator

I was trying to wrap my head around the calculator earlier but I think I understand now. Someone recommended I do a 1:20 mix. What’s the preferred amount of NO3 to dose at a time?

Cwentz758 · Jul 19, 2020

Stu_Tanks said:
I was trying to wrap my head around the calculator earlier but I think I understand now. Someone recommended I do a 1:20 mix. What’s the preferred amount of NO3 to dose at a time?

I’ve been dosing 5ml a day. Which is roughly 10ppm nitrate with how I mixed. I’ve gotten my nitrates up between 5-8ppm on my Red Sea tester now for about two weeks.

Semper.Reefing · Jul 19, 2020

Cwentz758 said:
I’ve been dosing 5ml a day. Which is roughly 10ppm nitrate with how I mixed. I’ve gotten my nitrates up between 5-8ppm on my Red Sea tester now for about two weeks.

Ok sounds good thank you! Just want to hear what’s working for everyone else. This is my first time dosing and don’t want to mess up. I’ll probably add this to an auto doser.