Potassium nitrate (Spectracide stump remover) dosing steps

[twilliard]

Wow from 10 to 2.5? For how long were you at 10?

Just the initial first few days as the tank reached its target.

 

[Squadir]

how long does a bottle of spectracide last you dosing your 80g system?

 

[twilliard]

From my calculations about 2 years

 

[Squadir]

and I was going to order 2 bottles....
ok thank you for the great info, I'm going to order a bottle and start dosing, will let you know how it works out and if I get my hands on a good camera I will do some before and after pics

 

[twilliard]

I ordered 2 and gave one to @drstratton
Will last a LONG time on small volume tanks
Pictures!!

 

[drstratton]

I ordered 2 and gave one to @drstratton
Will last a LONG time on small volume tanks
Pictures!!

Yes you did and thank you very much!

It will last a very long time, as long as you don't do what I did and waste some of it by overdosing!

 

[twilliard]

Yes you did and thank you very much!

It will last a very long time, as long as you don't do what I did and waste some of it by overdosing!

Oh Rene' its coming back together though!

 

[drstratton]

Oh Rene' its coming back together though!

Lol, very slowly!!!

 

[twilliard]

How are you making those faces @drstratton

 

[drstratton]

How are you making those faces @drstratton

They are in the reply tool bar! :mad: That was fun, off topic but fun!!!

 

[twilliard]

Oh I see it now! Thanks Rene'!
My thread so not off topic lol

 

[twilliard]

Any time you need help with your tank just ask away!

 

[drstratton]

Any time you need help with your tank just ask away!

Thanks, you know I will! Today I'm getting everything ready to QT my new fish that will be arriving Tuesday!

 

[l8_apex_it]

Calculation for mixing KNO3
Sorry if this is a duplicate from earlier in this thread. I found it very helpful for determining a good KNO3 mixture for my tank. I made a custom mixture so that I does 5ml in order to bump up my NO3 by 1 ppm.

I've been dosing for the last 6 weeks or so and corals are starting to color up. I just dosed my first dose of PO4 today.
(I have found this thread very helpful so thank you Twilliard!!)

 

[twilliard]

So welcome!
Be careful with the po4

 

[marco fish]

Hi R2R fans!
Here I have another write up this time about potassium nitrate.
With this I hope to answer all the questions I have received.

This step by step is for my 80 gallons total volume.
I run the full triton method so your uptake of no3 will be different than mine.

First lets start with the product.
Potassium nitrate
This is what the Spectracide stump remover consists of.
There are many sources for this if you look it up. My wife is an Amazon shopper so that is where I got mine. You can find potassium nitrate every where!


(Sorry my tablet doesn't take the best shots lol )

Now lets move on to mixing this stuff!
Grab yourself a set of measuring spoons. Put 2 tablespoons in a clear plastic cup



Now fill the cup to the first line with RODI water



Stir well!



It will come out clear and doesn't take long to mix
Now after dosing make sure you put it in a sealed container!



Now lets get to dosing this stuff
You will want to have plenty of no3 tests on hand to start out. Your no3 will decrease substantially over night so you have to keep an eye on it. I was testing every day till I figured my daily consumption rate (which changes slightly day to day)
Now in my 80 gallons of volume 10Ml of this will raise my no3 by 1.5 ppm
Here is a before shot taken today



I added 10Ml of my solution and waited an hour to re-test



Bingo! Right on the nose
Now I get a lot asking "is this safe? Does this increase potassium ?" The straight simple answer??
No
Here is 30 days of use. Triton ICP test

I will get a better picture of this for some reason my d40 shots are missing from my sd card

I hope this answers a lot of questions and thank you for reading
-Todd

Hey Todd great article, I need some help because I can't keep any of my stonies happy, I have a 40 gallon tank with a 20 gallon sump. You think I need to start dosing with the spectracide use

 

[twilliard]

Hey Todd great article, I need some help because I can't keep any of my stonies happy, I have a 40 gallon tank with a 20 gallon sump. You think I need to start dosing with the spectracide use

Hi!!
What is your current situation in the tank? What is your current no3 and po4 at?
Is there lack of color or severe bleaching?

 

[marco fish]

Hi!!
What is your current situation in the tank? What is your current no3 and po4 at?
Is there lack of color or severe bleaching?

I am gonna have to get a good test kit, I do weekly water changes with seawater that I get myself from the reef in key west. I do not dose anything and I run a reef octopus skimmer and a zeovit reactor but I don't use any of the liquids. The corals seem to do good for a few days then start to white out. Would you like to see pictures

 

[twilliard]

If you have pictures that would be great!

 

[marco fish]