Sodium Nitrate

[ajhudson15]

I have been out fo the hobby for some years and now that im back in ive been trying to source Loudwolf sodium nitrate but i found thats its pretty much unavailable now. I do not need to raise my phosphates at all. What is everyone using these days to increase only nitrates other than more fish and more fish food?

 

[BriDroid]

I have been out fo the hobby for some years and now that im back in ive been trying to source Loudwolf sodium nitrate but i found thats its pretty much unavailable now. I do not need to raise my phosphates at all. What is everyone using these days to increase only nitrates other than more fish and more fish food?

I've been using this stuff ordered directly from Modernist Pantry. A lot of people will say to use ammonium bicarbonate, but I personally like the sodium nitrate better. It's much easier to dose and keep the NO3 stable with it.

 

[ajhudson15]

I've been using this stuff ordered directly from Modernist Pantry. A lot of people will say to use ammonium bicarbonate, but I personally like the sodium nitrate better. It's much easier to dose and keep the NO3 stable with it.

Ive seen this one floated around on some forums so this is my first option as of now. I not inclined to even try the ammonium lol

 

[BriDroid]

Ive seen this one floated around on some forums so this is my first option as of now. I not inclined to even try the ammonium lol

I found it extremely hard to keep a targeted NO3 value with it. I also found that I was just constantly increasing the dose to the point that my corals lost color. It is all the rage, but it just didn't work for me.

 

[ajhudson15]

I found it extremely hard to keep a targeted NO3 value with it. I also found that I was just constantly increasing the dose to the point that my corals lost color. It is all the rage, but it just didn't work for me.

good to know. i was always thinking lab grade was better than food grade

 

[ReneReef]

A lot of people prefer to dose ammonia in stead of nitrate these days, as it's more easily used as nitrogen source by corals:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/diy-ammonia-dosing-for-low-nitrate-systems.987087/

 

[ajhudson15]

A lot of people prefer to dose ammonia in stead of nitrate these days, as it's more easily used as nitrogen source by corals:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/diy-ammonia-dosing-for-low-nitrate-systems.987087/

if im reading that article right i think its best to choose the ammonium bicarb but the question i have is - It says only to dose enough at one time to raise nitartes by 0.36 ppm. Im trying to go from 2ppm to around 10ppm. im guessing id have to dose this stuff several times a day to spread it out most likely needing a doser. am i reading that right?

 

[ReneReef]

A nitrate of 2 ppm is just fine.
I would not do anything about that.

If you do anything, then go slow.
Why are you in a hurry to change a parameter that is fine as it is?

 

[ajhudson15]

A nitrate of 2 ppm is just fine.
I would not do anything about that.

If you do anything, then go slow.
Why are you in a hurry to change a parameter that is fine as it is?

Honestly i say 2ppm but its probably more like 0.5 to 1ppm. Ive read a lot about coloration with nitrates being closer to the 10 mark so figured id raise it slowly and see what happens. i can always bring it back down and leave it if i see negative effects