Back and forth cyano?

[taiscici]

It seems like sodium nitrate is better choice than potassium nitrate. You have to test for potassium if you're dosing potassium nitrate.

 

Other method that will also work is chemiclean, this is reef safe and only target cyano bacteria.

[howaboutme]

Doing some further reading and found this:

 

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2303916

 

First post says:

 

"Potassium nitrate(KNO3) adds potassium I might not need or want. I would use it if I measured and needed more potassium."

 

and

 

"Sodium nitrate(NaNO3) adds sodium but I don't care about that as much as the calcium or potassium since there is so much sodium in the water(10,500ppm) any small addition won't affect ion ratios very much at all and will level out with water changes ..."

 

The KNO3 comment makes sense but I am particularly interested in the NaNO3 comment. This person basically says it doesn't work as anything we add is negligible.

 

I'm looking to get my PO4 down while I have 0 NO3 and can't seem to get it up even w/ heavy feeding...

[Origami]

 

The KNO3 comment makes sense but I am particularly interested in the NaNO3 comment. This person basically says it doesn't work as anything we add is negligible.

 

I'm looking to get my PO4 down while I have 0 NO3 and can't seem to get it up even w/ heavy feeding...

There's so much sodium in your tank already that the addition of a few ppm is negligible. That's all it's saying.

 

If you're going to try to control PO4 with the addition of NO3 to affect the PO4/NO3 ratio, then you can't do this through feeding because, in the process of adding organic nitrogen (from the food) you're also adding organic phosphate.

[taiscici]

You can also look into amino acid as it contains nitrogen.

[howaboutme]

There's so much sodium in your tank already that the addition of a few ppm is negligible. That's all it's saying.

 

Right. I guess my question to the experience is do you believe that? Is it not even worth trying?

 

You can also look into amino acid as it contains nitrogen.

 

Aspartic acid was detailed in that link I posted and I believe that was the chosen path for that particular reefer.

[Origami]

Right. I guess my question to the experience is do you believe that? Is it not even worth trying?

Yes. Saltwater at 1.026 sg nominally has 10,500 ppm of sodium. If you added another 20 ppm of sodium, the impact increase is less than a tenth of one percent. (The same thing - elevating sodium and chloride concentration - happens with two part dosing, by the way.)

 

Is it worth trying? Maybe. I've never dealt with cyano by altering the N/P ratio by direct dosing of nitrate. I figure that the cyano will take care of bringing the ratio down on its own. Just export the stuff (that is, remove it) and it'll keep coming back until it cannot do so. At that point, you've won.

 

Chemiclean also works, I believe, by breaking down (oxidizing) DOCs (dissolved organic compounds) that are not easily skimmed out, making them easier to ingest or skim out. It's important, when using it, to do the water change they recommend and to keep the tank aerated. your skimmer will go nuts so pull the collection cup for a few days if you go this route and prepare to do some wet skimming at the back end after the water change.

[wangspeed]

I haven't read the entire thread, but I just wanted to say it's not an LED issue, other than perhaps the tank is getting more light than it was used to, so you're seeing a new cycle of algae growth, hence the bubbles.  Cyano post initial cycle would likely mean not enough flow.

[howaboutme]

Yes. Saltwater at 1.026 sg nominally has 10,500 ppm of sodium. If you added another 20 ppm of sodium, the impact increase is less than a tenth of one percent. (The same thing - elevating sodium and chloride concentration - happens with two part dosing, by the way.)

 

Is it worth trying? Maybe. I've never dealt with cyano by altering the N/P ratio by direct dosing of nitrate. I figure that the cyano will take care of bringing the ratio down on its own. Just export the stuff (that is, remove it) and it'll keep coming back until it cannot do so. At that point, you've won.

 

Chemiclean also works, I believe, by breaking down (oxidizing) DOCs (dissolved organic compounds) that are not easily skimmed out, making them easier to ingest or skim out. It's important, when using it, to do the water change they recommend and to keep the tank aerated. your skimmer will go nuts so pull the collection cup for a few days if you go this route and prepare to do some wet skimming at the back end after the water change.

 

Thanks, Tom.

 

I'm actually interested in this to help bring PO4 down. I kind of hijacked this thread but it's all related, I guess.

[Origami]

I'm actually interested in this to help bring PO4 down. I kind of hijacked this thread but it's all related, I guess.

Gotcha. I've actually done the reverse: Pulled my GFO to bring nitrates down the rest of the way. So the approach makes sense as long as you regulate the dosage so that it doesn't cause problems.

[ridetheducati]

Gotcha. I've actually done the reverse: Pulled my GFO to bring nitrates down the rest of the way. So the approach makes sense as long as you regulate the dosage so that it doesn't cause problems.

 

Absolutely.  It works both ways.