Stump Remover for Nitrates

[RuNvS]

So I am going to buy some spectracide stump remover to start raising my Nitrates in my tank and I thought I would ask if anyone local has any long term experience with this method? I have done some research on Reef2Reef and it sounds promising. I will take before and after pictures and post updates.

I have 7 fish in a 65 gallon display and I feed 2 cubes of mysis each day, Reef energy A&B every morning and Reef Chili every other day.

I do not run GFO

Currently my levels are stable and are as follows:
Nitrate-0/undetectable
Phosphate- .02-.04
Calcium- 480
Alk- 8.6
Mag-1400
PH- 8.25-8.3

 

[xj_matt]

so i am going to buy some spectracide stump remover to start raising my nitrates in my tank and i thought i would ask if anyone local has any long term experience with this method? I have done some research on reef2reef and it sounds promising. I will take before and after pictures and post updates.

I have 7 fish in a 65 gallon display and i feed 2 cubes of mysis each day, reef energy a&b every morning and reef chili every other day.

I do not run gfo

currently my levels are stable and are as follows:
Nitrate-0/undetectable
phosphate- .02-.04
calcium- 480
alk- 8.6
mag-1400
ph- 8.25-8.3

do not do it!!!!!!!

- - - Updated - - -

So I am going to buy some spectracide stump remover to start raising my Nitrates in my tank and I thought I would ask if anyone local has any long term experience with this method? I have done some research on Reef2Reef and it sounds promising. I will take before and after pictures and post updates.

I have 7 fish in a 65 gallon display and I feed 2 cubes of mysis each day, Reef energy A&B every morning and Reef Chili every other day.

I do not run GFO

Currently my levels are stable and are as follows:
Nitrate-0/undetectable
Phosphate- .02-.04
Calcium- 480
Alk- 8.6
Mag-1400
PH- 8.25-8.3

DO NOT DO IT!!!!!!! [MENTION=454]maidia[/MENTION] talk to him

 

[maidia]

Here you go...check this out before you do it. Use different product as Adam at Battle Corals recommended. See the link below. For me, changing water by weekly or every 3 days help me a lot with my SPS tank.

Some people wipe out their tank with the Stump Remover..carefully...

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/spectracide-nitrate-dosing-warning-of-potential-danger.233536/#post-2720415

 

[ultimatemj]

There are lots of threads out there...

Generally speaking people have moved away from Stump remover (due to ingredients beyond KN03) and away from Potassium Nitrate (KNO3, due to risk of pushing potassium higher than safe). The community consensus appears to have settled on Sodium nitrate (NaN03) for "safe dosing" of nitrates.

This is what I have used http://www.loudwolf.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=69&products_id=158

A good calculator is here: http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/calculator.htm​

I started by determining a solution concentration that made it easy to know what I was adding to the tank (5ml of the mix I made would add 1ppm N03 to my ~70g system).

Start slow, and ramp up...measure along the way. I added 1ppmN03 a day for a couple of days and then 2ppmN03 for a few days. eventually found my system would consume 5ppmN03 every couple of days.


The other side of this is P04....track it. At some point you will see a shift in both numbers and need to adjust. I had a P04/N03 imbalance and once I got that worked out I was able to stop dosing NaN03.

 

[labas39]

[MENTION=3107]carpetreef75[/MENTION]

 

[tinman]

I used this but in general id advise against nitrate dosing ..,

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[RuNvS]

I used this but in general id advise against nitrate dosing ..,

Why would you advise against it?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There are lots of threads out there...

Generally speaking people have moved away from Stump remover (due to ingredients beyond KN03) and away from Potassium Nitrate (KNO3, due to risk of pushing potassium higher than safe). The community consensus appears to have settled on Sodium nitrate (NaN03) for "safe dosing" of nitrates.

This is what I have used http://www.loudwolf.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=69&products_id=158

A good calculator is here: http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/calculator.htm​

I started by determining a solution concentration that made it easy to know what I was adding to the tank (5ml of the mix I made would add 1ppm N03 to my ~70g system).

Start slow, and ramp up...measure along the way. I added 1ppmN03 a day for a couple of days and then 2ppmN03 for a few days. eventually found my system would consume 5ppmN03 every couple of days.


The other side of this is P04....track it. At some point you will see a shift in both numbers and need to adjust. I had a P04/N03 imbalance and once I got that worked out I was able to stop dosing NaN03.

I keep a close eye on my PO4 as well, how did you figure out you had an imbalance and how did you correct it?

Here you go...check this out before you do it. Use different product as Adam at Battle Corals recommended. See the link below. For me, changing water by weekly or every 3 days help me a lot with my SPS tank.

Some people wipe out their tank with the Stump Remover..carefully...

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/spectracide-nitrate-dosing-warning-of-potential-danger.233536/#post-2720415

I currently perform a 10% water change every week and I have never had any registered Nitrates. I do run a skimmer that is rated for a 500 gallon tank.

 

[maidia]

I keep a close eye on my PO4 as well, how did you figure out you had an imbalance and how did you correct it?



I currently perform a 10% water change every week and I have never had any registered Nitrates. I do run a skimmer that is rated for a 500 gallon tank.

My fault of miss reading, Feed more, dosing amino acid and run part-time skimmer will help raise more Nit. (it will raise PO4 also). Change water offen if those thing go up too much. I do recommend the other Nitate product but not the stump remover (more safe). I don't know what corals you have but the stump remove almost wipe out my SPS tank. They were start burn all the tips and bleached out. I stop dose the stump remover and change water every day so they all come back. No more Nit dosing for me.

 

[tinman]

My fault of miss reading, Feed more, dosing amino acid and run part-time skimmer will help raise more Nit. (it will raise PO4 also). Change water offen if those thing go up too much. I do recommend the other Nitate product but not the stump remover (more safe). I don't know what corals you have but the stump remove almost wipe out my SPS tank. They were start burn all the tips and bleached out. I stop dose the stump remover and change water every day so they all come back. No more Nit dosing for me.

similar experience with the other nitrate dosing as well .. corals go dark dark colors first then start having burnt tips yes ?

i have known atleast 4-5 ppl who ruined their tanks with nitrate dosing .. i stopped when corals started going dark on me and they came back fine.



and my opinion is its not just the major compounds like Nitrate and phosphates but its the micro elements that relate to those two major compounds that corals like to use. fish poop is not just lumps of nitrate or phosphate but it is what it takes for corals to be happy ..

aminos also only if its a ULNS like both nitrates and phos are undetectable .. and that too i suggest like 1/4th the dosage needed ...

if you are looking for more nutrients with out adding fish id say start using Polyplab reefroids or Aquamaxx coralgrub which are working well for me for feeding sps

 

[maidia]

So I am going to buy some spectracide stump remover to start raising my Nitrates in my tank and I thought I would ask if anyone local has any long term experience with this method? I have done some research on Reef2Reef and it sounds promising. I will take before and after pictures and post updates.

I have 7 fish in a 65 gallon display and I feed 2 cubes of mysis each day, Reef energy A&B every morning and Reef Chili every other day.

I do not run GFO

Currently my levels are stable and are as follows:
Nitrate-0/undetectable
Phosphate- .02-.04
Calcium- 480
Alk- 8.6
Mag-1400
PH- 8.25-8.3

You may email Adam at Battle Corals about dosing Nitrate. He did for his 700 gallon system but I am not sure he is still doing it or not. Better raise the tank in natural way. I am running calcium reactor, dosing mag, few drop amino acid in the morning, feed the fish heavily at 6-7 PM and change water weekly sometime 2-3 day if I saw my SPS unhappy. SPS color are not the best right now but almost there. Grow little faster after I change to ATI T5 and Blue Leds bars (my thought, I am not mean leds are no good). One day I will stop amino acid too let see SPS ok or not. Zeovit Amino Acid is expensive

 

[sk8elenex92]

I have used stump remover and had not had any issues. I always tested 0 phos and 0 nitrates, after 3 weeks of dosing I no longer dose and my nitrates have been steady around 5. I think I needed to give nitrates a start and now they are finally showing up on the test kits. I have also read a lot of people ruining tanks with it, but also have seen great results with it. One of the local ebay sellers doses it in the tank on a dosing pump and never had an issue and only keeps SPS. Good luck.

 

[RuNvS]

I have used stump remover and had not had any issues. I always tested 0 phos and 0 nitrates, after 3 weeks of dosing I no longer dose and my nitrates have been steady around 5. I think I needed to give nitrates a start and now they are finally showing up on the test kits. I have also read a lot of people ruining tanks with it, but also have seen great results with it. One of the local ebay sellers doses it in the tank on a dosing pump and never had an issue and only keeps SPS. Good luck.

Thanks sk8elenex92 I too have read alot of threads of success and a few horror stories, I wonder if anyone know exactly why this has caused problems in only some tanks and not others.

You may email Adam at Battle Corals about dosing Nitrate. He did for his 700 gallon system but I am not sure he is still doing it or not. Better raise the tank in natural way. I am running calcium reactor, dosing mag, few drop amino acid in the morning, feed the fish heavily at 6-7 PM and change water weekly sometime 2-3 day if I saw my SPS unhappy. SPS color are not the best right now but almost there. Grow little faster after I change to ATI T5 and Blue Leds bars (my thought, I am not mean leds are no good). One day I will stop amino acid too let see SPS ok or not. Zeovit Amino Acid is expensive

Thanks maidia- Yea I may have to shoot him a message and get his thoughts.

similar experience with the other nitrate dosing as well .. corals go dark dark colors first then start having burnt tips yes ?

i have known atleast 4-5 ppl who ruined their tanks with nitrate dosing .. i stopped when corals started going dark on me and they came back fine.



and my opinion is its not just the major compounds like Nitrate and phosphates but its the micro elements that relate to those two major compounds that corals like to use. fish poop is not just lumps of nitrate or phosphate but it is what it takes for corals to be happy ..

aminos also only if its a ULNS like both nitrates and phos are undetectable .. and that too i suggest like 1/4th the dosage needed ...

if you are looking for more nutrients with out adding fish id say start using Polyplab reefroids or Aquamaxx coralgrub which are working well for me for feeding sps

Thanks tinman- I use the reef chili now and have tried the roids biggest difference I have noticed is the particle size between the two but I feed pretty heavily right now.

 

[Sparky312]

I used potassium nitrate, bought here: http://greenleafaquariums.com/aquarium-fertilizers-supplements/potassium-nitrate.html
Never had a problem with it -- stuff works as advertised and will raise your nitrate. I used it for a while because my SPS were going pale and it helped. I also fed more. There is a ratio you can read about between nitrate/phosphate -- once you have that 'properly' balanced, using one of these products to raise nitrate will actually make your phosphate go DOWN as it gets consumed by corals I believe. Myself I never test phosphate but just interesting

Use a clean product and go slow as everybody said. Good luck!

 

[ultimatemj]

I keep a close eye on my PO4 as well, how did you figure out you had an imbalance and how did you correct it?

My P04 was "high" and would not come down...water changes, GFO, Algae scrubber were in heavy rotation to try and bring down P04....but those actions also kept my N03 from being able to come up above 0.25ppm.
View attachment 20941View attachment 20943

Fed more, and added fish...grew all sorts of nuisance algae...kept changing the GFO and doing water changes....and ended up starving the LPS and both SPS & Chalice struggled with the high P04.

More food, more water changes, more starving corals...then cyano....then I dosed chemiclean to address the red slime and nuked the micro fauna...and a crash began
X marks the corals (in a pic prior to the hell began) that died
View attachment 20944

Before the tank completely crashed, I began dosing NaN03 solution that would add 1ppm a day for 3days, then 2ppm a day for 2 days, then 5ppm every 2 or 3days, then things started to change.

I could now measure 0.5ppm to 1ppm N03 and the P04 started coming down...and then P04 started dropping quickly. In 3 weeks, with only 1 biweekly 10% water change, the ATS began producing and the P04 was down to 0.04...and N03 was up to 0.5 and stable. I took the GFO offline and kept dosing 5ppm NaN03 weekly for about another month and things stabilized. Corals started looking healthy again, P04 was 0.02 and N03 was 1 to 2ppm.

View attachment 20948
That was Feb 2016....a year later N03 is stable (~1ppm) and P04 occasionally creeps up (from 0.02 to 0.06)...I have 13 fish in a 55g feeding the corals with poo...and my "battles" are now increasing ALK demand, raging coralline algae on acrylic and an aiptasia bloom....but I have happy corals
View attachment 20946View attachment 20947View attachment 20945

Nitrate dosing isn't something you should have to do, but when N03 is lower than P04 it seems to have a place. That's my experience anyway~

P.S. I don't consider taking protein skimmers off line a good option. If there are minimal organics to remove, it won't remove anything...but it will aerate/oxygenate the water...which I think is underrated.