Sodium nitrate

[trout]

Hi,

I wonder if you can help.

Someone who I know wants to increase nitrates in his tank water. I recommended the use of sodium nitrate for this purpose and quoted D. Knopp "dissolve 1 gram of sodium nitrate into 1 liter of distilled water, add 10 millilitre of this solution per every 100 litre of aquarium water"

What I would like to know is how much nitrates (in ppm terms) this solution (i.e. 10 millilitre per every 100 litre of aquarium water) would add to 100 liters of tank water?

Thanks in advance.

 

[kpiotrowski]

ok, really now....what kind of a bomb are you making?

 

[trout]

ok, really now....what kind of a bomb are you making?

I thought that this was a serious forum. You should be reprimanded for making such a comment. Get a grip....

 

[tat2z_21]

I am sure he was kidding. Personally, I have never heard of increasing nitrates, or nitrates being a positive thing. If I may ask why the increase.

 

[Scampy]

Longer periods between W/C would raise nitrates but would also raise phosphates. Run a HOB filter with sponges or even add bio-balls would also raise them both. Just run GFO to controll phosphates. What level of nitrates are trying to be achieved and why? I ask because I had pulsing xenia and various trees that looked their best when nitrates were around 20-25. I once considered doing a "dirty" nano just to see at what levels of trates became to high for corals that do well in "dirty" water.

 

[kpiotrowski]

Yes, I meant no offense. When I see sodium nitrate I think gunpowder. perhaps you could share with us the reason to raise pure nitrate in this fashion. thanks! ... and welcome to the forum!

 

[eartaker]

1g / 1L will be close to 1000ppm for your solution.... then if you add 10ml of that solution to 100L your will have a PPM of nitrates close to 1 after a single dose. Correct me if I am wrong.... Saying that if you dumped in the whole L to the 100L you will have a nitrate reading of 10ppm. If I were doing this I would use a stronger solution.

 

[kpiotrowski]

1g / 1L will be close to 1000ppm for your solution.... then if you add 10ml of that solution to 100L your will have a PPM of nitrates close to 1 after a single dose. Correct me if I am wrong.... Saying that if you dumped in the whole L to the 100L you will have a nitrate reading of 10ppm. If I were doing this I would use a stronger solution.

our friend from the UK is no stranger to the metric system. what isn't given in the math here is how much nitrate is in 1gram. so yes you have a solution of 1mg/ml, but my question is how much will that raise nitrates ppm. is it simply 1"part" per million?

 

[eartaker]

I found this...

"1.8g of NaNO3 with give you a 7ppm increase of nitrate in 190L (50 US gallons) of water."

from here. Sodium nitrate - The Free Freshwater and Saltwater Aquarium Encyclopedia Anyone Can Edit - The Aquarium Wiki

 

[kpiotrowski]

I found this...

"1.8g of NaNO3 with give you a 7ppm increase of nitrate in 190L (50 US gallons) of water."

from here. Sodium nitrate - The Free Freshwater and Saltwater Aquarium Encyclopedia Anyone Can Edit - The Aquarium Wiki

there you go! the missing link!


I'm still curious why the op wants to raise nitrates in this fashion. Unless a fishless fw planted tank? I would think I would rather feed my tank more and let everything feed at once down the food change.

 

[eartaker]

It looks like to me from everything I found when looking this up that it is done when you are growing clams or for anemone's... Maybe a fishless clam tank? I have no issues with keeping my nitrates high though =/ lol

 

[Boomer]

Eartaker good post, you are not to lazy to look it up

Math wise it goes like this.

NaNO[SUB]3[/SUB]

Na molecular weight (MW) = 22.990, all these can be found on any Periodic Table

N = 14.007

O = 15.999 and there are three of them O[SUB]3[/SUB] = 47.997

Now add then up


22.990 + 14.007 + 47.997 = 84.994 grams

NO[SUB]3[/SUB] makes up 14.007 + 47.997 = 62.004

62.004 / 84.994 = 72.95 %

72.95% x 84.994 = 62 grams = 62,000 mg or ppm

So, you take 1,000 ml of RO/DI water as each ml weighs 1gram.

Thus, 1,000 - 62 = 938

So, if you added 62 grams to 938 ml of RO/DI water, you will have 62,000 ppm NO3 in that solution. If you added all of that solution to say 1000 l ~ (265gal) the NO[SUB]3[/SUB] would be 62,000 / 1000 = 62 ppm NO[SUB]3[/SUB].


His
"1.8g of NaNO3 with give you a 7ppm increase of nitrate in 190L (50 US gallons) of water.


1.8 x 72.95% = 1.313 grams of NO[SUB]3[/SUB] or 1,313 ppm in ~ 998 ml (1,000 -1.8 or 2) of RO/DI water. @ 190 l (50 gal) that is:

1,313 / 190 = ~ 7 ppm NO[SUB]3[/SUB]

So, your ref is correct

 

[eartaker]

WOOT! Thanks for coming in and setting us all down the right path. Now that you show the math it all makes since. The issue for me always is not knowing how to ask or not knowing what to ask to get to the end result. You showing us this will help in the long run when I need to do something like this again in any application. =]

 

[pandora32]

WOW! Did you go to school for that?...im kidding Mr. Boomer. Good job eartaker, and boomer. So why is your friend trying to raise nitrates? I find it curious as well. Water to clean causing issues?

 

[user 26995]

Really!!!! That all made sense to you!!!
I got lost at "NaNO3"
HAHA!!

 

[trout]

Yes, I meant no offense. When I see sodium nitrate I think gunpowder. perhaps you could share with us the reason to raise pure nitrate in this fashion. thanks! ... and welcome to the forum!

No worries. Thanks for the welcome.

I found the original formula (as a quotation) in James Fatherree's book on giant clams. He proposes to raise the nitrates as a means to provide food for growing clams if clam keepers must feed their clams.

As for the guy who wanted to raise nitrates in his tank, I asked him why he wants to do so. He says that he has cyano. His phosphate reading is zero. Therefore, he concludes that cyano is caused by the imbalance between phosphates and nitrates (refer to the Redfield ratio). He wants to raise the nitrate levels, hoping that by doing so this imbalance will be addressed.

My advice to him was that before adding any sodium nitrates to his water column, he should run phosphate removal media, such as Rowa Phos, aggressively along with GAC for at least two weeks. I added that I would not make any water changes so as to limit trace element additions during this period. I hope I gave him the right advice.

 

[trout]

Boomer and eartaker,

I appreciate your help.

:clap2:

 

[pandora32]

No lorrie, made NO sense to me!! Haha

 

[user 26995]

trout, I think that sounds like the best advise to me.

 

[kpiotrowski]

No worries. Thanks for the welcome.

I found the original formula (as a quotation) in James Fatherree's book on giant clams. He proposes to raise the nitrates as a means to provide food for growing clams if clam keepers must feed their clams.

As for the guy who wanted to raise nitrates in his tank, I asked him why he wants to do so. He says that he has cyano. His phosphate reading is zero. Therefore, he concludes that cyano is caused by the imbalance between phosphates and nitrates (refer to the Redfield ratio). He wants to raise the nitrate levels, hoping that by doing so this imbalance will be addressed.

My advice to him was that before adding any sodium nitrates to his water column, he should run phosphate removal media, such as Rowa Phos, aggressively along with GAC for at least two weeks. I added that I would not make any water changes so as to limit trace element additions during this period. I hope I gave him the right advice.

AWESOME! I have the same prob with a zero measurable nitrate and phosphate tank right now. looks like I got some reading to do, thanks! please let us know the results!