obrien.david.j Posted October 17, 2023 Share Posted October 17, 2023 I spent half of 2022 and first half of 2023 getting my Phosphate and Nitrate levels down. And what did I find, Success. Almost too successful for a while. And I had to dose to get levels back above zero. (Zero is bad for me, I believe it was the reason I crashed so bad in 2021.) Bumped into this Ammonia dosing thread. I can vouch, when you get Nitrates to Zero - things change. And put a little back in, and I like the results better. So that would be the purpose of dosing. More easily assimilated. Anyone tried this? Got a before and after picture? How much did you dose, for how long, with what results. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/diy-ammonia-dosing-for-low-nitrate-systems.987087/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LavenderTi Posted October 17, 2023 Share Posted October 17, 2023 I was dosing ammonia in my nano, and I've been dosing ammonia in my larger tank (110 gal). The nano I was having to dose nitrates and I switched to ammonia since my reading concluded that corals can utilize the ammonia directly. My larger tank has been fallow since end of august so I wanted to keep up with a bioload. I started using Ammonia chloride and have switched to ammonium bicarbonate. The main reason is so that my alkalinity isn't impacted like it is with ammonia chloride (small impact). I have a ton of ammonia chloride left if you want it. So far it's kept my nitrates up and the corals seem to love it. I have it on a dosing pump to make dosing easy and consistent. I've been doing 5 mL/day in my 22gal and 13 mL/day on my 110. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obrien.david.j Posted October 17, 2023 Author Share Posted October 17, 2023 1 hour ago, LavenderTi said: I was dosing ammonia in my nano, and I've been dosing ammonia in my larger tank (110 gal). The nano I was having to dose nitrates and I switched to ammonia since my reading concluded that corals can utilize the ammonia directly. My larger tank has been fallow since end of august so I wanted to keep up with a bioload. I started using Ammonia chloride and have switched to ammonium bicarbonate. The main reason is so that my alkalinity isn't impacted like it is with ammonia chloride (small impact). I have a ton of ammonia chloride left if you want it. So far it's kept my nitrates up and the corals seem to love it. I have it on a dosing pump to make dosing easy and consistent. I've been doing 5 mL/day in my 22gal and 13 mL/day on my 110. 5ml/day & 13ml/day - of what solution concentrate? (did you follow the stock solution ratio from the R2R article?) And, 5ml and 13ml - is this Ammonia chloride or Ammonium bicarb? What Nitrate level are you at in your tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eatfrenchfries Posted October 17, 2023 Share Posted October 17, 2023 Ammonia bicarbonate all the way. It's just hard to accurately track in system with test kits and all the organisms processing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LavenderTi Posted October 17, 2023 Share Posted October 17, 2023 Quote 5ml/day & 13ml/day - of what solution concentrate? (did you follow the stock solution ratio from the R2R article?) And, 5ml and 13ml - is this Ammonia chloride or Ammonium bicarb? What Nitrate level are you at in your tank? I've always used the stock solutions from Randy's post. With those doses I'm maintaining 2-3 ppm for NO3. I haven't tried to test ammonia levels. I adjust the dose amounts based on the nitrate trend. I test nitrates about once a month. I keep the nitrate solution around in case the levels get too close to 0 and I want to do a quick boost. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandVib3s Posted October 18, 2023 Share Posted October 18, 2023 I've tried it. I used Dr tims and it seemed to have a longer lasting nitrate reaction. Corals also love ammonia. Fish and inverts is a nogo tho so keep it low low.also a side note, kalk bonds phosphates so using it can deplete phosphates but after stopping it, it can take a dramatic turn around. Lol I'm a mad scientist and uhh my tanks aren't looking so great. Time to get back to the basics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markv Posted October 19, 2023 Share Posted October 19, 2023 Dosing Ammonium Chloride in water produces ammonia plus hydrochloric acid. Dosing Ammonium Bicarbonate produces ammonia plus CO2, which means dosing ammonia and carbonic acid. This is how calcium reactors work, the CO2 pumped into the water produces carbonic acid which dissolves the dead coral media. Both of these methods of dosing ammonia will lower the pH in the aquarium. I don't know how much, but I don't like anything that lowers the pH in a coral growing aquarium. Neither method will raise phosphate, which also needs to be dosed if your nutrients go too low in an aquarium. Maybe just feed the fish and corals more and/or remove less of them via filtration/skimming/etc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obrien.david.j Posted October 20, 2023 Author Share Posted October 20, 2023 14 hours ago, markv said: Dosing Ammonium Chloride in water produces ammonia plus hydrochloric acid. Dosing Ammonium Bicarbonate produces ammonia plus CO2, which means dosing ammonia and carbonic acid. This is how calcium reactors work, the CO2 pumped into the water produces carbonic acid which dissolves the dead coral media. Both of these methods of dosing ammonia will lower the pH in the aquarium. I don't know how much, but I don't like anything that lowers the pH in a coral growing aquarium. Neither method will raise phosphate, which also needs to be dosed if your nutrients go too low in an aquarium. Maybe just feed the fish and corals more and/or remove less of them via filtration/skimming/etc. Completely fair observations, and method of increasing nutrients. Right now, I feel like I'm a heavy feeder... but I'm starting to wonder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obrien.david.j Posted October 22, 2023 Author Share Posted October 22, 2023 @Lexinverts - Check out the 600 gallon system video posted at this link. Talk about a fun video. I've watched a few times, trying to see what I can identify, and to think about the size of the colonies visible, verses the size in my own system. Even my Big Ones, don't feel as big as some in this video. Do you recognize this colony, center of the screen, 12seconds in? And this monster/chunky growth pattern, about 18 seconds in. And do they keep a Goni UNDER their frag rack, at the very end of the video? Link to post & video https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/diy-ammonia-dosing-for-low-nitrate-systems.987087/post-11852039 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexinverts Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 The bushy colony looks like it could be twilight dragon or something similar. The pink tip green arco looks like one I have seen from Cornbred. https://coraleuphoria.com/store/corals/acropora/cb-pink-tip/ Gonio under the rack doesn't seem like a good idea...lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obrien.david.j Posted October 23, 2023 Author Share Posted October 23, 2023 18 hours ago, Lexinverts said: The bushy colony looks like it could be twilight dragon or something similar. The pink tip green arco looks like one I have seen from Cornbred. https://coraleuphoria.com/store/corals/acropora/cb-pink-tip/ Gonio under the rack doesn't seem like a good idea...lol. I thought the bushy colony looked like a dragon. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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