Seachem Nitrogen vs. Nitrate Test

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Evad

New Member
Hello folks!

I have a 180gal planted tank and have been working on refreshing the tank from a big BBA attack. The BBA is under control but was replaced with a Green Hair Algae attack. I have been able to get the GHA under control with a reduced photo period (now 8 hours) and I am working on dosing the tank with Excel, Flourish, Potassium, etc.

One of the things I am noticing is that I am light on Nitrates. I often fall below 10ppm and I believe it needs to be higher to help the plants take up other nutrients. If I add Seachem Nitrogen will I be able to see the impact on an API freshwater Nitrate test? If not then how do I figure out how much is needed on a daily or weekly basis?

thanks in advance for your help!
 
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Anonymous

Guest
When I test for nitrates in my large planted tank it dosent even register on the liquid test kits. I've never tested for nitrates after dosing so I am unable to help in this regard. I just follow the recommended dosing and all grows well :)
 
E

Evad

New Member
So to be clear you are dosing Nitrogen but never testing for Nitrates. Did I get that right? And where are these magical recommendations that you are referring to? :)
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Evad said:
So to be clear you are dosing Nitrogen but never testing for Nitrates. Did I get that right? And where are these magical recommendations that you are referring to? :)
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Trouble shooting deficiencies I began dosing Nitrogen but never tested after to see what the levels where. I may do so just to see what happens. With nitrogen I've been sticking to pretty much what the instructions say. I maybe dosing a bit more. The product I use indicates one cap full for like 250 gallons. Since its liquid and I use the cap for messuring it could be a bit more :)

But I always recommend starting off with what is recommended then make adjustments to dosing as needed.
 
K

KaraWolf

Member
I have never fertilized a tank, but I would imagine if you still have nitrate in the tank on a regular basis that your plants are getting all they need since theyre not consuming all of it. there are planted tanks on this forum that regularly have 0 nitrate.
 
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jrygel

New Member
I have just started dosing N again to see if it helps what appear to be a couple deficiencies in my tank, but I have been in the same camp as others: if it's measurable, there's enough for the plants . . . I usually can measure 5-10 ppm right before a water change.

That being said, to answer the OPs question directly: Seachem has an online calculator that works great: http://www.seachem.com/support/Calculat ... anted.html
It is important to pay attention to the note at the bottom for N dosing: the calculator uses units of Nitrogen for it's calculation, to convert these to Nitrate equivalent, you need to divide the dose by 5. It looks like to raise your Nitrate level by 10 ppm, you'll have to dose 90 ml into your 180 g tank.
 
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heutinn

New Member
I add fish until I get to about 5-10 ppm average on the nitrate test. my plants do awesome and I never have to add any extra nitrogen. I think the nitrogen is mostly for planted tanks with little to no fish in them.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
heutinn said:
I add fish until I get to about 5-10 ppm average on the nitrate test. my plants do awesome and I never have to add any extra nitrogen. I think the nitrogen is mostly for planted tanks with little to no fish in them.
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I don't know. I've got a lot of fish in my 140. Probably close to 50 and maintaining 0 on the nitrate test kit.
 
MorganEA

MorganEA

Member
I think it also depends on the growth rate of your plants. Slow growers take up less nutrients over time than fast growers.
 
C

Chiisai

New Member
In theory if you always reading zero couldnt that also mean your deficient? It would seem finding a balance is where it gets tricky. I myself would panick and start massive water changes @10ppm+ but thats just me. I would say check with the plants if they need something they will let you know. I have found playing the chemist in an aquarium with live fish seldom works out well(if you have to add or remove something from your tank via chemicals everyday to balance) for me. Also be careful about swings. My guess is if nitrates spike your fish friends will pay the price. Either way goodluck!
 
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