New 73 gallon tank setup

[Frogger]

Seems to have worked.
The first coral is a Red Planet. Currently the polyps are light pink with almost no green in the body. When it was in my other tank it was dark red with a strong green colour. I have it situated lower in the tank
Attachment 15806
The second coral is a Pearl Berry. Very little blue in the color just seems faded out. There is a Blue Matrix in the back ground it is mostly brown with only a hint of blue. I have them situated mid tank.
Attachment 15808
The third coral is a Needle in the Haystack. Very pale coloration, lower in the tank.
Attachment 15807

[Frogger]

I tested my tank today after adding 10ml's of the KNO3 mixture I prepared twice a day for the past 3 days.

SG:1.026
NO3-still 0 not even a tint of pink
PO4-.01ppm
Temp- 80f
Ca-410ppm
Alk dkh-9.7
Mag-1410ppm
K-400ppm
I have been monitoring the tank closely for any signs of stress, algae growth or changes and have seen nothing. I was wondering about the test kit for nitrate so I tested it against a known value (.6ppm) for KNO3 mixed in RO water and the test kit was bang on.

Looks like I have to increase the KNO3 levels as my tank is using it up as fast as I can add it. (good thing). I will double my dosage rate and report back in a few days.

Seeing as I am adding a lot of KNO3 I have been looking for a purer source as I am concerned about what else is in my KNO3. I have found a chemical company in Vancouver area that sells reagent grade 500 grams of for $27. As 500 gram of the stuff would likely be enough to last me several years even at a much higher dose.

My goal is to create an equilibrium within my tank nitrate to phosphate of around 16 to 1. The amount of K in the solution will not even slightly affect the total K in the tank as we are talking about 400ppm as per the nitrate levels of less then 1ppm.

[Tigweldpro]

I remember buying 25kg bags of KNO3 for $50 back in my model rocket making days(hydroponics grade)

All these idiots trying to blow up the world have made this stuff hard to find

[tang daddy]

As I said before I am not using any kno3 as I am not sure what it will do in terms or growing algae... I went to point Roberts on the weekend and picked up some stump remover, I am going to do some reading before mixing it up and putting it on the doser. I also tested my nitrates last week and finally after adding some dry rock that was not cured I have some readings of nitrates but it is in the range of 0-5ppm so I will continue to test and as it falls I will add some of this nitrate.

[crimper]

Originally Posted by tang daddy

As I said before I am not using any kno3 as I am not sure what it will do in terms or growing algae... I went to point Roberts on the weekend and picked up some stump remover, I am going to do some reading before mixing it up and putting it on the doser. I also tested my nitrates last week and finally after adding some dry rock that was not cured I have some readings of nitrates but it is in the range of 0-5ppm so I will continue to test and as it falls I will add some of this nitrate.

There are some horror stories using stump remover, check some forum treads. It works for some but didn't on others.

For me, KNO3 is a better choice to raise your nitrate. It will not only raise your NO3 but will also raise your Potassium (K) level a little bit which is good for coral coloration. You also need to check your K level to make sure it is on the 400 range. It is also easy to dose and calculate the levels, check on the article written by Randy Homes Farley. But again, dose slowly...

[tang daddy]

Originally Posted by crimper

There are some horror stories using stump remover, check some forum treads. It works for some but didn't on others.

For me, KNO3 is a better choice to raise your nitrate. It will not only raise your NO3 but will also raise your Potassium (K) level a little bit which is good for coral coloration. You also need to check your K level to make sure it is on the 400 range. It is also easy to dose and calculate the levels, check on the article written by Randy Homes Farley. But again, dose slowly...

Hey man I hear you on that, definately horror stories on a lot of stuff. Equiptment, salt you name it. Anything I do I always try abit and wait awhile to see the coral reactions.

[Frogger]

PA200072 by Glenn Murray
Success

[gregzz4]

Yay
Now you just need to figure out how to down-size them a tad

[Frogger]

Originally Posted by gregzz4

Yay
Now you just need to figure out how to down-size them a tad

That's not a problem. That's a picture of your blue turaki you sold me.

[tang daddy]

Originally Posted by Frogger

Seems to have worked.
The first coral is a Red Planet. Currently the polyps are light pink with almost no green in the body. When it was in my other tank it was dark red with a strong green colour. I have it situated lower in the tank
Attachment 15806
The second coral is a Pearl Berry. Very little blue in the color just seems faded out. There is a Blue Matrix in the back ground it is mostly brown with only a hint of blue. I have them situated mid tank.
Attachment 15808
The third coral is a Needle in the Haystack. Very pale coloration, lower in the tank.
Attachment 15807

How long have your sps been in the tank, they look pretty pale... hopefully with kno3 you will see some better colouration in the coming month. Usually sps will look bleached then get brown then colour up. Good luck!