DIY Ammonia dosing for low nitrate systems

[Reefahholic]

I don’t know.

Me either! Too bad they can’t tell us they prefer dosing during peak photo period and not after 9pm.

I do know nutrients are always higher in the am, so it seems that they are consumed more during photosynthesis or during the day like KH is.

 

[kozzy]

Some reef aquaria have chronic low nitrogen availability. One indicator is very low nitrate. Nitrate dosing is a fine remedy, but it is possible that ammonia dosing may be more beneficial for some organisms since ammonia can be energetically easier to assimilate than is nitrate.

For this reason, I thought it would be useful to provide some DIY directions for ammonia dosing.

There are many materials that could be used for ammonia dosing, including some household ammonia solutions, but in order to give better assurance of purity, I'm electing the show directions using food grade ammonium chloride and food grade ammonium bicarbonate.

Ammonium Chloride
Ammonium chloride, NH4Cl is essentially ammonia (NH3) plus hydrochloric acid (HCl). The reason I mention that fact relates to the impact on alkalinity. Dosing NH3 followed by consumption by organisms to form tissue in a net alkalinity neutral process. I'm ignoring the fact that if it is converted into nitrate, alk is lost, because if that nitrate is later used, all the alk lost comes back.

However, the HCl that is effectively dosed will steadily deplete alk. Adding the equivalent of 50 mg/L nitrate (0.81 meq/L; coming from NH4Cl) will have depleted 0.81 meq/l (2.3 dKH) of alkalinity. That may need to be made up for in some other fashion, such as adding more alkalintiy supplement.

High quality ammonium chloride is readily available and inexpensive. Loudwolf is one brand, but there are many. Aim for food grade or ACS reagent grade. Amazon carries many Loudwolf is $7 for 4 ounces, which contains 38,000 mg of ammonium, and is equivalent to 131,000 mg of nitrate, enough to raise 100 L of aquarium water to 5 ppm nitrate about 262 times. So cost is not significant.

Ammonium Bicarbonate
Ammonium bicarbonate, also known as baking ammonia, NH4 HCO3 is essentially ammonia (NH3) plus CO2 and water.

As mentioned above, dosing NH3 followed by consumption by organisms to form tissue in a net alkalinity neutral process. The CO2 and water also do not impact alkalinity. Thus, ammonium bicarbonate is a net alk neutral way to dose ammonia.

High quality ammonium bicarbonate is also available from Amazon as baking ammonia. It is readily available and inexpensive. One brand sells 11 ounces for $15, so it's cost is similar to the Loudwolf ammonium chloride per unit of ammonia added (one needs to use more of the ammonium bicarbonate than the ammonium chloride, evening out the cost).

Stock Solution
Using either of these materials, we will make a stock solution for dosing. Keep it closed up as it will smell of ammonia and slowly loses ammonia to the air. Ammonium bicarbonate will have a higher pH, smell more, and lose ammonia to the air faster.

13.5 grams of ammonium chloride (about 3 - 4.6 teaspoons, varies by brand) in 1 L RO/DI water.
OR
20 grams of ammonium bicarbonate (about 4 and 3/4 teaspoons) in 1 L RO/DI water.

Both solutions contain approximately 4300 mg/L (4.3 mg/mL) ammonia, equivalent to 15,700 mg/l nitrate.

Dosing

Don't be overly afraid of dosing ammonia due to toxicity, but one cannot dose substantial amounts all at once. IMO, it is safe to add 0.1 ppm ammonia (equivalent to 0.36 ppm nitrate) at once to any reef tank, and one can likely add more, if it mixes in well. Don't dose it right onto a fish, but dosing 2-3x that amount at once is also likely OK. Of course, using a dosing pump to spread out the dosing is fine and may be preferable, but be sure to guard against dosing pumps out of control (e.g., stuck on). Stock solutions can be increased or decreased in potency to match pumping needs. The ammonia could also be put into an ato since exact daily dosing is not required.

To add 0.1 mg/L ammonia to an aquarium, you would need to add 2.3 mL of either stock solution to a 100 L (26 gallon) aquarium. You may need to add this amount multiply times per day to dose enough.

I'd add it to a sump, if possible, to dilute it well before it gets to the main tank. Most folks dosing ammonia wouldn't also be using media intended to push the nitrogen cycle in various ways, but if you do, dose downstream of that media.

Of course, if anything seems to react badly the first time or two that you dose, stop dosing, double check the amounts, and perhaps come back to this thread for further discussion of what might be happening.

This article has a lot more on ammonia in reef aquaria, although some parts of it may not be correct (such as the utility of products such as Prime):

Ammonia and the Reef Aquarium by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

Happy Reefing!

edit: One can use this calculator for dosing these stock solutions. Use the entry for ammonia from ammonium nitrate when using the ammonium bicarbonate. For ammonium chloride, use it the same, but dose 0.7 times the amount it says to add to the aquarium.

James' Planted Tank - Dosing Calculator

Can is dose microbacter quick cycle? I used it to cycle my tank and have a full bottle. Ingredients just say water and ammonium chloride?

If yes,

instructions say 1 ml per every 5 gallons to get a reading of 1-2ppm of ammonia. Im going to under-dose by about 10 gallons (32 gallons my tank - Dosing as if 25) so normal dose would be 5ml for 25 gallons to get 1-2 ppm. so to get around 0.1 ppm ammonia i would dose 5/20 = 0.25 mls?

thanks! fyi i suck at math but i think this would be correct lol?

 

[Court_Appointed_Hypeman]

@Randy Holmes-Farley Do corals consume the ammonia 24 hrs per day or just during lights on?

I assume non photosynthetic bacteria consumes it too

 

[drawman]

I have no idea what the ammonia is in ppm but I’m dosing it as per Randy’s guide. I bumped up my ammonia to 10.5 ml per day spread out in 24 doses of .44ml. I also bumped nitrates up to 10ppm. Going to check daily and see if they stay stable with the slight bump of ammonia. Also Dino still holding strong. Let see.

Please keep updating this and maybe we can bounce ideas off of each other. I'm in a similar situation with ostreos taking hold. I'm dosing ammonia and phosphate but have been on and off with it so I need to stay consistent to see if it's improving things or fueling the ostreo.

 

[Court_Appointed_Hypeman]

Please keep updating this and maybe we can bounce ideas off of each other. I'm in a similar situation with ostreos taking hold. I'm dosing ammonia and phosphate but have been on and off with it so I need to stay consistent to see if it's improving things or fueling the ostreo.

My ostreopsis really seem to like the ammonia, so I cut back my light schedule and it seems to be allowing algae to grow again.

I wrote up and posted this entire thing about day 2 of dosing and ostreopsis having their biggest bloom since the fight started, but after basting I realized it's less ostreo and more new gha tufts coveted in ostreo. But the post somehow didn't go through.

Dosing 3 .1ppm doses a day, 18 hours into it giant bloom, cut back lights, seeing a little gha, first thing other than a dino to grow in 8 months ad far as uglies go.

 

[.AcroKiller.]

Please keep updating this and maybe we can bounce ideas off of each other. I'm in a similar situation with ostreos taking hold. I'm dosing ammonia and phosphate but have been on and off with it so I need to stay consistent to see if it's improving things or fueling the ostreo.

I stoped ammonia dosing because it seems to fuel Dino more. So I’m not starting ammonia again untill I beat Dino again.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I stoped ammonia dosing because it seems to fuel Dino more. So I’m not starting ammonia again untill I beat Dino again.

Sounds reasonable. Are you switching to nitrate, or dosing nothing?

 

[Dread Pirate Dave]

I stoped ammonia dosing because it seems to fuel Dino more. So I’m not starting ammonia again untill I beat Dino again.

I haven't experienced this so far. I'm dosing ammonium bicarbonate but only 6ml a day now.

 

[.AcroKiller.]

Sounds reasonable. Are you switching to nitrate, or dosing nothing?

Yes I’m trying to keep nitrates above 10

 

[.AcroKiller.]

I haven't experienced this so far. I'm dosing ammonium bicarbonate but only 6ml a day now.

What’s your water volume.

 

[Court_Appointed_Hypeman]

I haven't experienced this so far. I'm dosing ammonium bicarbonate but only 6ml a day now.

I am pretty confident my ostreo like the ammonia more but it seems shaving 2 hours off my lights they are losing to competition now. I am seeing more and more other algaes come up. I swear for the last 8 months the only thing to grow is some coraline algae on the back glass. I never thought I would be so stoked for green films and hair or sea lettuce.

I have to baste them off still, but this is a huge improvement over nitrate dosing for me, it certainly changed the fight at least to something that gives me hope. But that 2nd day I swear biggest single growth day for dinosnive ever had. At least the amount of elbow grease I am putting im to clear them hasn't gone up.

 

[Reefahholic]

I am pretty confident my ostreo like the ammonia more but it seems shaving 2 hours off my lights they are losing to competition now. I am seeing more and more other algaes come up. I swear for the last 8 months the only thing to grow is some coraline algae on the back glass. I never thought I would be so stoked for green films and hair or sea lettuce.

I have to baste them off still, but this is a huge improvement over nitrate dosing for me, it certainly changed the fight at least to something that gives me hope. But that 2nd day I swear biggest single growth day for dinosnive ever had. At least the amount of elbow grease I am putting im to clear them hasn't gone up.

Current PO4 level?

 

[Dread Pirate Dave]

What’s your water volume.

I have a biocube 29 but with a larger external fuge. It was filled with about 25 gallons of water.

 

[Court_Appointed_Hypeman]

Current PO4 level?

.07 dosing 10ml neophos daily

 

[Reefahholic]

.07 dosing 10ml neophos daily

Maybe bump it up a bit. In some systems (including my last one) the Ostreopsis seem to be hindered at higher PO4 levels. Like 0.15-0.25 range.

 

[KStatefan]

I assume non photosynthetic bacteria consumes it too

Yes but if the corals only consume at a certain time there would be no need to dose 24 hours per day. Right now I am dosing 0.1 ppm at 9am, 11am and 1pm but those times were pick on feelings no data.

 

[Lasse]

@Randy Holmes-Farley Do corals consume the ammonia 24 hrs per day or just during lights on?

I don’t know.

Me either! Too bad they can’t tell us they prefer dosing during peak photo period and not after 9pm.

I do know nutrients are always higher in the am, so it seems that they are consumed more during photosynthesis or during the day like KH is.

I do not know either but I do think that the accepted hypothesis is that uptake happens at the light period. The photosynthesis transform inorganic carbon into glucose, inorganic P into ATP and inorganic N into amino acids - altogether in the chloroplast

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Reefahholic]

Yes but if the corals only consume at a certain time there would be no need to dose 24 hours per day. Right now I am dosing 0.1 ppm at 9am, 11am and 1pm but those times were pick on feelings no data.

So you’re dosing 0.3 ppm daily. Have you noticed anything negative like increased algae growth or possible Dino’s getting happy or more active? Any better PE or anything noticeable?

 

[Brewski4u1]

So let's see if reading thru 40 pages I got this correct . 100g tank n is at zero currently . I'm gonna start amounium bicarbonate at 10ml a day based on the mix randy posted on page 1. And test daily and adjust from there .

 

[beesnreefs]

I’m going for it. 200 gallon mixed reef, a little over two years old. Got the ammonia bicarbonate from Amazon. Mixed 10 g into 500 ml RODI.

Starting by dosing 6 ml, 3x a day (total of 18 ml/day) during lights on.

FWIW, my tank consistently tests at 5-10 ppm nitrates…and that’s with dosing 3-5 ml/day of NeoNitro. (I am consistently at 0.15 phosphates with no dosing)

Let’s see how this goes!