Frozen Food Estimated NO4/PO4

[Raphael Dalmeida]

I'm tweaking my nutrient balance in my tank and as much as I searched everywhere I couldn't find an indicative of % content per dry weight of common frozen foods for aquarium.

Or even per "blisters" or cubes.

I wonder if anyone has this information even if it's not 100% accurate.

I'd be interest in knowing Nitrate (NO3) / Phosphate (PO4) ratio in:

1. Copepods (frozen)
2. Krill (frozen)
3. Mysis (frozen)
4. Nori
5. A common flake/pellet
6. Reef roids
7. Difference live food to frozen (is there a difference?)

These are pretty common reef food and I would imagine someone would have already measured the content or estimated the ratio in them.

Thanks!

 

[Dan_P]

I'm tweaking my nutrient balance in my tank and as much as I searched everywhere I couldn't find an indicative of % content per dry weight of common frozen foods for aquarium.

Or even per "blisters" or cubes.

I wonder if anyone has this information even if it's not 100% accurate.

I'd be interest in knowing Nitrate (NO3) / Phosphate (PO4) ratio in:

1. Copepods (frozen)
2. Krill (frozen)
3. Mysis (frozen)
4. Nori
5. A common flake/pellet
6. Reef roids
7. Difference live food to frozen (is there a difference?)

These are pretty common reef food and I would imagine someone would have already measured the content or estimated the ratio in them.

Thanks!

I am surprised. Usually, packaged fish food provides % phosphorous and protein, both used to estimate the maximum expected phosphate and ammonia, respectively, introduced into the aquarium by the food.

 

[taricha]

article by Randy...
https://reefs.com/magazine/aquarium-chemistry-phosphate-and-math-yes-you-need-to-understand-both/

There's more tables of data in the article.
Table 1 is some dry foods, table 2 some frozen, table 3 some grocery store stuff.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

What do you want to use the ratio for?

 

[Raphael Dalmeida]

What do you want to use the ratio for?

Ive got phosphate at 0.08ppm on Hanna though my nitrates are really low like 0-10 on salifert test kit.

I've been carbon dosing (vinagre) for more than a month and only recently I saw a huge decrease in nitrate so I halved my dosing.

The corals are much happier with the lower nitrate but I don't want to bottom out or even starve them.

So I want to feed foods leaning towards higher nitrate content and lower phosphate, and see where's the sweet spot of carbon dosing and feeding my fish in my tank.

As I don't really have much of a phosphate export other than the pesky green hair algae, and a refugium which is so-so...

If you have any recommendations I'd appreciate it too.

 

[Raphael Dalmeida]

article by Randy...
https://reefs.com/magazine/aquarium-chemistry-phosphate-and-math-yes-you-need-to-understand-both/

There's more tables of data in the article.
Table 1 is some dry foods, table 2 some frozen, table 3 some grocery store stuff.

Thanks heaps very useful.

Ocean nutrition mysis it is ...

I couldn't find anything on frozen copepods. Wonder what would be the ratio for them?

I also have a variety of foods and often I choose to feed frozen krill, once in a while reef roids, nori and clams.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Ive got phosphate at 0.08ppm on Hanna though my nitrates are really low like 0-10 on salifert test kit.

I've been carbon dosing (vinagre) for more than a month and only recently I saw a huge decrease in nitrate so I halved my dosing.

The corals are much happier with the lower nitrate but I don't want to bottom out or even starve them.

So I want to feed foods leaning towards higher nitrate content and lower phosphate, and see where's the sweet spot of carbon dosing and feeding my fish in my tank.

As I don't really have much of a phosphate export other than the pesky green hair algae, and a refugium which is so-so...

If you have any recommendations I'd appreciate it too.

Those numbers may be perfect, and I would not try to pick foods based on N to P ratios.

 

[Dan_P]

Ive got phosphate at 0.08ppm on Hanna though my nitrates are really low like 0-10 on salifert test kit.

I've been carbon dosing (vinagre) for more than a month and only recently I saw a huge decrease in nitrate so I halved my dosing.

The corals are much happier with the lower nitrate but I don't want to bottom out or even starve them.

So I want to feed foods leaning towards higher nitrate content and lower phosphate, and see where's the sweet spot of carbon dosing and feeding my fish in my tank.

As I don't really have much of a phosphate export other than the pesky green hair algae, and a refugium which is so-so...

If you have any recommendations I'd appreciate it too.

Adding sodium nitrate is by far the simplest way to tweak the nitrate concentration. If you think that you have a good grasp of aquarium chemistry, dose ammonium chloride.

 

[Raphael Dalmeida]

Those numbers may be perfect, and I would not try to pick foods based on N to P ratios.

I know it might sound like a stupid question, but how bad is if nitrate goes 0?

And I assume that nitrate 0 is much better than 0 phosphate.

And what signs I should look for to make sure things don't take a full downturn. Using the salifert test is tricky to measure a lower level of nitrate, and maybe I'd be safer keeping a safety margin?

As I've passed my goal with the carbon dosing I'm not sure how much to adjust my feeding now.

I'd like to feed a bit more, if the carbon dosing is something that "allows" for that.

All in all, thanks for the advice.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I know it might sound like a stupid question, but how bad is if nitrate goes 0?

And I assume that nitrate 0 is much better than 0 phosphate.

And what signs I should look for to make sure things don't take a full downturn. Using the salifert test is tricky to measure a lower level of nitrate, and maybe I'd be safer keeping a safety margin?

As I've passed my goal with the carbon dosing I'm not sure how much to adjust my feeding now.

I'd like to feed a bit more, if the carbon dosing is something that "allows" for that.

All in all, thanks for the advice.

Nitrate of at least a few ppm ensures there is adequate nitrogen available to corals. Zero nitrate does not necessarily imply lack of adequate N, because there are other sources, such as ammonia and dissolved and particulate organics, but it is much harder to be sure there are enough of those other sources.

Folks with undetectable nitrate often benefit from adding more sources of N in some fashion.