Dry Ferts Grade

[Jordan_Deus]

Hello,

I've decided to switch over to dry fertilizer as the expense of liquid ferts is through the roof.

I've contacted a company in my area and they only sell KNO3 (Potassium Nitrate) Technical Grade.
Is this grade safe for aquarium use?

Sent from my PRO 7 Plus using Tapatalk

 

[Byron]

You do not want to use that with fish in the tank. The nitrate is harmful to fish and aquatic plants have difficulty using it anyway. I have never gone down the dry fert road but from my reading on other specialist forums I believe you can buy these online.

However, one again has to be careful. Most planted tank enthusiasts are concerned about plants, with fish few or absent. And dumping more than needed of these nutrients into the tank is much less of a concern than it should be if fish are present.

 

[Jordan_Deus]

You do not want to use that with fish in the tank. The nitrate is harmful to fish and aquatic plants have difficulty using it anyway. I have never gone down the dry fert road but from my reading on other specialist forums I believe you can buy these online.

However, one again has to be careful. Most planted tank enthusiasts are concerned about plants, with fish few or absent. And dumping more than needed of these nutrients into the tank is much less of a concern than it should be if fish are present.

I agree and am aware that nitrate is dangerous for fish. In order to reduce said risk I am taking a few measures.
1. I've done the chemistry needed and figured out the concentration of the mixture I need to make. Basically what I intend on doing is creating my own Seachem Nitrogen/Potassium. I will create a mixture where I know 10 ml of this mixture in 60 gallons is 5 ppm of nitrate.
2. I will dose less and am using test kits to monitor my water parameters. Will only add 5ppm of nitrate every time my nitrate test shows up as 0ppm. That way the plants always have a food source that doesn't exceed dangerous levels for the fish.

I am aware that Ammonia/ammonium is a better source of Nitrogen for plants, but it is impossible to dose ammonia for plants without harming the fish (as far as I am aware).
I do not intend to use the EI dosing method as it is created for high tech aquariums. I intend to continue dosing small amounts of ferts once a week as I have been doing up until now. I test my water before every weekly 60% water change and Nitrate is always 0 (so is Ammonia and Nitrite). I'm switching to dry ferts, and making my own mixtures because buying premixed fertilizers is too expensive. A bottle of Seachem Nitrogen for instance, lasts 3 months for my aquariums, while a kilogram of KNO3 will last around 3 years. KNO3 costs about one third that of Seachem Nitrogen.

I just need to know if the Technical Grade Potassium Nitrate is safe for aquarium use.

 

[Colin_T]

all I know about Potassium Nitrate is it goes caboom when mixed with a couple of other ingredients

 

[Jordan_Deus]

all I know about Potassium Nitrate is it goes caboom when mixed with a couple of other ingredients

Definitely does, that's why it's not the easiest to get where I live. Luckily I found a place that sells it.

Sent from my PRO 7 Plus using Tapatalk

 

[Colin_T]

You will be on the FBI's watch list now