adding potassium nitrate

Cajunspice · Post by **Cajunspice** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 12:20 am

i'm planning to add about .25 tsp of KNO3 into my 10 gallon tank to boost the health of my java moss. Would this kill or effect my shrimps?

gr81 · Post by **gr81** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 12:40 am

I'm not sure with KNO3 but most shrimps are sensitive to NO3. eg: Serrata groupe. Other like RCS don't mind higher NO3. I am personaly not sureif is it good idea to add KNO3 to shrimp tank.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 2:50 am

That looks like about 10 times too much to me. You should sample your other water parameters to be sure you are not messing up your chemistry. My experience from letting nitrates get too high is the shrimp will stop reproducing and become less active. Above 100 ppm you may start losing them. 20 ppm should be plenty to grow just about anything. You probably have that much already. Adding 1/4 tsp to 10 gallons would be something like 40 ppm NO3

In my experience faster growth is obtained throuugh more light, not more chemicals. Get nitrates and phosphate out of balance and you get algea, not java.

Shady · Post by **Shady** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 11:08 am

Why not use KCl instead of KNO3? I've used this with great results in plant tanks...no experience with shrimp, but chloride is a beneficial ion for respiration in fishes...should be OK for shrimp.

Cajunspice · Post by **Cajunspice** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 2:24 pm

i've been adding a pinch of KNO3 into my tank daily, the shrimps still seem happily pregnant. =D just a lil bit of algae.

Lotus · Post by **Lotus** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 9:36 pm

Have you measured your nitrates? I only add them to my shrimp tank if they measure less than 5ppm, otherwise, there's more than the plants need and too much for the shrimp.