dosing fertilizer

[dputt88]

hello,
i set up a 30g macro cube well over a month ago now. i have been adding marine algae here and there as it pops up online. i want this to be a great variety of macros with dense foliage. i only have some snails in there now for a clean up crew and i have been feeding them pellet fish food ( i have it for the fish in my reef tank). anyways i figured the feeding would help keep nitrates up. but i checked today and even though the tank only has 6 species in it now the nitrates were 0ppm along with phosphates too.

right now most species are basic.
cactus caulerpa
red graciliaria
ulva ( its tucked in the back and with be fed to my tang and rabbit fish)
halimeda
blue ochtodes
and halymenia (dragons breath)

on its way:
red bush graciliaria
"chameleon" unsure of any further classification.

i want to start dosing macro nutrients, at least until i get the pipefish and seahorses in there. but i dont want to spend a lot of money,so i was definitely going to go with dry fertilizers, and making my own mixtures and dilutions is fine (work in a lab).

my main questions is, has anyone ever used bulk dry fertilizers, and if so what dosing protocols worked for you? also any other advice on keeping my macros in great health is much appreciated

[dputt88]

so does no one make their own fertilizers?

has anyone used calcium nitrate?

does anyone even use store bought fertilizers?

[dputt88]

does no one have a tank that is solely for growing macros? or does everyone just keep them for nutrient export.

there has to be someone out there that has a method to keeping nutrients at a suitable level for dense macro growth.

more on its way too..
Cympolia barbata

[tektite]

I've used potassium nitrate and sodium phosphate for keeping no3/po4 up in my macro tank. I don't need to dose nearly as much as I've added more fish and feed more.

FYI if the 'chameleon' is the macro that normally goes by that name (green/brown sponge looking macro with irridescent blue sheen), its scientific name is Codium lucasii.

[dputt88]

what is your protocol for adding these to your tank?

i tihnk im going to us calcium nitrate, that way i can keep an eye on the calciums levels, if they get too high i can do a water change.

im not sure if thats it, but we'll know on thursday!! lol.

[tektite]

I try to keep nitrate around 5 ppm and phosphate around 0.05 - 0.1 ppm. Whatever you decide on just don't over dose, too high of levels will cause a lot more harm than good. Amounts of actual additives to use for raising your levels will be different than mine, you'll be able to figure that out when you decide on what to use to raise no3/po4.

This is a pic of my Codium lucasii for reference:
http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv244/stargate985/IMG_6724.jpg

[dputt88]

thats a different macro.

mainly i was asking what concentration did you mix it up to before adding it to your tank?

[tektite]

No specific concentration, I just dissolve whatever amount of powder I need to raise x ppm in a little saltwater before adding it slowly to the sump.

[dputt88]

awesome, thanks. i ordered my calcium nitrate yesterday.