View Full Version : dosing stump remover
TomFromStLouis
04-10-2003, 5:59 PM
Well, I finally rushed out to buy potassium nitrate. I added one teaspoon to my 75 gallons which had shown zero nitrates. An hour later: zero nitrates.
Hmmm. Add another teaspoon. Got lots of plants (some turning brown due to lack of nitrate I figure), so overdosing not likely. Besides a water change can fix an OD. Later: still no noticible amount of nitrate. Zero. Absolutely clear when it should be pink. It's a new Hagen test kit that has done well on other tests so far. Before I add more stump remover, I thought I'd let the collective wisdom of this board weigh in. I gotta go get some enema stuff. Do I just ask for the rectal aisle?;)
Tempest
04-10-2003, 6:25 PM
What brand of stump remover?
Skittyfish
04-10-2003, 7:02 PM
Check the contents. Mine is Spectracide. Fleet for the enema. I use 1/2 teaspoon in my 72 gallon 2x weekly that hold my nitrates at 5. I have a harder time with the fleet. Something just sucks the phosphates out of mine overnight!
With the Hagen kit make sure you time it. I think it takes 5 minutes before it is stable.
TomFromStLouis
04-10-2003, 8:07 PM
Originally posted by Tempest
What brand of stump remover?
I am away form it now but it came from the local nursery in a red and yellow canister and said it "contains potassium nitrate." No other ingredients shown, so I figure I have the real deal.
Tom, the Hagan kit you bought.....does it have the #3 re-agent in a glass bottle? If not it's worthless. #1 and #2 can be plastic, but not #3. Take it back to the store and get a kit with a glass #3 bottle, not plastic. If it does have a glass bottle I'm stumped(no pun intended). I'd ask the same question as Tempest. What kind of Stump Remover are you using?
Skitty, what kind of reactor did you buy and where? Sounds like a good one.
Len
TomFromStLouis
04-10-2003, 8:20 PM
Big Al's sent me some all-in-one kit that has #3 in a plastic bottle.
Dang Len, do you know EVERYTHING?
So what is it I am actually now asking for? Is there a name for this chemical or is it known as NO3 #3? I am going to have to call around and it would be nice to know what to ask for. LFS or some small chemical sales outfit or...?
skeletalmachine
04-10-2003, 8:21 PM
Why would the third reagent have to come in a glass bottle? I've never seen such a thing before? I would suppose that if the reagent reacted with the plastic they would never have put it in there in the first place!
TomFromStLouis
04-10-2003, 8:31 PM
Originally posted by skeletalmachine
Why would the third reagent have to come in a glass bottle? I've never seen such a thing before? I would suppose that if the reagent reacted with the plastic they would never have put it in there in the first place!
Yeah, you'd think.
Nothing surprises me though. Almost nothing.
carpguy
04-10-2003, 8:42 PM
Tom (from St. Louis),
I had originally picked up some stuff called Bonide Stump Remover. Red and yellow canister that didn't mention any ingredients. Someone at Aquabotanic warned me off it, said it wasn't NO3 and that they thought it was toxic for the fish, so you might want to double check. Found the Spectracide at Lowe's a few weeks later.
I had a lot of trouble finding Stump Remover over the winter but I think its a seasonal product: its one of the things they pull to make room for snow shovels and rock salt, etc. If you've been having trouble finding it you may want to take another look now that Spring is (almost not quite) here.
TomFromStLouis
04-10-2003, 9:06 PM
The brand I have is Hi-Yield. It clearly states on the back "Contains potassium nitrate"
I put in in earlier today and everything is still alive.
Tempest
04-11-2003, 9:30 AM
I'm not familiar with that brand. It sounds like your nitrate test may be off. I'd also check with the manufacturer of the stump remover for a material data safety sheet. MDS or some such initials. See if they have a web site for a quicker answer. I use the Green Light brand available by now from Walmart and also purer KNO3 from Plant Guild.
If you can find it use the Spectracide Stump Remover from Lowe's.
Len
TomFromStLouis
04-12-2003, 5:18 PM
For the record, my test kit works fine. Len PMed me and confessed that the glass bottle thing has to do with PO4 testing.
Anyway, I took a cup of tank water and added a significant amount of the stump remover and tested it. Pink! So I added two more teaspoons of KNO3 to the tank and retested it: pink! It measured about 5ppm, the low end of the range I am looking for. So I can only conclude that Hi Yield stump remover is somewhat diluted or weaker than Spectracide. Makes me wonder what they dilute it with... Or could I really have needed that much in a nitrate starved environment?
Avonlea,PA
04-12-2003, 9:03 PM
Originally posted by djlen
If you can find it use the Spectracide Stump Remover from Lowe's.
Len
Wal Mart also sells Spectracide. I bought some last night for $4.96 or so.
gnome
04-13-2003, 11:39 AM
Originally posted by carpguy
Tom (from St. Louis),
I had originally picked up some stuff called Bonide Stump Remover. Red and yellow canister that didn't mention any ingredients. Someone at Aquabotanic warned me off it, said it wasn't NO3 and that they thought it was toxic for the fish, so you might want to double check.
Usually, stump remover is KNO3 or NH4NO3. Whether it's one or the other, it should show up on a nitrate test. If it doesn't, I wouldn't know what other compound they use as stump remover.
Dragon Chemical Corp. used to make a very pure KNO3 stump remover, but I think they discontinued its manufacture. I can't even find it on their website. Grant's, Cooke's and Green Light are good.
In general, it's getting more and more difficult to find stump remover and K2SO4, it seems. KNO3 is a major component in explosives and with the present political climate, I'd imagine distributors would be more cautious about who they make such compounds available to. I think earlier in the year or late last year I did notice an ACE hardware store with Grant's stump remover on the shelf. They seem to switch between Bonide and Grant's.
Well, all I can say is to make sure that the pellets are all dissolved before you test. In fact, it might be a good idea to dissolve the KNO3 in a separate container and pour this solution into the tank. This will allow you to test sooner after addition and get an accurate result.
Oh yeah - one more thing. The typical dosage for the known stump removers is something like 1/4 tsp granules for every 60 gallons. This is supposed to raise the NO3 by about 5 or 6 ppm. Not sure what's in the stuff you're using :confused: ...?