Kno3 ?

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125gJoe

2009 VMAX
Jul 6, 2002
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What is, or where do you get KNO3?

(maybe this should be in the Aquatic section..)
 

Fishiebusiness

Fish Newbie
Oct 8, 2001
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Berkeley, CA
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Its potassium nitrate. A good way to supply nitrate for highlight/ heavily planted tanks that need additional nitrate. Also adds a bit of potassium which also helps. Can be bought in the form of stump remover at local home depot or that type store.

Oh yes, it is also the main ingredient in gunpowder.
 
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Richer

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Aug 7, 2002
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Correct, KNO3 is potassium nitrate. Basically the only use for KNO3 is for planted tanks, and only if nitrates tend to dip to 0 all the time. Quite a few plant keepers find that the nitrates in their tanks will dip down to zero. This can lead to algae outbreaks, so they dose with KNO3 to boost those levels to the 5-10ppm range. As Fishiebusiness has said, KNO3 can be found in the form of stump remover. It can also be easily found at hydroponic stores like www.litemanu.com . Forgot to add, KNO3 also adds potassium to your water as well, something plants also utilize.

HTH
-Richer
 

Shiftaltumlock

No mater where ya go, there ya are
Sep 4, 2001
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Be careful what brand of stump remover you buy. Read the label and make sure it uses 100% KNO3 for the decomposition agent.

Good brands to buy are Green Light, Grants and Spectracide. There are others, but these are the ones that come to mind.
 

125gJoe

2009 VMAX
Jul 6, 2002
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Thanks... :)
 

southrock

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Dec 23, 2002
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Even though I have added things like Roach killer to my water column, I, like others, still feel a little uneasy about it. I think just for the peace of mind, I would and do order KNO3 from a Hydroponic supply store. If you do add KNO3, you will probably need to add other things as well. Adding nitrate to the water column is kind of like cranking up the plant machine. Although there is potassium in KNO3, it may not be enough. A better source for potassium would be K2SO4.
Then your water will probably run short of phosphate, so you’ll probably need to add that, in small amounts. One good source for that is Mono Potassium Phosphate.
You wouldn’t want to add any of this without good light source and CO2 fertilizing - things can go downhill in a hurry.

All of these things can be obtained through a Hydroponic supply store, and since it will probably be mail order, you might want to get all three at the same time to save yourself some shipping charges.

-SR
 
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Jared

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Dec 21, 2002
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Most municipal water is buffered with phosphate and you may well have enough. Your water dept will be able to provide you with their latest analysis so you can see the levels of calcium, magnesium, phosphate, etc.

Add potassium nitrate only enough to bring up your nitrate. To bring up your potassium -- the level of which is less critical -- use potasium sulfate. Otherwise you can easily overdose the nitrate.

Jared
 
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