Confused about Seachem Nitrogen formula

[s2002]

Let's say I have a 10 gallons of water in my tank and I want to raise Nitrate from 0 ppm to 5 ppm.
Using the calculator by Seachem, I input these values:

• Water volume: 10
• Current ppm: 0
• Desired ppm: 5
• Result: 12.5 ML

So some questions:

• To get the nitrate equivalent do I divided the 12.5 ML by 5? Therefore calculator is telling me that to raise nitrate from 0 to 5 ppm, I need to add 2.5 ML of Seachem Nitrogen?
• Is this assuming a twice a week dosing schedule? i.e. if I dose 2.5 ml of Seachem Nitrogen twice a week, my water will be getting a 5 ppm worth of nitrate in the water? Or is it saying something else?
• Will this nitrate ever show up in standard testing strips?

Thank you very much!

[Tech Support AN]

Thanks for the post, s2002!

The calculator uses actual N values, so it is important to convert your nitrate equivalent values (NO3) into N values. To do this, the following steps are required:

1. Test for NO3 (nitrate) and divide the result by 5. This is your current N value.
2. Determine what the desired NO3 (nitrate) is and divide that by 5.
3. Put those two numbers into the calculator.

This will give you the amount of Flourish Nitrogen needed to get your desired level in that volume of water. In order to maintain the level, it will be necessary to test daily for a week or two to determine the consumption rate by the plants. It might be necessary to dose this amount more than twice per week to maintain that level in the water column. Every tank is different and will have varying consumption rates of nutrients.

I hope this helps!

[s2002]

Ah ok. So let's say in a 10 gallon I have a nitrate level of 1, and want to raise it to 5. Following your steps:

1. My current No3 value is 1. Divide result by 5 = 0.2
2. Desired nitrate value is 5. Divide by 5 = 1
3. Put number in calculator = 2 ML

So the answer to "how do I raise from nitrate of 1 to nitrate of 5 ppm?" is 2 ML?
Also, how quickly should the nitrate be visible on the testing strips? Like immediately? Or does it take a few hours?
Thank you!

[Tech Support AN]

That is correct! :)
You should get an accurate reading shortly after adding the Flourish Nitrogen to the water! I would say within 5 minutes. If you wait too long, the plants may use some of the nitrogen before you are able to test it.