Amonia Nitrate = Food ?

[scubadude]

It has been told to me a couple of times now that clams uptake ammonia nitrate as a source of their main diet and for the longest time I was a believer that you have to have stable undetectable levels across the board to keep a boatload of clams, which now im moreso a believer that clams and SPS go hand and hand because the clams ability to clean the water which actually is kinda opposite from the way I saw it at first. I have heard of clam farms feeding large amounts of ammonia nitrate and then running out so they just take a leak in the tanks :eek3: Naturally I havent turned my tank into a urinal but has anyone else ever thought about this?

[Hippopus]

YES!
I have thought about supplementing dosages of ammonia nitrate but have not done it yet! And more than likely will not.
Jim

[Captain Clam]

I wonder how well filtered pee is? This could be a new way to top-off that would save me money by not having to keep running out to buy RO/DI water.

[JT]

scooba: This is a very common practice out on the clam farms. Rumor has it that Dick Perrin out at Tropicorium does this as well.

- JT

[hcp28]

I guess he really puts himself into his work sorry that was uncalled for

Henry

[Barry N.]

I have also heard this and know of one farm that does but have been told that most do not.

Like Jim, If my clams are doing very well, then why change.

Barry

[Hippopus]

Barry,
Can you imagine peeping in our tanks????? I wonder what my skimmers would do? So then we get enough B---s to try it and our wifes walk in. How would we explain our way out of that one???
Jim

[Barry N.]

That might be hard to explain.

Have also heard that adding sodium natrates as well but must be monitored very closely or it could imbalance the tank.

I still think that good feeling with phytoplankton, vitamins, proper lighting and ofcourse stable water conditions if met are all you need to have a healthy clam.

Barry

[reddhaus]

Originally posted by JT
scooba: This is a very common practice out on the clam farms. Rumor has it that Dick Perrin out at Tropicorium does this as well.

- JT

I just visited the Tropicorium today and talked to Dick. This very subject was one of the things we talked about. Yes, he does add ammonium nitrate to his tanks. He said that he adds a mixture of aragamite (mite....not nite) and some ammonium nitrate. He said he believes that corals and clams benefit from this. He has proven that there is much more growth in his clams from the ammonium nitrate.

He said he also believes in having high fish populations in reef tanks because they create ammonia. He also said they should be fed well to help the cycle along. Another thing he mentioned is that he is a believer in water changes but not in skimmers. He says skimmers remove things from the water that would otherwise be converted into food for the tank such as corals, clams, and bacteria.

I thought he had alot of interesting things to say and i am glad he took the time out to chat with me.

[SueT]

So my tank is doing better than I thought. SPS corals, clams and some too big fish that make waste like crazy. Thats why everything is growing.

[Chris Lakies]

I was with Scott when he visited the Trop last weekend. He's right when saying Dick had alot of stuff to talk to us about. I wish I could have had a pad and pen to write it all down. He did say that he experienced so much growth and so fast that the clam shells were thin and if you pressed a little too hard that you would put your thumb through the shell. He said it was due to the clams couldn't incorporate one of the elements (Carbonate I think) fast enough to make the shell thick. So it was a fine line to getting the mixture correct. He was saying allot of big words really fast, I was trying to comprehend but my brain is the size of a walnut!

[reddhaus]

[mrok12]

scooba: This is a very common practice out on the clam farms. Rumor has it that Dick Perrin out at Tropicorium does this as well.

- JT

Dick Perrin does this. I was discussing pouring green water into the tank and the possibility of the intoduction of the fertilizers and he stated that he uses ammoniium nitrate to spur growth and that it has an unbelievable effect. SO i should not worry it is a food source for corals and clams according to him.