# PPS Pro and 11% Chelated Iron



## firefiend (Aug 17, 2009)

So, I'm prepping my PPS Pro solutions and realized that the dry ferts package I purchased contains a separate package of 11% chelated iron along with Plantex CSM+B.

So how do I incorporate the Iron into the dosing system?


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

Didn't you get any instructions? Where did you get these packages from?


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## Left C (Jun 14, 2005)

You can use wet's calculator to make a trace solution for PPS. http://calc.petalphile.com/

PPS uses a target of 0.1 ppm of Fe. You could make a trace mix of 4:1 CSM+B to 11% DTPA Fe. In other words, 80% of the 0.1 ppm Fe trace solution will be CSM+B and 20% will be the 11% DTPA Fe.

Or, if you wanted to make an extra iron PPS trace solution, like 0.2 ppm of Fe, you could use the normal amount of CSM+B to make a 0.1 ppm Fe solution and add enough of the 11% DTPA Fe to make another 0.1 ppm of Fe for a total of 0.2 ppm Fe.

Or, you can make other trace mix variations too.

Please note that I do not use PPS and I am just offering some suggestions to help you to make your trace solution.

You might want to post this question in wet's thread about his calculator: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...0-calc-petalphile-com-now-makes-standard.html


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## firefiend (Aug 17, 2009)

HeyPK said:


> Didn't you get any instructions? Where did you get these packages from?


Bought the CSM+B, NPK, and Iron combo from Bob's tropical. And there are no instructions on how to dose the iron.

However, since PPS pro goals for .1 ppm Fe and the CSM+B provides .14ppm, I really didn't need to buy the Iron. I'll just keep it around in case additional Fe is needed, then I can make new solutions accordingly.

Thanks for the input, guys.


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## Left C (Jun 14, 2005)

firefiend said:


> .... However, since PPS pro goals for .1 ppm Fe and the CSM+B provides .14ppm, I really didn't need to buy the Iron. I'll just keep it around in case additional Fe is needed, then I can make new solutions accordingly. ...


Here is a suggestion:

58.0g (actually 57.97g) of CSM+B instead of 80g in 1L will give you 0.1 ppm of Fe when you dose 1mL per 10g.

34.413g of 11% DTPA Fe in 1L will give you 0.1 ppm of Fe when you dose 1mL per 10g.

You could mix the two together in an 1L bottle and have around a 0.2 ppm of Fe dose. This will help you to use it up. I dose extra Fe with this same 11% DTPA Fe.

**************************************************

I've read recently that you shouldn't mix KH2PO4 and the MgSO4·7H2O together in solutions because a reaction can occur. This suggestion came from a chemist.

This is the regular PPS-Pro recipe:

Macro Solution
In 1 liter bottle:
59 grams K2SO4 (Potassium Sulfate)
65 grams KNO3 (Potassium Nitrate)
6 grams KH2PO4 (Mono Potassium Phosphate)
41 grams MgSO4·7H2O (Magnesium Sulfate Heptahydrate)
Fill with distilled water and shake well. Let sit overnight.

Micro Solution
In 1 liter bottle:
80 grams of CSM+B or equivalent trace element mix
Fill with distilled water and shake well. Let sit overnight.

Try this instead:
Macro Solution
In 1 liter bottle:
59 grams K2SO4 (Potassium Sulfate)
65 grams KNO3 (Potassium Nitrate)
6 grams KH2PO4 (Mono Potassium Phosphate)
Fill with distilled water and shake well. Let sit overnight.

Micro Solution
In 1 liter bottle:
80 grams of CSM+B or equivalent trace element mix
41 grams MgSO4·7H2O (Magnesium Sulfate Heptahydrate)
20 to 40 milliliters of Excel to help keep mold from forming
Fill with distilled water and shake well. Let sit overnight.

Or, you could use the CSM+B/11% DTPA Fe suggestion above instead of 80g of CSM+B.

Dose 1mL of each solution per 10g daily.

Also, if you get GSA (green spot algae), you may want to double your KH2PO4 amount in your macro solution and see if this helps.


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## firefiend (Aug 17, 2009)

Left C said:


> Try this instead:
> Macro Solution
> In 1 liter bottle:
> 59 grams K2SO4 (Potassium Sulfate)
> ...


Hmm, I actually like this formula. And I love the idea of making a 0.2 ppm Fe solution so I think I'm going to use the following micro solution:

Micro Solution
In 1 liter bottle:
80 grams of CSM+B or equivalent trace element mix
41 grams MgSO4·7H2O (Magnesium Sulfate Heptahydrate)
21 grams of Fe 11% Chelate
20 to 40 milliliters of Excel to help keep mold from forming
Fill with distilled water and shake well. Let sit overnight.

This provides .14 ppm Fe from the CSM+B and 0.06 ppm from the Fe Chelate.


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## Left C (Jun 14, 2005)

- When some of us tried PPS-Pro, we did get GSA. Doubling the KH2PO4 amount in the macro solution helped with this problem. You may want to double up on your first batch in an effort to try to avoid any GSA problems. It might not be a "cure-all," but it is a step in the right direction.

- 20mL of Excel may be enough to ward off any type of mold buildup in a 1L bottle. I couldn't remember if it was 20mL for a 500mL solution or 20mL for a 1000mL solution when I posted it a little while ago.

- Your 0.14 ppm + 0.06 ppm Fe mix solution should be fine. Some people are dosing more trace and Fe these days.

- You may want to warm your distilled water before use to help the compounds to dissolve easier. I zap my water in a microwave before mixing, but a pot on an oven will work too.


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## bsmith (Dec 13, 2006)

Since the 11% chelated Fe is probably set in a different type of chelator than the Fe in the csm+b (not 100% sure about his but maybe) it could be beneficial to add it to the mix. The different chelators hang around in the tank for varying amounts of time (depending on pH and lighting intensity) so having proper amounts of Fe with different chelators can allow the Fe to be available to the plants for a longer period of time. All Fe is not always the same. 

I have a mix I made with csm+b that has 13% Fe chelate, ferrous gluconate and also another type of Fe I cant remember that is mixed in a 3-1-1-1 ratio with the csm+b being the 3 and the different types of Fe being the 1.


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