# [Wet Thumb Forum]-Preservative For Iron Gluconate mixture



## Freemann (Mar 19, 2004)

I am using a home made mixture of iron gloconate from Fluka (4 gr in 2000 mg water from the tap) which I dose through one of my dosing pumps in 75 days. The first batch was made with distilled water and the solution kept its brown color up to the end now the new solution which I made with tap water after a weeks time has taken a murky of white to light brownish color and orange objects are accumulated near the surface and above it. It seems that some kind of microbe or whatever has established itself, The solution is kept in the closet where it is fairly dark so it is not oxidation. I am prepared to disinfect the container pipes e.t.c and prepare a new batch with distilled water but I was wondering what preservative I should add to the mixture and in what amounts to keep it pure in the future. Suggestions would be really appreciated.








Thanks in advance.


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## Freemann (Mar 19, 2004)

I am using a home made mixture of iron gloconate from Fluka (4 gr in 2000 mg water from the tap) which I dose through one of my dosing pumps in 75 days. The first batch was made with distilled water and the solution kept its brown color up to the end now the new solution which I made with tap water after a weeks time has taken a murky of white to light brownish color and orange objects are accumulated near the surface and above it. It seems that some kind of microbe or whatever has established itself, The solution is kept in the closet where it is fairly dark so it is not oxidation. I am prepared to disinfect the container pipes e.t.c and prepare a new batch with distilled water but I was wondering what preservative I should add to the mixture and in what amounts to keep it pure in the future. Suggestions would be really appreciated.








Thanks in advance.


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## aviel (Sep 12, 2004)

Hi,

I am not a chemist but will try to take a stab on this.

Ferrous gluconate (fe+2) when dissolved into water is somewhat green while EDTA (fe+3) is brownish. If the color turned brown then probably it's oxidation. 

Also seachem are recommending low KH. It could be that with your stock you have too much ferrous per KH and in that distlied water the KH is close to zero.

This is why I dose ferrous gluconate dry.

Aviel.


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## MOR B. (Oct 9, 2003)

aviel ur ferrous g. is green?! i dont think u have the correct f.g... from h2o and ferrous gluconate u should recieve a yellowish color


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## aviel (Sep 12, 2004)

Hi,

It's 100% Ferrous Gluconate (not 94%) - trust me... it's not green, it's yellow to the greenish color if you dose enough to a stock solution which I have done only once. I usually dose dry.

If you ever tried to play with fe+3 then that's a blooded brown color.

Aviel.


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## Freemann (Mar 19, 2004)

Dry stuff is green but solution is brown and yes it is 100 % iron gluconate


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## MOR B. (Oct 9, 2003)

im having both here, when dissolved in water the f.g is yellow-brown and the f.edta is brown-red! - the dry stuff is mustard like colored- am i right or what?


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## Freemann (Mar 19, 2004)

My Iron gluconate powder is dark yellow to brown and makes a brown to red solution with water. And my question still stands any ideas for preservative?


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## MOR B. (Oct 9, 2003)

freeman r u sure u have f.g ? preservatives for the f.g is to keep it in the powder form and use only small quantities of f.g mixed with water , say u make enough for 3 months or so and the rest stays in the powder form


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## aviel (Sep 12, 2004)

Akmad,

U can consider the stock that you prepare as a little aquarium and you dose into that little aquarium 720 ppm of Ferrous Gluconate... (times 1000 of what's recommended...) 

(0.1 ppm per dose x 3 doses per week x 100L aquarium / 0.5 Liter stock x 3 months x 4 weeks per month)

That's a lot !!!! U need to make sure that your KH is 0 and I am not sure that a simple RO system shall provide an absolute zero KH. It means that most of your ferrous gluconate ends up as ferrous carbonate which is not available to the plants. Seachem are also adding some "reducing agents" to their product I guess just for that.

So why don't you dose "dry"?

I dose one smidgen per day per 750L tank, from time to time I reduce that because it looks too high.

Aviel.


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## hubbahubbahehe (Mar 29, 2004)

where do you get iron gluconate from?


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## Freemann (Mar 19, 2004)

Aviel
I only dose my ferts throu dosing pumps.
I dose this amount to a 400 lt tank and it is pretty low, it seems iron gluconate is oxidized pretty fast under high light.
I dose half of it in the same amount of time in another 148 lt tank and it is consumed there also no algae problems in both tanks. 
Algae grower
You can buy iron gluconate by ordering it to any shop selling chemicals for laboratories 1 Kg here goes for 50 euro you can get it for less in usa (what a rip off from the companies selling it premade !!!).


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