# micro's mix



## stdeyan (Feb 6, 2010)

Hi all,

I am new in this , and need some help.
it is hard to find csm+b or some other micro`s in my country.
i found and buy tihis mix >

*MgO-3%
B-0.5%
CO-0.02%
Cu-1%
Fe-2%
Mn-4%
Mo-0.05%
Zn-3%*

is tihis correct mix for aquatic plant`s ?
i see that some components are much biger than in csm+b mix
how much should i dose for my 100L tank ? *grams* in *ml* de-ionized wate ?

medium light aq , 100 litres, using the PPS method for doseing some macro elements.

thank`s wery much and sry for my grammar


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

MgO-3%- Do not worry about this one. 
B-0.5%- This can be toxic when overdosed. 
CO-0.02%- I think this is not good overdosed, either. 
Cu-1%- Can kill shrimp and snails if overdosed.
Fe-2%- Aquariums usually need quite a bit if iron, unless there is already iron in the water or substrate. 
Mn-4%- Manganese is (if I remember correctly) pretty safe. 
Mo-0.05%- I do not think there will be problems with this, either. 
Zn-3%- Zinc can be toxic to fish, but plants can remove a lot of it. 

I would compare the ones that I said are toxic with CSM+B. Dose the product you have so that those critical ones (B, Co, Zn) are not overdosed. This may mean that you are under-dosing some (Mg, Fe) but there are other sources of these nutrients.


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## stdeyan (Feb 6, 2010)

i must dose 10times lower *Cu* then , wich is the higest in my mix.
than my mix is going to be something like this>

*MgO-0.3%
B-0.05%
CO-0.002%
Cu-0.1%
Fe-0.2%
Mn-0.4%
Mo-0.005%
Zn-0.3%*

usig PPS-pro method , 80gr of csm+b put in 1L of de-ionized water, in my calculation that is going to be 80gr/10=8gr in 1L water , dosing 2,5ml in 100L tank , every day ... corect 

i see that is too small value of some components.
is it going to be ok for my aq , or it is useless ???

thanks a lot *Diana K*


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

Here's the breakdown of CSM before and after adding Boron.
Regular CSM CSM+B
Fe 7.0% 6.53%
Mn 2.0% 1.87%
Mg 1.5% 1.40%
Zn 0.4% 0.37%
Cu 0.1% 0.09%
Mo 0.05% 0.05%
B 0% 1.18%
Co 0% 0%

Here is your mix: 
MgO-0.3%**
B-0.05%*
CO-0.002%
Cu-0.1%
Fe-0.2%***
Mn-0.4%*
Mo-0.005%
Zn-0.3%

*** = so close to none that I would find an alternate source. If you can get chelated iron this would be great. 

** is a problem only if your tap water lacks Mg. This is one item tested for with the GH test. Unless you have some really odd water the GH is not going to be too low. Reverse Osmosis water and rain water would have so little Mg and Ca that I would sure find a way to dose these two. 

* low, but unless you see a deficiency, I would not bother dosing. (B, Mn)

The other items are not too far off, go for it. 

Other sources of trace minerals include tap water, especially if it is somewhat hard. 
Fish food. Feed a rotation of foods to keep the fish healthy, of course. But also remember that fish food supplies N and P in pretty good doses.


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## wet (Nov 24, 2008)

Adding to Diana K's great posts, if you dose enough of that micronutrient mix the proportions are similar to Miller MicroPlex, which is well regarded amongst many of us (myself included), though has a relatively high percentage of copper. I'd still use MicroPlex if CSM+B wasn't much cheaper here in the US. 

Miller MicroPlex:
Mg-5.4%
B-0.5%
Co-0.05%
Cu-1.5%
Fe-4.0%
Mn-4.0%
Mo-0.1%
Zn-1.5%


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

See, even commercial products vary in their ratios. 

I would be more concerned with over dosing a toxic material than underdosing a required nutrient. You may be able to find an additional source of that deficient mineral.


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## Philosophos (Mar 1, 2009)

Most of the time you're better off just heading for seachem or tropica's ferts if you can't get CSM+B. Odds are if you can get the compounds to correct your trace element, then you can legally order CSM+B.


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## stdeyan (Feb 6, 2010)

*thanks a lot !*

wet , how are you dosing Miller MicroPlex ?


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## wet (Nov 24, 2008)

I dosed it to 0.1-0.2ppm Fe every other day, using Fe as a proxy for all elements of the trace mix, just as I did when using Plantex exclusively (and, say, double dosing Tropica's recommended 0.07ppm Fe for Master Grow on the regular). Over the years I switched to dosing Fe daily and dosing less of my overall trace mixes because I find it more effective for my high uptake tanks. FWIW.

Anyway, if you wanted to do this with your mix, 500mg of it into 100L is 0.1ppm Fe, again as a proxy for all trace levels. This is about the same level of Fe as used by PPS-Pro for the classic CSM+B mix.


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