# Contribute to the new Calculator. Help with Formaulas for dosing.



## hariom (Sep 2, 2008)

Hey guys.
i'm working on creating a new interactive fertilizer calculator. I need some help with getting the formulas of mixing fertilizers for all and any compounds. 

Can any of the 'fert gurus' lend some help??

also id like to hear some features you guys would like to see in your 'dream' calculator.

some of which i will try to incorporate are:
1. better graphics for interface.
2. ability to save your data in form of jpgs, pdfs or another format.
3. ability to print 
3. ability to print labels with your personalized mixing and dosing patterns.
4. emailing results to yourself or others.
5. integration with social media for distribution and communication.
6. inclusion of compounds not available in existing calcs. if any?

the calculator will derive its inspiration from chuck's calc, the fertilator and any other u may suggest. 

looking forward to your replies!


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## JeanPierre (Apr 21, 2010)

Having a large choice of common fertilizers (KNO3 etc....) would be interesting.

But it would be more exciting if anyone was able to had his own fertilizers :
- mixes he made
- unusual compound like NH4NO3
- commercial fertiliser with NPK...


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## wet (Nov 24, 2008)

with your skills this can be special. I am eager to collaborate and incorporate into my tools - you can see my stuff at wet.biggiantnerds.com if you'd like.

suggestions:
the calculator needs to be able to give me tank ppm no matter what my dose, as well as tell me what dose I need to reach my target tank ppm.

if you are incorporating solutions, it has to let me pick my mL per dose. I prefer to dose 5mL and not 1mL, for example. 

anyway, the bulk of your calculations will use some rearrangement of this formula:

Stuff ppm = ( Compound mg dosed * Stuff mg/Compound mg ) / tank L

where:
Compound is something like KNO3

Stuff is what you want to calculate from Compound (say, NO3 from KNO3)

Compound mg dosed is the per dose amount. If using a solution, you would get this per dose by:

Compound mg dosed = Compound mg in solution * mL dosed / total mL solution

Stuff mg / Compound mg is a molecular mass percentage calculation. You'll remember this from first year Chemistry, where something like NO3's percentage in KNO3 will be:
( N g/mol + ( 3 * O g/mol ) ) / ( K g/mol + N g/mol + ( 3 * O g/mol ) )
and where you'll reference the periodic table or other resource for each element's g/mol.

Hydrations can be tricky to calculate. ideally you would design some way to pick different hydrations of some compound in an elegant and non-confusing way. with many compounds the difference between hydrations is trivial. 

I've done some of this in perl with my heavy metals (Fe, Mn, Cu) in DIY micronutrients calc, and you're welcome to the source if you'd like it. would be easy to add more compounds. (I just was not sure it was worth it v some different kind of calculator. maybe yours!)


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## Philosophos (Mar 1, 2009)

Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner in PM Hariom. I've had a busy week; I'll reply now.

Wet, ditto for you and the research; I'm getting back to sifting through old posts where search engines fail.

Personally I think the two of you should be in on the same project. There are so many different aspirations on the part of the creators or desires on the part of the end users that has reliably made for calculators that only do part of what you want them to. I like the idea of a large ongoing group project so that there is one calculator to solve most of people's dosing calculation issues.

In regards to hydrates, I think there are two ways to handle this, neither exclusive to the other necessarily. One would be to list all the hydrates, but if left unspecified have the calculator default to the hydration form most commonly found. MgSO4 may exist anhydrous, but almost everyone is going to their pharmacy and buying MgSO4.7H2O. Not all are so exact, but defaulting to the most common hydrate will reduce PEBKAC.

From there if people are unsure, perhaps a little research to find what brands/fert distributors common to the hobby would work. Aquariumfertilizer.com, GLA, Rex Grigg, etc. for distributors. Anything from fleet enema to sprint iron for brands. This would be updated periodically, but to be honest things don't change a whole lot without the name of the product changing.

Tossing in true percents from chelates in brackets next to the rounded commercial labeling would be cool too; it's not like Sprint 330 is actually a perfect 10% Fe or anything. Indicating true levels lets people see what the calculator is doing a little easier, meaning better peace of mind.


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## hariom (Sep 2, 2008)

This is great guys....im looking at hosting all pertinent information for aquarists under one roof. The calculator will be scripted in javascript. Im taking some help of my frnd who is the 'master coder'. 

I'm calling it the Aqua Mentor for Now, pretty much cause it looks like it will turn out to be more than just a calculator.....I guess I have found my team of advisors-wet and philosophos - glad to have your sharp minds on board!!

i have a feeling this will turn out great...i'd like to start rolling the ball asap so we can get some vigorous testing by our users....I have in mind an iphone and android app as well which will be released in a later phase.

Wet, id like your email address so that we can begin the design phase...Philosophos, I have yours. id like both of you to go thru the site map and some sample layouts that i have designed...wet your stuff is amazing!! we can easily incorporate it into the advanced section of the program. Also which compounds to be included, diff sections to add and the layout will need to be reviewed by you guys...

Once the coding begins, i am planning to make more infographics on solutions and proportions on mixing and matching...pretty much everything is out there and mostly written by you all...it just needs to be centralized into one sweet graphical interface. 

Let the game begin~


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## Fiasco (Apr 7, 2009)

That sounds like a fantastic idea. I'm willing to assist with any graphic needs that might be needed. I am a graphic designer by trade and have just spent the last 4 days looking for a proper dosing calculator to replace the Chuck Gadd link that seems to have gone AWOL since I last used it. I found a backup of the calculator page on the Wayback Machine with javascripting in tact if that helps any. 

As for 'Dream features'. I think that the community should have the option to add products along with concentrations. That product could then be viewed on the drop down of products but be marked as unverified until a handful of other community users verify the information. This would make it far easier to maintain and keep up to date with the least amount of effort from your side, while keeping users happy, current and coming back for more. 

Too many times I've found a calculator that might be used for certain products but not for products that might be similar in a different country or sold by a different name. (eg it took a while for me to realize that Plant Products Micronutrient Mix is identical to CSM+B but not listed in the Fertilator). The ingredients and concentrations might be identical, but it would have saved a lot of confusion for me earlier on in the beginner phase of plant keeping. 

PM me if you want some help with the design/layout.


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## hariom (Sep 2, 2008)

Thanks Fiasco for your offer! I'm sure we will need some help with graphic design.

I shall be posting soon the developments of the calculator. We are currently finished with wire-framing...and are beginning to code. The graphics for the web-design have been finalized for initial launch, though several tweaks will follow during existing user testing.

Adding products is something we have considered in the new design. the unverified and verified component is an excellent idea. the team will discuss your input and see the feasibility of putting it into action. 

thanks again.. and please let us know if anything new pops up in your head....


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## tug (Jul 23, 2009)

I use Wet's excellent calculator of yet another name, http://calc.petalphile.com/
I can hardly wait to see how it will be improved upon. Big shoes to fill, IMO. Still one thing came up the other day, that SO4 is left out of the calculations for K2SO4, etc. That could be added, maybe with a warning of levels that are considered dangerous to shrimp. Same for Na, copper, etc. when applicable.

Wet, I was also hoping your calc would provide a warning when to much salt was being added to a solution. Any progress?


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## wet (Nov 24, 2008)

Hey tug!

http://calc.petalphile.com was originally a proof of concept for this project with hariom, actually  I think it will always be accessible directly but may eventually power some of the math stuff behind hariom's design. I've not made toxicity public yet (my idea is to use a graph for it while showing the calculated dose, Walstad's values in her book, PPS-Pro, and EI) but I'm hoping to work out the idea soon. I did just add S and Cl to the calculator per your request, and you can use it now if you need it. Have fun and thank you!


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## barbarossa4122 (Dec 31, 2009)

Hey Wet,

I used your calculator to make a MgSO4·7H2O solution and I got a different result than the Fertilator, way different.

Edit:

Sorry, my mistake. Yours is for MnSO4.H2O not MgSO4.H2O


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## wet (Nov 24, 2008)

I'll add Mg to the list of Stuff to add, barbarossa4122 

hariom, also adding a API so you and other folks can more easily build on it. I'll track that in some other thread.


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## barbarossa4122 (Dec 31, 2009)

wet said:


> I'll add Mg to the list of Stuff to add, barbarossa4122
> 
> hariom, also adding a API so you and other folks can more easily build on it. I'll track that in some other thread.


Sounds good. Thanks Wet. 
Did u get my pm about the dtpa and the sprint 138?


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