# Dry fertilizer question



## yxberia (Apr 19, 2005)

I have a dry trace element (X) with the following test result.

0.2 g of X in 200 ml of water gives = 0.5 ppm or Iron.

Now, how many gram of X do I need if I want to dose my 240 liter tank until I get 0.1 ppm of Iron ?


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## czado (May 26, 2005)

If 0.2g of Product X in 200mL is 0.5ppm Iron, then
0.2g of X in 1L is 0.1ppm Fe, so
*48g of X in 240L is 0.1ppm Fe.*

Which seems extremely high to me. Better to say what Product X is for verification. Perhaps your data is really .5ppm Iron per 1mL solution or something.


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## yxberia (Apr 19, 2005)

Thanks, Joe. 
Yes, product X is very very high in iron. It is a trace element for garden, not intended for aquarium. I can't tell for sure the actual concentration is 0.5 ppm as I am basing on colorific tester. The max value that tester can tell is 0.8 ppm.


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## Laith (Sep 4, 2004)

yxberia said:


> ...
> Yes, product X is very very high in iron. ...


Not really, at least for aquarium use! 45g just to get 0.1 mg/l of Fe in a 240l aquarium is a lot of product  . I wonder what else is in there?

The following will all give you 0.1 mg/l of Fe in a 240l tank:

- 35ml of TMG 
- 7.5ml of Seachem Flourish
- 2.5ml of Seachem Flourish Iron
- 0.38g of CSM+B


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## czado (May 26, 2005)

Also, does it have a %concentration for Iron and the other elements? Easy enough to do the calcs for your target if you want them. As I understand Iron kits are inaccurate.

0.1mg Fe/L * 240L / (mg Fe/mg Product X) = mg Product X needed to raise 240L 0.1ppm Fe.


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## yxberia (Apr 19, 2005)

Laith said:


> Not really, at least for aquarium use! 45g just to get 0.1 mg/l of Fe in a 240l aquarium is a lot of product .
> The following will all give you 0.1 mg/l of Fe in a 240l tank:
> 
> - 35ml of TMG
> ...


The "very very high iron" I was refering to is in terms of: 
Amount of Iron vs Money + durability: 
Money: 
If not mistaken, I bought 1KG for RM 16.00 (USD 4.20)

Durability: 
Since it is solid and don't dissolve easily, I would inject it under my 1.5 year-old soil substrate. That would last me a long long time compared to liquid fert. 
For garden use, 50 g per 2 square meter can last you....1 year. 

You guys are very lucky indeed. We don't have much choice here.  
- 35ml of TMG = not avail
- Seachem Flourish = 250 ml RM 38 (USD 10.00)
- Seachem Flourish Iron = 250 ml for RM 38 
- 0.38g of CSM+B = not avail



> I wonder what else is in there?


Mg, Potassium, Sulphur, Copper, Manganese, Zinc, Molybdenum, Boron...that's it what I can remember.


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## yxberia (Apr 19, 2005)

czado said:


> Also, does it have a %concentration for Iron and the other elements? Easy enough to do the calcs for your target if you want them. As I understand Iron kits are inaccurate.


Thanks for the formula, it is very helpful. 

About iron test kit, which brand is more accurate and easy to use ?
I am using PRODAC - cheap but the drop is inconsistent. Sometimes you get only a half drop !


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## czado (May 26, 2005)

Glad I could help yxberia. Sorry, I have no experience with Iron tests, and instead dose traces to my Fe target ppm.


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## Laith (Sep 4, 2004)

I agree that cost/availability are issues. But if you calculate per dose to get 0.1mg of Fe in a 240l tank:

Product X is $0.19 per dose
Flourish is $0.30 per dose
Flourish Iron is $0.10 per dose (but only contains Fe and no traces)

1kg of CSM+B will give you 2,631 doses. And Greg Watson (www.gregwatson.com) does ship CSM+B internationally. Yes, you have to add the shipping but for 1kg you get 2,631 doses compared to 22 doses of Product X...

The reason I'm suggesting another method is that putting 45g of Product X in your substrate will not necessarily be adding 0.1mg/l of Fe to your water column so it will be difficult to control. But I guess you can just go by looking at the plants to see if they are showing deficiencies and then add more.


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## yxberia (Apr 19, 2005)

I have not dig into CSM+B yet. Does it work as a long term trace element ? Does it get dissolved 100% into water column ?

Ya, the reason for using X is not purely for Fe, but other goodies as well.
I will target-dose my plant with X right under the substrate. I need the calculation to tell me where the limit is if X does dissolve 100% in water column.


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