# Barr GH Booster



## stevenlau (Jul 21, 2009)

Hi,

Does anyone know how much K, Ca and Mg in Barr GH Booster if I dose 5gr in 90L tank?

My water has a gH of 2-3 but I don't know how much Ca or Mg in it plus I am dosing K2SO4 and would like to know if I have to reduce the dosing by how much since the Barr GH Booster has K in it. 

I try to follow the EI dosage at sticky for 20-40gal tank is roughly 1/2tsp and when I weighted 1/2tsp was about 1.6gr and after I dose it in my 22.5gal tank, the gH did not rise a bit so I kept adding it until 5gr and gH went from 2-3 to 3-4.


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi stevenlau,

Tom Barr spoke here two weeks ago and one of the things discussed was our very soft water. He doesn't worry about his dkH but he does try for about 5.0 dgH

He stated that the formula for GH Booster is basically 1/2 K2SO4; 1/4 Gypsum (CaSO4); and 1/4 Epsom Salts (MGSO4).

I hope this information helps!


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## stevenlau (Jul 21, 2009)

Thank you Seattle Aquarist but from what I read in its label is 3 parts of K2SO4, 3 parts of CaSO4 and 1 part of MgSO4???

Ok, so in 5gr, it contains :
2.5gr K2SO4, 
1.25gr CaSO4
1.25gr MgSO4? 

And to calculate the ppm using Fertilator in 90L tank is:
12.46ppm K
3.83ppm Ca
1.37ppm Mg

Wow, too much K and too little Ca and Mg and say that if I want to aim for the increase in Ca to at least 10ppm and Mg to 2ppm, so I have to dose 14gr Barr GH Booster which is 
7gr K2SO4 
3.5gr CaSO4
3.5gr MgSO4 

but the K in it is too much 34.9ppm in my 90L tank. I wonder what do you guys here dosing regime for GH Booster? Thank you.


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi stevenlau,

I dose using Seachem Equilbrium, not only does it raise my hardness, but it has micronutrients as well. I like the Seachem Dosing calculator that lets me know how much I need to add to raise my water to a certain dGH.

Tom Barr recommended not worrying about dKH and that he tried for about 5.0 dGH in his tanks.


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## stevenlau (Jul 21, 2009)

I am not touching my kH instead I try to raise my gH with Barr GH Booster which I found out that I will end up overdose the K while I'm targeting the ppm of both Ca and Mg that I like.


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi stevenlau,

Then I guess you would need to dose Mg and Ca separately, maybe MgSO4 and CaCl or CaSO4?


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## stevenlau (Jul 21, 2009)

Those were what I used to dose to raise the gH using CaSO4 and MgSO4 and before I bought this Barr GH Booster, I thought that it would be easier using powder that has been mixed to raise the gH but I'm wrong after I found out that I will be overdose the K if using that gH Booster. Thank you.


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## bsmith (Dec 13, 2006)

When I ordered Grumpy's GH booster (same as barrs) from rex. He told me that if I used the GH booster after every water change then that would just mean that I would not need to dose K throughout the week. So I haven't and everything is great. I just dose N & P MWF and micros the other says with a wc on Sunday adding the booster directly to the tank.


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## stevenlau (Jul 21, 2009)

How much is your local tap water gH and how much do you add your Grumpy's GH Booster?

I don't know about Grumpy's GH Booster but Barr GH Booster consists of 3 parts K2SO4, 3 parts CaSO4 and 1 part MgSO4. My water has 2-3dgH and if I would like to add both Ca and Mg in order to reach a gH of 5dgH, I would end up overdose the K2SO4 with it and calculation is just like what I posted earlier...

So in 15gr of Barr GH Booster, it contains :
6.45gr K2SO4, 
6.45gr CaSO4
2.1gr MgSO4

And to calculate the ppm using Fertilator in 90L tank is:
32.16ppm K
19.79ppm Ca
2.3ppm Mg

And from what I know :
7.143ppm of Ca will add 1dgH
4.29ppm of Mg will also add 1dgH

So 19.79ppm Ca and 4.29ppm Mg will raise about 3.3dgH plus my initial 2-3dgh = 4-5dgH and I satisfy the result but I will overdose the 32.16ppm of K here.


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## bsmith (Dec 13, 2006)

My local tap has a Kh of 3-4 and a Gh of 16. Last I checked. But I dont use it anymore, I use RO/DI filtered water hence the gh booster being added to my tank.


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## barbarossa4122 (Dec 31, 2009)

Seattle_Aquarist said:


> Hi stevenlau,
> 
> Tom Barr spoke here two weeks ago and one of the things discussed was our very soft water. He doesn't worry about his dkH but he does try for about 5.0 dgH
> 
> ...


Hi Seatle_Aquarist,

I always have a dgH between 7 and 8. Do I need to worry about it and cut down a bit on the Barr's booster and Equilibrium dosing ?


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## darkoon (Jun 7, 2010)

does anyone know the breakdown of GLA's ultimate GH booster?


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## stevenlau (Jul 21, 2009)

I'm not Seatle_Aquarist, but will try to answer .

I think the GH Booster is created for the purposes of supplying enough Ca and Mg to our plants to avoid both Ca and Mg deficiency.

Do you happen to know how much ppm of Ca and/or Mg in your 7-8dgH water since gH is the sums of Ca and Mg? It could be 7-8dgH of all Ca only or Mg only (although all Mg only is rarely happen). If you know your 7-8dgH water is rich in Ca then you can ignore Ca dosing but instead dose the MgSO4 only.

Usually I target 20ppm of Ca and 5ppm of Mg.


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi barbarossa4122,

A 7.0 - 8.0 dGH hardness is probably fine except for plants that like really soft water like Pogostemon, Syngonanthus,and Tonina species for example.


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## barbarossa4122 (Dec 31, 2009)

Seattle_Aquarist said:


> Hi barbarossa4122,
> 
> A 7.0 - 8.0 dGH hardness is probably fine except for plants that like really soft water like Pogostemon, Syngonanthus,and Tonina species for example.


Hi Seatle _Aquarist,

Thank you. I'll cut down a bit on dosing. I thought I was dosing a bit too much Gh booster and Equilibrium at WC. My water here is soft.


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## SumTinsFishy (Nov 27, 2009)

So where can you get Barr GH booster? I found it on a couple sites but they were all out of stock. Also is it equivalent to say Greenleaf aquariums GH booster or Equilibrium? Or is one a better value more for your $$?


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## barbarossa4122 (Dec 31, 2009)

SumTinsFishy said:


> So where can you get Barr GH booster? I found it on a couple sites but they were all out of stock. Also is it equivalent to say Greenleaf aquariums GH booster or Equilibrium? Or is one a better value more for your $$?


Hi,

Here you can get it:
http://www.aquariumfertilizer.com/index.asp?Option1=cats&Edit=2&EditU=1&Regit=2

I use both the booster and Equilibrium but, it's not necessary.


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