# [Wet Thumb Forum]-Help with Dosing



## Sleepy_lancs (Mar 9, 2005)

I can't seem to understand how to calculate the correct quantity of all the elements and my tank has green algae flourishing everywhere









Tank Conditions as follows:

Size: 4ft x 2ft x 2ft (Water hight less 3 inches from top)

Substrate: Seachem mixed with black gravel (covering about 3inches)

PH = 7.0
KH = 5
N03= 10 ppm
NH4 = 0
PO4 = 0.1
Temp = 29.5 to 31 deg cel
light = 354 watts x 12 hours
co2 = 3 bubbles into reactor

Water changes: twice a week of 15G

Iron plus trace mixture contains:
5.8% FE, 2.3% Mn, 1.3% Zn, 1.05% B, 0.25% Cu, 0.24% Mo, 0.03% Co

1. How much of MgS04, P2SO4, PNO3 should I add?
2. I would like to add the above to the water that I am putting into the tank during water changes. Would this be a better option than to put it directly into the tank?
3. 1KG of the iron mixture is added to 1 Litre of water (Sorry I can't change the quantity of mixture). How much should I add per day into the tank?

I would appreciate any help and constructive suggestions. Thanks in advance.


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## Sleepy_lancs (Mar 9, 2005)

I can't seem to understand how to calculate the correct quantity of all the elements and my tank has green algae flourishing everywhere









Tank Conditions as follows:

Size: 4ft x 2ft x 2ft (Water hight less 3 inches from top)

Substrate: Seachem mixed with black gravel (covering about 3inches)

PH = 7.0
KH = 5
N03= 10 ppm
NH4 = 0
PO4 = 0.1
Temp = 29.5 to 31 deg cel
light = 354 watts x 12 hours
co2 = 3 bubbles into reactor

Water changes: twice a week of 15G

Iron plus trace mixture contains:
5.8% FE, 2.3% Mn, 1.3% Zn, 1.05% B, 0.25% Cu, 0.24% Mo, 0.03% Co

1. How much of MgS04, P2SO4, PNO3 should I add?
2. I would like to add the above to the water that I am putting into the tank during water changes. Would this be a better option than to put it directly into the tank?
3. 1KG of the iron mixture is added to 1 Litre of water (Sorry I can't change the quantity of mixture). How much should I add per day into the tank?

I would appreciate any help and constructive suggestions. Thanks in advance.


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

What are your target levels for Fe, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus and nitrate?

You probably won't be able to dissolve a Kg of the iron mixture into a liter of water.


Roger Miller

"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein


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## Guest (Nov 1, 2003)

Sleepy_lancs,

Please provide more info as per Roger's request.

For now, get familiar with below fertilizer calculator.

http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_dosage_calc.htm

Regards,
Jay Luto


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## Sleepy_lancs (Mar 9, 2005)

Hi Roger,

Targets as follows:

Fe = 0.1 ppm
Mg = 5 ppm
K = 20 ppm
P04 = not sure what is the optimum
N03 = 5-10 ppm (I think I'll go for 7.5ppm to be on the safe side)

I've got my iron mixture into 1 litre of water. Its just that I don't know how to calculate the quatity per day to be added to my tank. Plus I have UV lighting on for 2 hours per day after the tank lights are off.

Just to add more information to verify if I am on the right track, every 5G of water I add to the tank, I'll add 1.75 ml of PNO3 with concentration of 4.35 ppm, 1.85 ml of MgS04 with concentration of 2.71ppm and 5.7 ml of P2SO4 with concentration of 3.42ppm. All the ppm is calculated using Chuck's calculator. Would this be correct?

PS: Jay Luto, thanks. I hv been there. Just making sure that I am dosing correctly especially there isn't a formula for the Fe.

[This message was edited by Sleepy_lancs on Sun November 02 2003 at 06:20 AM.]


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

Add 1/6 tsp of Epson salt to 5 gallons of water for ~ 5ppm
Add 0.05 tsp of KNO3 to 5 gallons of water for ~ 7ppm NO3
Add 0.1 tsp K2SO4 to 5 gallons of water. That and the KNO3 add up to ~20ppm NO3.

You may not need to add phosphate. A reasonable target level would be about 0.5 ppm. The amount of KH2PO4 that you would add to 5 gallons of water seems to be too small to use Chuck's calculator.

We usually assume the density of a trace mix is about 1. If you put a kg of trace mix into a liter of water then that is clearly wrong. What was the volume of the mix after you added the kilo of trace to the liter of water?

Incidentally, the symbol for potassium is "K". "P" is the symbol for phosphorus. 


Roger Miller

"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein


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## Sleepy_lancs (Mar 9, 2005)

Okay I must admit, I am lost. How do I dose 0.05 tsp of KNO3 and 0.1 tsp of K2SO4?
Each of my water change will be 15G in total.

As for the trace max, funny is that it didn't change the volume much. It just disappears into the water. (Sorry for sounding stupid.) According to instructions, its 1 ml per 10 litres of water but I don't think thats correct. Any comments?


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

> quote:
> 
> Okay I must admit, I am lost. How do I dose 0.05 tsp of KNO3 and 0.1 tsp of K2SO4?
> Each of my water change will be 15G in total.


That would be 0.15 tsp KNO3 for 15 gallons, or about one heaping 1/8 teaspoon and .3 tsp K2SO4 for 15 gallons, or about a heaping 1/4 teaspoon.

The alternative is to mix a stock solution, then dose you water changes with the stock solution. Chuck's calculator also makes that calculation.



> quote:
> 
> As for the trace max, funny is that it didn't change the volume much. It just disappears into the water. (Sorry for sounding stupid.) According to instructions, its 1 ml per 10 litres of water but I don't think thats correct. Any comments?


If you combined a kg of the mix with a liter of water and the mixture came out to about about a liter, then the density is about 2 grams/ml -- that is more dense than some rocks. One mL would give you 2X0.058 or 0.116 grams of iron per ml, of 116 mg of iron per ml. If you dosed that to 10 liters of water the iron concentration would be 11.6 mg/l..

To get 0.1 mg/L (same as ppm) from that mix you would dose with one ml per each 1000 liters, +/-. That result is so different from the 1 ml/10 liters that you quoted that I have to suspect something is wrong.

Roger Miller

"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein


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## Sir Plants-a-lot (Feb 16, 2003)

From the composition, your trace mix looks like Rexolin APN. Is that true? And if so where did you get a kilo of it? I'd be interested in a kilo myself...

I believe this mix is normally used for hydroponic plants, and the instruction mean you mix a ml (or gram) into every 10l of the water that you will use to irrigate the plants. The same amount in an aquarium is probably a lethal dose for everything. 

Adding a whole kilo to a litre of water is pretty concentrated to use conveniently. Why can't you change the quantity of mixture? I'm currently using this same trace mix and dilute it 1 tablespoon to 375ml of water and then dose 1ml for every 100l, daily.

Regards,
Kevin


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## Sleepy_lancs (Mar 9, 2005)

Hi,

Sorry guys I made a big mistake. Mine is a 150grams pack. Therefore its 150 grams to 1 litres of water. Sorry for the confusion.

Sir Plants-a-lot,
Yeap thats the item. You were right. You need the address still? I am going to add 1 ml per day until I reach 0.25 mg/l (just wondering if 0.25 mg/l = 0.25 ppm?)

[This message was edited by Sleepy_lancs on Wed November 05 2003 at 07:42 AM.]


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

So let's try again...

150 grams*.058 grams Fe/gram mix per liter of solution is 8.7 grams Fe/liter - that's 8700 mg/liter.

5 gallons of water is 19 liters. To get 0.1 mg/l in 19 liters of water you would need to add 1.9 milligrams of iron. Your solution contains 8700 mg/liter, so you would need to add 1.9/8700=0.0002 liters or 0.2 ml of the solution.

To get 15 gallons up to 0.1 mg/l of iron you would add 0.6 ml of the solution. That's a pretty concentrated stock solution.

If you want a more convenient dose then I think you can dilute your stock solution to a volume of 2.3 liters. That will give you an iron concentration in the stock solution of 3800 mg/liter. You can dose that stock solution at the rate of 1 ml/10 gallons to get a concentration of 0.1 mg/l.

You have enough stock solution to last for a long time.

Roger Miller

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_"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein_


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## Sleepy_lancs (Mar 9, 2005)

Hi Roger,

Thanks for the information. But it seems that Fe disappears after 2-3 days. So I was thinking perhaps I should add the solution to the tank directly. But how much do I add per day without overdosing it? I would do water change once a week of 15G only. Any good suggestions?


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