Greg Watsons ferts mixing problem...

[Lonewolfblue]

I'm in the process of trying to make dosing solutions, and have run into a snag. For the Greg Watsons ferts, I mixed up a dose of Mono Potassium Phosphate. I used 100 grams and mixed it with 1 liter of water. According to Chucks calculator, that puts me for dosing a 75G tank, each ml is .25ppm Phosphate. Am I correct on doing this? It mixed just fine, with nithing in the bottom.

Here's my problem. I did Potassium Nitrate. According to the calculator, it says for a 75G tank, that it takes 450 grams in 1 liter so that each 1ml will be .97ppm Nitrate. But how do I mix this? It won't all dissolve. I still have about a half inch of the stuff in the bottom. Did I goof here?

Also, am I right in using Chucks calculator? Is it for the Greg Watsons recipes? I'm stopping here til I can get feedback on how to do this.

Thanks...

Planning on doing the Iron Chelate mixture, then the CSM+B Plantex. But stopping til I get some help here.

Edit:

For a 75G tank:
450g Potassium Nitrate in 1600ml water would put me at each 1ml dose is equal to .61ppm Nitrate. Correct?

Since its a bigger container, I filled it to the 1.6L using hot water from a coffee maker. Now it's pretty much all dissolved. But I still would like to know if I'm doing this correctly, by using Chucks calculator. Thanks...

 

[ringfinger]

I see no problems with your calculations. But for a tank your size I would dose the Nitrate dry. You would only need to measure down to 1/4 tsp at the smallest which wouldn't be too difficult. A full tsp would only get you up to about 12ppm. The Plantex will work fine in a solution, and your Phosphate mix sounds good.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Now for the Plantex CSM+B. It says to use:

1 tablespoon of Plantex CSM+B and
1 tablespoon of Magnesium Sulfate in 1/2 litre of water.

I tripled everything, so I have a 1.5L solution. How much should I dose for a 75G and how often?

also, I do have a nice digital scale, which is coming in handy.

 

[rich311k]

I am not sure on how much, but dose it on alternate days from your macros.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I am not sure on how much, but dose it on alternate days from your macros.

Will be doing that. Just getting my stuff ready, and then will set up my weekly routine, what to dose each day, and how much.

 

[czcz]

With that mix, its 5mL/20gals every other day. If you later want to dose to target Fe ppm, we can help you make a custom mix.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

What would be your suggestion on dosing iron?
Also, should I mix up a batch for Potassium Sulfate or Potassium Chloride? I've got the Nitrate down and the Phosphates, but what would you recommend for the Potassium? I've just been using Flourish Potassium, but I also got both Potassium Chloride and Potassium Sulfate from Greg Watsons. Once the Flourish is gone, would like to stay with just Greg Watsons.

As for the tank, it's beginning to look good once again. I think I'm getting the handle on the macros, as the algae has atleast stopped growing, and slowly disappearing. And with clearing out some of the plants, and trimming and thinning, looks pretty good. Now the Rams are starting to come out more. The left side of the tank is still pretty thick, but the right side is a little more open. The red foxtails just grew too fast, then when the algae hit, they were like algae magnets. Didn't look good at all. I still have a red foxtail in there that looks pretty good. I replanted it. Also took most of the repens out, cut off the base of the one that looked the best, and planted a couple of the stems. Also had to trim down the anacharis, as it's just growing like a weed, lol. Talk about fast growers. But the red foxtails are just a little faster.

 

[Purrbox]

My understanding is the Potassium Sulfate is slightly preferred over Potassium Chloride. It's what I'll be using once my Flourish Potassium runs out.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Ok...

Will be mixing up a batch of Potassium Sulfate today.

 

[czcz]

Generally it is recommended one start at .1ppm Fe (5mL/20gal of the standard mix is .12ppm Fe by my calcs) and increase up to .2ppm Fe based on observation. Worth noting that Travis prefers .2ppm max Fe even under extremely high light, Walstad suggests limiting Fe to .1ppm max limits algae, and Barr doesn't think high Fe is any more important than high traces, and has dosed to 1ppm Fe for years while reporting no induced algae or stress on fish. FWIW, I dose to .3ppm Fe under high light and find better reds, and find no stress on fish or inverts. One you have to monkey with to figure out on your own, but be wary as its generally accepted that high Fe can affect fauna.

In case you are not aware, do not forget to use an opaque bottle for your trace mix, as light can apparently cause Fe to fall out of solution. Some refrigerate their trace mix, but a cool/dry place is fine. Same for dry Plantex.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I keep all my dry ferts in a dark dry place.

Also, for mixing the Fe, how much do you put in 1L of water to get the dosage of 5mL/20gal is .12ppm Fe? I don't see anything on the calculator for Fe.

 

[czcz]

You would put 27.2 grams, or 2TBL in 1L. AFAIK there is no calculator for Fe, but I'll write one if there's enough interest. Kind of depends if Greg decides to release another custom mix (such as his CSM+B+Extra Fe)

Formula: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?p=532417#532417
Couple example calcs:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=61362
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?p=600577#600577

 

[Lonewolfblue]

One last question. If I wanted to add Fe the 1L CSM+B I already made up, how much should I add? Or will the regular dosing of the CSM+B already put me at .1ppm Fe?

 

[czcz]

The regular dosing will get you to ~.1ppm Fe with CSM+B.

 

[malkore]

Don't make a solution for KNO3. dry dose it, or dose it into a cup of water, pre-mix, then pour into the tank.

PLantex and Phosphate are the only solutions I make. NO3 and K both are dosed dry, but mixed with a little water first so the fish don't try to eat the granuals.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Don't make a solution for KNO3. dry dose it, or dose it into a cup of water, pre-mix, then pour into the tank.

PLantex and Phosphate are the only solutions I make. NO3 and K both are dosed dry, but mixed with a little water first so the fish don't try to eat the granuals.

Ok, will do that.....

Thanks everyone for all the good help...